Georgetown Historic Planner Matt Synatschk hosted a workshop Sept. 5 to get input from residents on how to encourage bed and breakfast businesses to settle in the city.

About 20 people took part in group discussion to identify incentives, marketing strategies and barriers for people opening bed and breakfast businesses in the city.

Groups listed their discussion points and sorted them into categories for Synatschk to review before scheduling a workshop with City Council.

"[We want to] get feedback on ways the city can improve ways for bed and breakfasts to get started," Synatschk said. "We want to build on successes Georgetown has seen in the last 30 years."

A recurring point during the discussion was the high cost of renovating buildings into bed and breakfasts, considering historical preservation limits and fire code requirements.

Multiple groups said there was a need for incentives, such as grants, to offset the costs of making buildings accessible and code-compliant for bed and breakfast businesses.

Phil and Kristy Brown said they tried to open a bed and breakfast in Georgetown last year, but found the installation of a required sprinkler system too expensive and destructive for their 90-year-old home.

"It's an excellent town [for bed and breakfasts]. It has the most potential for a lot of reasons," Phil Brown said.

Kristy Brown said the city could consider scaling the fire code requirements by considering the number of guest bedrooms a potential bed and breakfast would have before determining safety standards.

Phil Brown said he and his wife have not completely abandoned the idea for starting a bed and breakfast.

"If the city were to adopt changes to make it feasible, yes," he said. "As it stands, no."

The city began considering a push for bed and breakfast businesses as part of its signature destination initiative, Synatschk said at the workshop. Georgetown currently has one operating bed and breakfast, he said.

A growing market of heritage tourists who vacation in places where they can immerse themselves in local culture, is the target audience for bed and breakfast clientele, Synatschk said.

In 2012, Georgetown received $60.9 million from tourism, and collected $1.2 million in hotel occupancy taxes, according to Synatschk's presentation.