B&B 101

All three rooms at the Main Street Inn are on the second floor of the inn, are well appointed and comfortable but each is unique in their decor and personality. Our website not only showcases many photos of each one so that you can visually see the differences, but also lists important details including the size of the bed and features unique to that particular room.  For example, the Missouri River Suite is very popular for wedding nights because it is the only room that has direct access to the outside… perfect for late night arrivals. Before choosing your room you should know what you will need and select your room accordingly. So… if you require a Jacuzzi tub you will NOT want to book your stay in our Old Kate’s Room.

Jason & Kathy do what they do because they love it! They enjoy pampering people and sharing their homes with those who appreciate it’s unique character, history, location and personality. They delight in delighting their guests and go out of their way to ensure that everything is just right for everyone.  They live on site or close by and their inn is their baby! Kathy does not work a additional 9-5, Mon-Fri job (but Jason does). They typically work much longer hours and rarely have a true day off. Even when they don’t have guests there are still many things to take care of and do in preparation for the next guests stay but sometimes they use these opportunities to spend special time with family and friends.

One of the reasons that we keep the doors locked is because many people don’t realize that a bed and breakfast is actually someone’s home!  Early on we found this out when a group of people came in for a ‘tour’ while we were in the back room painting. We walked out of the room (in grubby clothes and covered in paint) to meet this group in our kitchen. Startling to say the least and not giving the best first impression. We share this because we know how you would feel if this happened to you in your home.

Unlike a hotel where the front entrance is open to the public all the time, a bed and breakfast is usually a private residence and as I mentioned above, we usually keep the door locked to prevent people from coming in when they are unaware.  Occasionally guests do forget to lock the door when they come back in or as they leave so to avoid surprising the innkeeper when you arrive please just knock or ring the bell and wait a few moments for someone to come and greet you.

Unlike a hotel, many B&Bs have limited or no additional staff which means that there is no one manning a front desk, no designated person to take calls, no bell hop and no valet to park your car. Every job that there is to do from the marketing, shopping, gardening, repairs, cleaning rooms, laundry, and meal preparation often falls on the shoulders of just a few people.  Everything Jason & Kathy have to do is scheduled around check-in and check-out times with little wiggle room. Check-in at the Main Street Inn is from 4-6PM. We can accommodate early arrivals, with advance notice and a Priority check-in added to your reservation. We can also accommodate those who need a later arrival check-in time by offering our self check-in option. If something happens on the way and you are delayed past 6PM please call the inn and let us know and we can arrange the self check-in with you.

Our policies are posted in several places throughout the Main Street Inn website, including on the reservation booking form and are also sent via email to you in your confirmation. It is your responsibility to know the policies and to abide by them, including the cancellation policy.  When booking your reservation by phone we will inform you of the cancelation policy and check the box on the reservation form that says you were informed of and agree to abide by the policies. If you book your reservation yourself via our website you will be required to check this agreement box yourself before your reservation is confirmed. Because we do not overbook our rooms, like a hotel or as the airlines overbook their seats, and since we have only 3 rooms to rent out, in order to stay in business and pay our bills we must strictly observe our cancelation policy. We encourage all our guests to purchase trip insurance as a protection for themselves in case something unforeseen does occur.

Jason & Kathy truly want you to have a fabulous stay and generally have put a lot of thought and work into ensuring that. Everything, from the smallest details of how they run their business, to when they schedule staff to come into work all are done with you in mind. It is very important that we know of any special needs that you have such as allergies and dietary restrictions as far in advance of your check-in date as possible so that you will be delighted with your experience and we are not caught off guard or ill prepared to meet your needs.  The same is true if you have a special requests.  Do you drink only decaf or prefer tea instead of coffee? Perhaps you need additional pillows?  Let us know before you arrive and not at the moment you need those things. We have many indulgent extras available to pamper our guests and enjoy providing them but keep in mind that some things do require advance notice of at least 24-48 hrs.  If you have any questions just call the inn and leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

These spaces are for your enjoyment and can significantly enhance your time at the inn.  At the Main Street Inn Bed and Breakfast, these common areas include the Friendship Memorial Art Gallery, Guest Lounge, and our beautiful wrap-around front porch overlooking Main Street. In the mornings at breakfast, the parlor and dining room are open for all to enjoy. The only room/suite that you should enter is the one that you are staying in unless it’s part of the tour with the innkeeper.  To keep unoccupied suites clean and ready for the next guests who will be checking in, we ask that you do not use their bathrooms, sleeping rooms or even to enter them without permission.  We never, ever want a guest to check-in and find that their suite is not immaculate!

Besides the wonderful breakfast, personal attention, and beautiful, comfortable rooms, another thing that is great about staying at a bed and breakfast is that your hosts are eager to share a wealth of information with you about the area so you can get the most out of your stay. They will know all the best things to see and places to go, so make sure you ask questions and tell them what you enjoy doing.

We love sharing our property, home, and everything in it with our wonderful guests and want you to enjoy all of it! We ask that you treat things with the same, or better care, that you would treat your own possessions. We provide black washcloths for the removal of makeup and heavy soil and request that you not use our white towels, washcloths, robes and linens to clean your shoes, luggage or anything other than your body. If you accidentally break something or have a spill please let the innkeeper know immediately so that it can be attended to properly.  Many stains become harder to get out the longer they sit so it is best to just call/text the innkeeper and let her know what has happened. If you do spill something on the furniture or the rug just take a towel and blot it up and then call the innkeeper.  Yes, I know I just asked you not to use the white towels for anything other than your bodies but this is an exception. Don’t worry about soiling the towel! Most times it’s less costly to replace a towel than the soiled item. Some of our furnishings have protection plans on them that require we not clean it ourselves but call a technician instead. We will need to let them know exactly what the spill is. Please do not try to clean it yourself. Accidents happen and honestly most often it is not our guests but us or the staff who have had the accidents or broken something so we completely understand.

There are two things that guests do that really make us feel like we did an exceptional job and made some new friends in the process. Neither is expected but they are both very much appreciated.

1. There is absolutely nothing that expresses to us that our guests have had a great experience at the Main Street Inn more than when they help us promote our business by taking the time to write online reviews and share their experience with those who might be considering a stay with us. It’s meaningful for precisely the reason that it takes time to do it.  Most of the people who come to stay with us have very hectic, full lives and are here for a much needed respite from family, work, stress, and everything that demands their time in a 24 hour day- seven days a week!  We know that when they check out completely relaxed and rejuvenated, they are going back to all of those time demands and really won’t have time to write reviews.  The ones that honor us with a review or two don’t have any extra time than those who don’t write them but they make the time and that’s why it means so much to us. Reviews on TripAdvisor, Google, Yelp, and our Facebook page are critical to growing our business and are the number 1 way that you can express to us that we have made you happy during your stay.
2. The second thing that always surprises and delights us is when guests leave a gratuity.  Over the years this has come in the form of more than just monetary tips.  We have had guests leave lovely notes with special little gifts, trinkets and treats.  Jason & Kathy are givers by nature.  We love to love on and lavish goodies on our guests so when they turn the table on us and go out of their way during their stay to love on us it makes us feel super special and appreciated. We have noticed that oftentimes those who leave a gratuity write reviews for us even before we have the chance to ask them to do it! Some people aren’t sure if it’s ok to leave a gratuity at a bed and breakfast. If we exceeded your expectations and you would like to do so yes, it’s ok but you are in no way obligated to do so – we are honored and delighted to serve everyone who walks through our doors.