By PEACHY KEAN
Contributor

Vincent Bradley stood beside his desk in his home office and flipped through an inch-high stack of messages. "This oneÕs for a couple who wanted to stay for a weekend in late January. No can do," he said shaking his white-haired head in amazement. "HereÕs a gentleman who wanted two weeks in February. No can do."

It looked as if a child had found a rubber stamp with the three-word phrase and left its mark on every piece of paper. "No can do. No can do. No can do. Can you believe this? I have to show you the stack to believe this. IÕm turning people away all the time."

The people that Bradley was turning away are those searching for a home away from home, those desiring a little more personalized attention than a hotel can offer - people who are looking for a bed and breakfast.

Have you have always wanted to open your own bed and breakfast, but always seem to have something holding you back? The kids are still growing; you have a big dog that feels obligated to greet everyone who rings the doorbell; you feel youÕll never have enough time until you retire or your term on the town council ends. Well, these deterrents are easily overcome according to two local bed and breakfast owners: Vincent Bradley, owner of The Vincent House and President of the East Greenwich Town Council and Sharon Greene, owner of the Meadowland Bed and Breakfast in North Kingstown and mother of a teenage daughter as well as a dog and a cat.

How did they do it?

The first step, they said, is to learn the basics of managing a bed and breakfast. Although Greene had tossed around the idea of opening a bed and breakfast for several years she still began by researching into unknown territory. "I had never stayed in a bed and breakfast," she said with a chuckle as she leaned back in her chair by the fireplace in her beautifully decorated Victorian living room. But for those who recognize their calling without knowing what it looks like there are books and Greene began with,

"So-You Want to Be an Innkeeper: The Definitive Guide to Operating a Successful Bed-And-Breakfast or Country Inn," by Mary E. Davies. "I read it and I was overwhelmed. So I put it down and said ÔOK, This will be good to fall back on.Õ And itÕs been a great guideline."

Bradley also used books, but his most valuable experience came eight years ago when he noticed in a brochure that The Learning Connection in Providence would be offering a course on bed and breakfast management. Susan White, who taught that course, has been teaching it since and will be offering it again Oct. 19-21 in Newport through her company, AnnaÕs Victorian Connection. The weekend will present an overview of all aspects of innkeeping from acquisition to good guest relations and marketing. In addition, students will have the opportunity to tour some of the polished and practical bed and breakfasts in Newport.

Applications can be ordered from their website: www.bandbclassroom.com. The course will also teach you how to gain permission to open a bed and breakfast from your town.

Although each municipality may have minor variations, the general practice is to apply for a permit from the zoning board. A large part of the boardÕs approval will be based on the support or opposition of the owners of abutting property. Your neighbors may consider your proposal a threat to their quality of life because of the additional traffic it may cause and the prospect of having strangers on their street.

However, support can be gained by pointing out that a bread and breakfast is well landscaped, attentively maintained and through recommendations to its guests expands the amount of business to local merchants. If your neighbors still oppose your proposal and you are dedicated to the idea you still have two options: move or buy all their houses. But if you are given the go ahead it will be time to focus on interior decorating and your breakfast menu.

Unlike hotel chains, each bed and breakfast is a unique as its owner. Bradley likes to keep The Vincent House, 170 Cedar Ave., on par with the Crown Plaza Hotel by ordering elegant leather furniture and fine linen through the American Hotel Register Co. Buying Guide. "Everything in this book is researched," Bradley said as he tapped the catalogue. "If IÕm not satisfied I can send it back."

His operation is very conducive to men and women who are in town on a business trip. Each morning he sets out a light breakfast of pastries and breads from a local bakery because he has found that most people want eat and be on their way. In the afternoons and evenings, guests sometimes return with an easel and several clients and hold meetings in the living room. His guests can either plug connect their computers with the separate line phone jacks in each room or take advantage of the office he set up in an extra room that has a computer with Internet access, a printer, and a fax machine

Originally Bradley solicited groups like the University of Rhode Island and Kent Hospital. Establishing yourself with businesses can take time, but once you become known and trusted, companies will loyally recommend or set their clients up rooms at your establishment for extended periods of time.

"The key to success is that people want to come to an immaculate place." But even Bradley, with eight years of success behind him, acknowledges that he has his limitations. "I know this place has to have the appearance of a ladyÕs touch for people to walk in and feel like itÕs a home," said the widower who gets his professional advice from a friend who lives across the street. "At a minimum any man who is trying to start a bed and breakfast needs a nice lady to advise him on how to give it a homey appearance."

Greene, on the other hand, found that she was only satisfied when she decorated her Victorian home applying her own touch with dried flowers and old wooden furniture she had collected from antique stores, consignment shops and yard sales. "I started out decorating for what I thought people would like and I got all twisted up. I had to forget that approach. ÔBe yourself,Õ I said, Ôand it will take on a charm all its own.Õ"

It helps that the house was built in the 1860s and was operated as a stage coach inn, but what about raising a teenage daughter and a dog and cat. Well, her daughter has been a big support, helping her operate the business all summer. "If she has a messy room I put a wreath on the door and close it. I wouldnÕt be upset with her if this wasnÕt a bed and breakfast so IÕm not going to go nuts about it now."

As far as the animals go, "they have never had more attention and they are part of the charm." Part of that success might be because Celtic, her half Rottweiler-half shepherd mix, has learned that if he is good and lies quietly by the table during breakfast he is rewarded with a cookie. Greene also rewards her guests with an elaborate breakfast.

"Getting up at five in the summertime and starting to bake is a good time to me," she said with a "does that make me crazy?" look on her face. "When I was young I always liked to wake up and smell something cooking. I want my guests to feel the same way." Even with a tempting breakfast, GreeneÕs initial fear was that she wouldnÕt have any guests. "ItÕs like: you built it, but will they come." But she received some good advice (as well as a griddle, maple syrup and raspberry jam) from a woman who was retiring from the business: "Let that be the least of your problems. YouÕll do fine."

As proof, Greene was still nailing pictures to the wall when her first guests were driving in from the airport. And they came all summer and they are still coming. Bradley predicts, "The more bed and breakfasts there are the better IÕm going to do. The market is not saturated."

With the accessibility of the Internet, advertising has become a cinch. "People call me up and ask me what this place is like," Bradley said. "I say, Ôyou got a computer?Õ Then I give them my website; they flash it up and call me back. ItÕs a great marketing tool."

Additional publicity can come from your chamber of commerce and the South County Bed and Breakfast Association, a group that meets monthly at different homes. The openness of the bed and breakfast community has been wonderful for Greene. "I have had referrals from almost every B&B in North Kingstown, even from several people I havenÕt met yet. And IÕve given referrals to everyone back. Never in my wildest dreams did I think IÕd be turning people away."

With all the benefits of owning a bed and breakfast: working at home, the extra income, and the opportunity to greet a weary traveler, Greene says true satisfaction comes each morning when she has finished cooking. "The best feeling is to hear people laughing at your table. Then they exchange addresses. I tell you, ItÕs as though we traveled all summer and never left the house."

Then she laughs at the fear she once held that no one would come.