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.
