Middlebury College Provides Clientele and Staff for

Author: Kelsey Rinehart

As class after class enters and eventually leaves Middlebury College, hundreds of prospective students, new Middlebury parents, as well as veteran moms, dads and relatives attending graduation flood the town each year. Local hotel managers and hosts of bed and breakfasts break these guests down into "newcomers" — visiting prospectives and their parents — and "regulars" — customers who stay every move-in day and Family Weekend for their child's four years at the College.
There are several inns in Middlebury that host this influx of guests, and they each have a historical significance quite independent from the College.
One of the town's most visible inns, the Middlebury Inn, has been providing rooms for over 172 years. Owned by Frank and Jane Emanuel, the Middlebury Inn's three-story brick centerpiece building holds 50 rooms, which are often booked months in advance for graduation and Family Weekend.
The Inn on the Green, a restored 1803 National Historic Register Landmark looking out on the Middlebury green, is another of Middlebury's traditional inns. Innkeepers Micki and Steve Paddock not only host visitors to the College, they also employ its students.
Said Paddock, "We've had alums and students who were in school who've come for weekend or evening jobs during the school year. We had one alum with us for about four years. That's been a nice relationship to have."
The Swift House Inn, which is set inside an area of groomed gardens, was named for Samuel Swift, who served the Middlebury community as a lawyer, legislator and historian. The Main House, built in 1814 by Swift, has been home to several famous Middlebury families. Today, Donna Lee Phillips is the innkeeper of one of Middlebury's mainstays of history.
Middlebury is also home to several bed and breakfasts, or B & Bs, offering a cozy room and a well-cooked country breakfast to visitors. Among the B & Bs are the Fairhill Bed and Breakfast, an 1825 farmhouse whose breakfast area was once an 18th century granary, and the Middlebury Bed and Breakfast, which became the first bed and breakfast home-stay in the town in 1989. Today, Liz Hunt, owner of the Middlebury Bed and Breakfast, maintains the family business.
Hunt said that guests visiting Middlebury College greatly contribute to her business — during the fall the B&B relies heavily on the turning leaves and the buzzing College. "When it's foliage season, there are people here in the middle of the week, and then for parents weekend we'll have guests as well."
Fairhill B & B hosts Fleur and Russel Laslocky agreed with Hunt that the College is crucial to their business. "It's 90 percent College-related, 10 percent tourism," Laslocky estimated. The Laslockys say they get the most business between graduation and Homecoming.
Marie Highter, owner of A Point of View, a homey B & B on Middlebury's scenic Munger Street, said that the College was certainly a factor in her decision to open her house to guests. "I think Middlebury College brings a lot of well-known, interesting people to the area and to my business, too. I always enjoy having guests from the College," Highter said. Highter even saves literature and newspaper clippings about the school, so that she can stay abreast on College news.
Because of the high number of visitors to Middlebury College, local inns and bed and breakfasts enjoy a more stable source of income than similar businesses outside the area. One steady source of business throughout the year is visiting students and their parents, who come to College information sessions and tours throughout the year. Paddock said, "The number of parents and students visiting has just exploded. I think that almost every night there is at least one family here that's going to tour the College. We're small, but we certainly notice that."
Contrary to what many frustrated parents believe, the inns are not always full. "It's not always overcrowded ... There's a definite season here. The crunch of rooms only happens maybe four times a year; it keeps plugging along," Paddock said.
Paddock stated, "The fact that Middlebury College is in Middlebury is just gigantic for the whole town. Middlebury, the town, would not be Middlebury without the College. It gives the town that base of support that the other small towns don't have." The College, however, is certainly not the town's only attraction. Paddock noted, "Middlebury itself, the town, is a tourist attraction. It is such a nice town that having the College here as well has enabled Middlebury to grow and be a really stable town."
The Middlebury College community and the hotels, inns and B & Bs of the area have occupied the town together since the beginning of the 19th century, and will continue this coexistence for years to come. As Paddock put it, "We each count on the other to be there."