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Bed and breakfast renaissance Paul Bickford Northern News Services Published Monday, May 28, 2012
Two years ago in June, she and her husband opened Whooping Crane Guest House in a home they have owned since 2005. "It's always been a dream," Aubrey said of owning a bed and breakfast, noting she loves cooking and is a very social person. "That goes with it because you need those skills." As a co-owner of a bed and breakfast, she enjoys meeting the many different visitors to Fort Smith. Whooping Crane Guest Home is a three-level, octagonal log house which offers guest accommodations in two large bedrooms and a self-contained suite. The common room area of the home features an impressive floor-to-ceiling fireplace. "It's very homey here," Aubrey said, explaining the guest home is peaceful and quiet. That cozy atmosphere is enhanced by her own artwork displayed on the walls throughout the home, especially a wide variety of quilts and fibre art. Aubrey noted several new bread and breakfasts have opened in Fort Smith over the last couple of years. "Then you have more than one choice," she said, adding all the new bed and breakfasts have improved the accommodations options in the community in their own ways. Aubrey believes today's travellers are more discriminating about accommodations than in the past. "People started looking at bed and breakfasts in a different way than before," she explained, noting they began seeking a homey atmosphere, prices that meet their budgets and more personal service. Aubrey said her guest house offers extra services in each room, including a flat-screen TV, Internet and private bathrooms. "It's like being in a hotel, but with even more personal service on top of that," she said. In the two years her bed and breakfast has been open, it has hosted guests from many parts of the NWT and Canada, along with international travellers from such places as France, Germany, Holland and the United States. Aubrey has a special connection with visitors from Europe, because she is also from that continent. She moved to Canada from her native France in 1983 and, while she speaks excellent English, it is flavoured with an unmistakable French accent. She studied hotel management for three years in France at a school dedicated to that service. However, she never really got to put those skills to use until she and her husband, Don Aubrey, opened Whooping Crane Guest House. Her grandmother, a chef, also owned a hotel and restaurant in France. "So I kind of grew up with it," Aubrey said of the hospitality business. She still works full-time as a receptionist at the Fort Smith Health Centre, where she has been employed for 20 years, and her husband works with Parks Canada. However, they are looking to the guest house as their future full-time occupation when they retire. "For me, it's a passion, so I think I want to keep it," Aubrey said of running the bed and breakfast. "Now I've experienced it, I love it."
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