Innkeepers - Kennebunkport, ME

We are seeking a full-time, year round live-in manager for our inn located in Kennebunkport, Maine.  Kennebunkport is a worldclass resort destination offering fantastic white sand beaches and a beautiful historic village with galleries, shops and amazing restaurants.  Our well-acclaimed inn is one of the best performing and most respected Inns in Kennebunkport.  

We are seeking a high energy individual or couple who can assume responsibility for all inn activities, who have presence and poise in relating to guests, and who possess the organizational and computer skills necessary to manage the office.  We are seeking a hard-working, forward-thinking and honest individual and/or couple who can learn quickly, communicate effectively with us, and offer first-class hospitality while being attentive to the needs of the business.  We will of course offer training.

The Innkeeper is to perform all duties of running the Inn:  i.e. guest reservations, hospitality and concierge service, preparation and service of our signature small plate breakfast for Inn guests, bed making and laundry, property maintenance, gardening (lawn maintenance is provided by an outside service), purchasing and cost control, some accounting of revenue and expenses, preparation for holiday events, and participation in annual renovation projects.  The Inn has been well-maintained for the past 15 years (or more), but there are always some ongoing or somewhat deferred maintenance issues that we will ask you to work on.  Celebration of food is a central concept at the Inn, and as such is a focus for the Innkeeper.  One of our goals is to grow our sales of wine, beer and small plates, which are also prepared by the Innkeeper.

Requirements include exceptional interpersonal skills, polished telephone and email skills, superior attention to detail, computer and organizational skills, some housekeeping and maintenance skills, and the abilities to multi-task, take initiative, and to employ situational thinking.  Must be willing to be trained, show excellent follow-through, and be comfortable receiving feedback.  Having culinary training or formal experience and/or carpentry/construction experience are qualities that would make applicants more attractive to us and that would be utilized at the Inn.  

This job requires a full-time commitment in all aspects of the job.  You must be familiar and comfortable with the demands of a 24/7 job.  Although the team at Lark Hotels will be readily available to answer questions and provide input, the Innkeeper is expected to assume responsibility for any issues or tasks that arise related to the operation of the Inn and maintenance of the building, though all of those items may not be named in this description.  The Innkeeper is expected to utilize all skills that they possess to operate the inn to the best of their ability.

The Inn offers nine rooms and operates at annual occupancy rates between 55% and 65%.  Highest occupancy for the Inn is June 1 through October 31.  During this season the Innkeeper hires and trains housekeepers who perform the heavier cleaning duties.  The Innkeeper is expected to make beds, do laundry and replace amenities as well as supervise and work with the housekeepers to assure that quality standards and timeliness expectations are met.  The housekeepers work varying shifts during the week; if there are no housekeepers on the schedule due to low occupancy the Innkeeper does all of the housekeeping.  Due to our coastal location, occupancy in the quiet season months (November through May) is much lower, and therefore the Innkeeper is responsible for all housekeeping in the quiet season.

As a management company, we are not involved in the on-site daily operations of the Inn.  However, we make scheduled trips to Kennebunkport to check in and meet with you.  We conduct the bill payment, accounting and tax preparation, budgeting, revenue and expense management, marketing, website maintenance, property improvement planning, and issues that arise that are most appropriately handled by the management company.  Although we are not on-site, we review most reservations via our online reservation system, we monitor purchasing when we receive invoices and receipts, and in general we like to keep close tabs on what is happening at the Inn.  Therefore it is important that the Innkeeper be able to communicate with us in a clear and positive manner.  While we are interested in hearing new ideas and suggestions from the Innkeeper, it is important that the overall operation of the Inn remains consistent with our expectations.  We hope that the Innkeeper brings their own personality and creativity to the Inn, and expect that this is balanced with continuity in the Captain Fairfield Inn experience from one Innkeeper to the next.  

The owners of the Inn also own a 3 bedroom house in Kennebunk which is a going to be rented as an Airbnb.  Sometimes it has been rented as a weekly rental and sometimes as a year-round rental.  Because they do not live in the area, they ask that the Innkeeper serve as a local point of contact for renters.  This may include showing the house to potential renters, checking on it if unoccupied, being available for key pick up (at the inn) and answering questions about the area.  Housekeeping will be included in these duties.  

Compensation includes salary, and we provide a studio apartment in the Inn with utilities included.  This living space cannot accommodate anyone other than the innkeeper/Innkeepers and with permission the Innkeeper’s partner and is not suitable for children.  Any pets must be approved by Lark Hotels.  We also offer valuable training in revenue and expense management if desired.

Our hotel,apartment and grounds are non-smoking, and we expect that the managers will model this by being non-smokers.

The Innkeeper is given two weeks of vacation time per year.  The inn is open on all holidays except for Christmas, when it is closed for the nights of December 24 and 25.

Start on or about October 15, 2017 for training.

Please submit resume, references and availability