About Modern Vermont Innkeeping

Most people imagine innkeeping as a dream life: welcoming guests, serving elegant meals, and enjoying sunsets over Lake Champlain. For twenty-six years, I lived that dream—and the reality behind it.

Modern Vermont Innkeeping is the story of my family's journey as owners of the historic North Hero House, a lakeside inn in the heart of Vermont's Champlain Islands. What began as an ambitious leap into hospitality became a decades-long adventure filled with unforgettable guests, unexpected challenges, financial risks, family drama, community involvement, and more than a few moments that were stranger than fiction.

This memoir takes readers behind the scenes of a business that never truly closes. Guests arrive with their own stories, personalities, and expectations, while innkeepers juggle staffing shortages, aging buildings, weather emergencies, kitchen crises, weddings, celebrations, and the countless surprises that come with operating a historic property. Along the way, I discovered that running an inn isn't just about hospitality—it's about resilience, adaptability, and learning to laugh when everything goes wrong.

At its heart, this is also a family story. Like many families, ours was imperfect, unconventional, and occasionally chaotic. The challenges we faced together often became the source of our greatest growth, our funniest stories, and our most meaningful memories. Readers who enjoy memoirs about family relationships, entrepreneurship, and small-town life will find plenty to recognize in these pages.

Set against the backdrop of one of Vermont's most beautiful regions, Modern Vermont Innkeeping offers a candid look at the realities behind a romantic profession. It is a story about building a business, becoming part of a community, welcoming thousands of guests, and navigating the unpredictable twists that life inevitably delivers.

Whether you've stayed at the North Hero House, dreamed of running a bed and breakfast, owned a small business, or simply enjoy stories about the people and places that make communities special, I hope you'll find something familiar—and perhaps even inspiring—within these pages.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.
— Walter Blasberg

The memoirist behind 'Modern Vermont Innkeeping' is an engaging storyteller who has spent 26 years running the North Hero House. Their narrative beautifully weaves personal experiences with the rich tapestry of Vermont's innkeeping culture, offering readers a heartfelt glimpse into the joys and challenges of hospitality.