Today we’d like to introduce you to Roan Poulter.
Hi Roan , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My Wife and I were looking to relocate from Utah. We found a house built in the 1870’s that had fallen on hard times. As we had remodeled homes before, we thought this would be a fun challenge. We started by tenting for Termites, then replacing the entire roof, jacking up one side of the house, replacing the electrical and much of the plumbing. But what emerged from all that was an original Florida Manor house. We had taken a year long sabbatical, so we thought it would be fun to theme rooms, one with decorations from New Orleans, another with items from Mexico and South America. As we only had two children, we thought it might be interesting to rent out a room or two. We chose The Wayward Traveler’s Inn as a name to court exactly the types of clients we would enjoy.
We sold the Bed and Breakfast in 2018 to fund full time travel. For 7 years we rode motorcycles across America all on dirt roads, Sailed a boat around the Eastern half of the United States, the Bahamas and from Mexico to Panama. We drove a van to Prudhoe bay Alaska and down to Guatemala before being turned around with COVID.
Last year the new owners decided they needed to move on, so we took the property back and are happy to share even more travel adventures with our guests. We are a small operation, only having Five Guest rooms, but that allows us the opportunity to connect with every guest. We host a monthly Bluegrass Jam and Writer’s group (As I have published five books in total now).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
150 years is a long time. The property is chuck full of charm, but she takes a tremendous amount of upkeep. Luckily that’s something we are not only skilled at, but enjoy doing.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Roan Poulter has published 5 books to date. He writes about travel as a metaphor for personal growth. He won an Honorable mention in the Utah Division of Arts Original Writing Contest and was picked up by Kindle Scout Publishing. He enjoys the creative process and sharing inspiration to others. He started Redemption Art a 501(c)3 in Utah that worked to support the arts with underserved populations such as Disabled Veterans, Homeless populations and the incarcerated. He plays a reasonably passable acoustic guitar in his monthly Bluegrass Jam.
Karrie Poulter shared her amazing Photography and Inspirational travel stories across multiple platforms.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
We chose not to be mentored in the Bed and Breakfast. It seemed that too many other owners we met or spoke with were living nightmares. Instead we chose to start small and grow the business to what we felt comfortable with. We also don’t advertise in any conventional sense. We prefer first hand accounts garnering word of mouth business and return guests. This makes us happy, has created a reliable income stream and kept us smiling as each guest arrives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thewaywardtravelersinn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewaywardtravelers/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waywardtravelersinn
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr-AAncoYp74w2ExSYk90mA/
Image Credits
Roan Poulter, Karrie Poulter
