Van Cleve Returns to Wolfeboro Inn as Director of Sales By Kathy Eaton
WOLFEBORO – Returning to the Wolfeboro Inn after a hiatus of five years, Lucy Van Cleve is back as the Inn's director of sales and determined to fill all amenities and guest rooms on the property and keep them filled.
"I'm calling everyone who has a telephone and an ear, " she said. "I know what we have here on this side of Lake Winnipesaukee – this is a unique property in a beautiful lakeside town. We have an authentic New England pub, guest rooms, event and meeting rooms and…our own boat, the Winnipesaukee Belle!"
The Wolfeboro Inn on North Main Street will reopen this spring after completing more than four million dollars worth of renovations over the winter.
"It's like having a whole new hotel," said Van Cleve. "Everything's been redone in an Adirondack style; it's like a new property."
Van Cleve said the Inn's new owners, Hay Creek Hospitality, "are very structured, and that's a good thing. You need that in this business."
The "business" is hospitality, and it's been in Van Cleve's blood since she was nineteen and began working as a waitress in Dallas, Texas where she was born and raised.
She quickly went from waitress to restaurant/room service manager, "my first salaried position," she added laughing. "What I love most about hospitality is the teamwork aspect of it all. You must work as a team if you're going to succeed. There's always something that needs doing, and all those crazy shifts? I even love those."
Van Cleve came to Wolfeboro in the early 1990s to visit family, and stayed. Working as a waitress and bartender at the Wolfeboro Inn under then Events Coordinator Karen Beranger, Van Cleve put herself through Southern New Hampshire University and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business in 1999.
"I did a practice interview with Tom Kenney who owned the Wolfeboro Inn at the time," she said. "Karen had just given her notice; she was taking a job as general manager of the Centennial in Concord. After I finished the interview Tom asked me if I wanted her job and I said, ‘I sure do!"
In 2004 Van Cleve moved on as general manager of the Kearsarge Inn in North Conway where she worked with the owners restoring and establishing the fifteen-room hotel. "I was doing everything from decorating to marketing; it was great," she said.
But when she heard Karen Beranger was returning to the Wolfeboro Inn as general manager Van Cleve decided to send in her resume. "But Karen called me first. "
"Karen and I share the same passion for this property…the same vision. I'm so excited to be part of this team!"
Van Cleve has been touched by the warm welcome back she has received from the Wolfeboro community. "I love this town and we're going to make some things happen at the Inn that will be good for Wolfeboro."
For starters, "We need to bring sixty weddings to Wolfeboro every year," she said. She regrets that likely won't happen this summer, "But next year," she said with a wink, "We've got a good start on next year already!"
"One of my biggest goals is to bring in corporate events like off-site management retreats. They're a challenge to book, but we have the right atmosphere – relaxed, and the amenities these people like. We can do it.
"Everyone I talk to is excited about the changes at the Wolfeboro Inn. That's helping." She's talking with senior citizen groups and retirement homes about daytrips to Wolfeboro. "We're packaging a ride on the Winnipesaukee Belle with lunch at Wolfe's Tavern. We'll be sure they have some time to shop while they're in town too!"
Van Cleve is determined to go after the motor coach business. "It's important, especially during the fall foliage season. I know that from (my job experience at) the Kearsarge Inn! The bus tours don't come to Wolfeboro, and we want to change that."
Van Cleve hopes to work closely with the Wolfeboro Chamber of Commerce's Marketing Committee to coordinate promotions that will benefit other businesses in town as well as the Wolfeboro Inn.
As part of the Inn's grand reopening celebration planned for early July the community will have a chance to see the "new" Inn as well as ride the Belle.
"We're looking for ideas and suggestions. We want to hear from people in Wolfeboro. Call me!" she said, and she means it!
Anyone wishing to learn more about what The Wolfeboro Inn has to offer for a function, corporate retreat, or special event may call Lucy Van Cleve at 603-569-3016.