Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Flower-Webb.
Hi Dawn, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The Mooreland Garden Inn is a B&B located in historic Carlisle, PA. The inn is ideally located to provide accommodations for visitors to area attractions including Dickinson College, Penn State Dickinson Law, Central PA Youth Ballet (CPYB), the US Army War College, Carlisle Car Shows and other special events. The inn is located in a Georgian Revival Manor Home built in 1917 that has been elegantly restored and updated to accommodate guests.
A Brief History
Near the end of World War I, (1917-1918) Hannah and W. O. Smith commissioned the home to be built of the finest materials available with gardens to showcase specimens of W. O. Smith’s flower and bulb business.
In 1952, Olive and Donald Stoner purchased the home and moved in with their two children. The house was substantially changed during the 1950’s when the Stoner family lived here. Dr. Stoner, an ophthalmologist, often saw patients in the library of the home.
In 1962, James Flower, a local lawyer, and his wife Faith bought the home and raised their five children here.
In 1995, the house was purchased by James Jr. and his wife Dawn as the elder Mr. Flower downsized and moved to their restored 1826 townhome on High Street. In 1995, Dawn envisioned that the large Georgian Revival house would be a wonderful bed and breakfast. In 2013, Dawn was widowed and became solely responsible for the property. Dawn began to address the many challenges of making a 100-year-old home meet modern standards for safety, reliability, and comfort necessary for guests.
In 2015, Dawn married Bruce Webb. Bruce supported Dawn’s dream to convert the home into a bed and breakfast, and together they worked for four years to make the “Mooreland Garden Inn” a reality. We welcomed our first guest on May 17th, 2019.
About the Innkeepers
Co-owners Dawn Flower-Webb and Bruce Webb work together to manage the property and cater to the needs of the inn’s guests. Dawn has an MBA and a Master of Arts degree in Personnel Administration. She has significant experience in event planning and marketing. In addition, Dawn has worked with local innkeepers and the Pennsylvania Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns (PABBI) to make sure that we can meet the expectations of even the most demanding guest. Dawn has a grown daughter and son. Two of the inn’s guest rooms are named Lenore’s Room and Jamie’s Room in their honor. Dawn manages the day-to-day operations including guest reservations, breakfast, room preparation, and guest registration/checkout. She enjoys planning menus and creating foods that accommodate each guest’s diet timed to their schedule.
Bruce is an engineer with extensive business management, marketing and travel experience. He handles property maintenance and fills in to meet guests’ needs. We very much enjoy meeting guests and hearing their stories of what has drawn them to Carlisle. We truly feel that each visitor is a friend even if we have just met, and we work to make every person as comfortable as if they were with family.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
1. We needed to be granted a variance from the Carlisle Zoning Hearing Board to be permitted to open a BnB in the restrictive Residential 5 zone.
2. Finding the right contractors to complete the revisions needed to convert the 110 year old home, while maintaining the historical integrity of the home. Financing the work. Accepting that the required maintenance on the home and costs are ongoing.
3. Learning to do many new things at once to create the best guest experience possible: manage a reservation system; assist with website design; create systems for housekeeping, laundry, food storage, food preparation; learn how to cook eggs!; creation of guests menus for all types of diets, and being aware of food allergies; understanding QuickBooks, etc. The list seemed endless.
The success of the inn can be credited to many factors:
1. Local innkeepers providing support, mentoring, and shadow opportunities to teach me best practices, and whose advice on everything from what foods to prepare, linens and towels to use, to which website provider and photographer to consider was necessary.
2. Advice from my Small Business Development Center advisor assisted me with a solid business plan and tools to create one.
3. Support from my family, especially my husband Bruce and my mother Laraine Hicks. Bruce assists with breakfast each morning, and cleanup, and does most of the ongoing maintenance of the home. At 85 years of age, Laraine is our champion getting the word out on her expansive social media and attending chamber events on our behalf. She always has brochures and my business card and hands them out often.
4. Pennsylvania Bed and Breakfast Association (PABBI), (now under the umbrella of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association), provides educational guidance through webinars and conferences to assist innkeepers stay up to date on every aspect of innkeeping. I attended multiple conferences and have served on the board of PABBI.
5. Prior to opening we reached out to our neighbors to make sure were aware that the inn was being established. We had a big open house inviting all so that they could see inside. Many neighbors now send out of town family and friend visitors to stay with us. It helps us to continually connect with the neighbors.
As you know, we’re big fans of Mooreland Garden Inn LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Stay close at the Mooreland Garden Inn
Steps away from Dickinson College, Penn State Dickinson Law, the Central PA Youth Ballet (CPYB), and Historic Downtown Carlisle, the Mooreland Garden Inn is the perfect place to stay close when taking a school tour or visiting for an event. The Mooreland Garden Inn is a short drive to the US Army War College, and Carlisle Events Car Shows, too. The bed and breakfast is in a 110-year-old Georgian Revival Manor Home that has been elegantly restored and updated to accommodate our guests.
Innkeepers, Dawn Flower-Webb and Bruce Webb, look forward to welcoming you. Each guest room has a private bath with a rainwater shower, soft Turkish towels, and our signature line of organic soaps and lotions. Our rooms feature bed linens by Comphy sheets, free Wi-Fi, a smart TV with cable, and areas for you to relax, read, or work. All guests are welcome to the “Tea and Coffee Bar” with 24-hour access to cold soft drinks, bottled water, snacks (packaged and MGI made), tea and coffee. A made to order breakfast is prepared for you each morning and is served to fit your schedule between 7:30-9:30 AM. Guests are welcome to eat in the dining room, at the kitchen bar, or on the “purple porch.” We invite you to enjoy the garden and the variety of birds that frequent our feeders.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
According to the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau-the outlook for travel to our community and region remains very positive.
https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/cumberland/Cumberland_Visitor_Research_v3_1_2587e27a-408c-427b-9444-64e7c67d84cc.pdf
We have observed a steady growth in our occupation rate each year. We believe our pricing and market position (higher than average) are appropriate for the product we provide. This is supported by our repeat customer base and positive reviews.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.moorelandgardeninn.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
- Other: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g52311-d17761964-Reviews-Mooreland_Garden_Inn-Carlisle_Pennsylvania.html
