Inn Consultants & Brokerage for Distinct Lodging Properties
Thank you for your interest in our inn consultants and broker services for the bed and breakfast, boutique hotel/motel, cabin/cottage and related lodging industries.
Mission Statement
The B&B Team® inn consultants help our clients reach their personal and financial goals in the Innkeeping industry.
The B&B Team®
The B&B Team® is a full-service inn brokerage and consulting firm with its principal office in Vermont. As bed and breakfast inn consultants and brokers, we can help you buy or sell a bed and breakfast inn anywhere in the country. Our consulting for current and aspiring innkeepers is nationwide, and we have served clients from Maine to Florida and from New Jersey to Washington state (and have even consulted with properties as far as Mexico, Canada, Scotland, and France!).
We are Eben Viens, Marilyn Bushnell, David Hiler, Julie Pankey, and Kim Williams.
Eben Viens has a long history within the hospitality industry. His early years were spent under the wing of Inn guru Bill Oates and behind the scenes at two historic New England Country Inns. He has worked on behalf of countless Inn Buyers and Sellers over the last 12 years and draws on his background in anthropology and passion for hospitality design (in all things) in his work as owner and managing partner of The B&B Team®. Eben is based in Vermont but spends most of his time visiting Inn owners throughout the country, extracting stories from financial statements, and enjoying authentic expressions of hospitality.
Marilyn Bushnell is a Broker and owner of Bushnell & Bushnell Services, a real estate brokerage and consulting company dedicated to helping aspiring and current innkeepers achieve their goals in the independent lodging industry. She and her late husband, Scott, owned and operated The Lafayette Inn in Easton, PA for 10 years. During her 25+ years in the innkeeping industry, Marilyn has served as volunteer staff for the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII), the Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals (AIHP), and the Association of Lodging Professionals (ALP). In appreciation of the generous work she and her husband performed for the innkeeping industry, ALP created an endowed innkeeper’s scholarship. She has also served on committees of various Realtors’ organizations. Marilyn currently lives in Baltimore, MD, where she grew up. Prior to entering the innkeeping trade, she held Human Resources Management positions at McCormick & Co., Gilroy Foods and Proctor & Gamble.
David Hiler currently owns and operates the Whetstone Station Brewery, Kampfires Campground, Inn and Amphitheater, and The River Garden Marketplace, all in and around Brattleboro, Vermont. From his early twenties to the present, David amassed over 35 years of Restaurant and Inn experience; the early part spent attending Hospitality Management school in San Francisco and managing the California division of the Hard Rock Café. From 1999-2005 David and his parents, Heide Bredfeldt and Bill Oates, rebuilt the Three Mountain Inn in Jamaica, Vermont, into a profitable, four-diamond AAA-rated, Wine Spectator Award-winning Country Inn and Restaurant. David has owned, leased, and managed properties. developed staff and management training methodologies, performed speaking engagements for leading industry organizations, published articles in hospitality publications and served as Inn consultant to Gordon Ramsey on the hit TV series Hotel Hell. David’s most recent experiences in the food and beverage industry have given him a unique and hands-on view of what contemporary guests desire. He looks forward to joining The B&B Team to offer his services to those looking for expert help with finding or managing their existing properties.
Julie Pankey is the Southern-Maine-based spa and wellness tourism expert of The B&B Team®. With over 25 years of experience, she has contributed to the development of multiple brands within the health, wellness, spa and tourism sectors. A few notable brands are Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Spa at Norwich Inn, Marriott International, Cliff House Resort and Spa, Catania Hospitality, Pacifica Hotels, Sebasco Harbor Resort, Hermann Hill and many more. Julie also has created The SpaHive Community to connect spa, wellness and hospitality professionals through a private online community, education sessions, pop-up boutiques and special events.
Kim Williams is the owner of KK Williams Consulting LLC. She has spent many years consulting both Buyers and Sellers regarding the purchase and/or selling of lodging properties across the country. She has lived and worked in Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the past 26 years. Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest-growing metroplexes in the country. Many corporate giants such as Walmart, Tyson’s and JB Hunt are based there. The area is annually listed among the top 5 places to move to and raise a family. Kim now resides in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and continues to work as a Broker with Coldwell Banker K-C Realty in Eureka Springs where she has had great success listing and selling residential and commercial properties as well as Bed and Breakfast, cabins, treehouses, and other lodging resorts. As a Consultant with The B&B Team®, Kim has developed a personal bond with her clients and continues to create smooth and successful transactions both locally as well as across the country. Kim Williams at KK Williams Consulting looks forward to assisting you with your real estate needs.
If your goals are to be successful while enjoying life as an innkeeper, The B&B Team® is ready to lend a helping hand. Simply put, our inn consultants will help you reach your goals with our guidance. Our job is to tell you what you need to know, so you can make educated decisions about what serves your best interests. You can count on us to be frank in our assessments. And we have a passionate commitment to client communications.
We believe in the power of association and associations and are members and supporters of many state and national innkeeping associations. We are very proud to be founding Legacy Members of the Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals, now the Association of Lodging Professionals (ALP) who are working hard to forge a powerful and inclusive association of professionals in the unique hospitality industry.
Other memberships include:
Select Registry: Distinguished Inns of North America (Select Registry®)
Association of Lodging Professionals (ALP)
StayVA, formerly Bed & Breakfast Association of Virginia (STAYVA)
North Carolina Bed & Breakfast Inns (NCBBI)
South Carolina Bed & Breakfast Association (SCBBA)
Hospitality Maine (HM)
Florida Bed & Breakfast Inns Association (FBBI)
Maryland Bed & Breakfast Association (MBBA)
Pennsylvania Tourism & Lodging Association (PT&LA)
Pennsylvania Association of Bed & Breakfast Inns (PABBI)
Wisconsin Bed & Breakfast Association (WBBA)
Vermont Lodging Association (VLA)
National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)
We speak frequently at innkeeping conferences around the country about a wide range of issues designed to help innkeepers reach their goals. Let us know if you’re looking for engaging industry presenters.