Meet Mike and Suzanne | Innkeepers, Bross Hotel

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike and Suzanne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike and Suzanne, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
What was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We moved to Paonia in early 2020, just before the pandemic, to manage the Bross Hotel for the previous owners. It was a career move into hospitality – prior to that Suzanne worked as an architect and Mike worked in historic preservation for the state parks system – and although we had harbored pie in the sky dreams of running an inn of sorts, we had no immediate intentions of being business owners. That was something that happened as we got our feet under ourselves that first season, and also because the building and business happened to be for sale.

What’s one thing about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
There is next to ZERO privacy, especially during the busy season. Although we have our own home about five minutes away from the inn, in addition to working long days phone calls can come in at any hour of the day or night – be it for existing or future reservations, after-hours arrivals, changes to a guest’s itinerary or preferred breakfast time, general questions, or a time-sensitive maintenance issue.

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?
Taking on a tourism-dependent business in the first year of the global Covid outbreak was a huge risk, especially given our lack of experience in the hospitality industry. But even after a six-week closure in the spring of 2020 we saw an incredible amount of potential in the Bross as a more than century-old lodging establishment, and in the North Fork Valley generally as a growing destination here in Colorado. At that particular juncture in our lives we were ready for both a change in career and a change of scenery, and things uncannily fell into place.

Other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
Going in 100% and putting the legacy of the Bross before all else. Whether it was the vision of the first owners, W.T. and Laurah Bross; the masons who constructed the hotel from bricks fired on site out of
Paonia clay; the Andrews family who took on a painstaking multi-year renovation of the building in the 1990s; or one of the many other innkeepers who have stewarded the property over the years, it is undeniably a special place that deserves care and dedication.

What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand?
Letting the bones of this now 117 year-old establishment speak for themselves. Although there is much to be said about the finer details, a large part of the impact of a stay here is literally held in the walls of the building – the bricks, the woodwork, the wavy glass in the original windows, the creak of the wood floors in the entrance lobby and the dining room. We put a lot of ourselves into creating a place of respite for travelers, and into the meals that they eat, but the backdrop for all of that is the building itself and the work of everyone who came before us.

What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
Asking a guest to leave before the end of their planned stay. We won’t go into the details, and the decision was warranted, but it was an uncomfortable situation and a decision we hope to not have to be forced to make again anytime soon.

Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?
Although during our busy months it’s generally full gas from dawn to dusk every day that we’re open, our time management has improved over the past three years through the benefit of experience in the day-to-day. We’ve also made improvements to efficiency in the realm of detailed menu planning and food shopping/prep, and – new in 2023 – being closed one night per week June through October. It took much scrutiny of recent years’ booking history and our budget to be comfortable with forsaking that potential revenue, but getting a regular break even if it’s only one night each week will hopefully pay off in mental health dividends.

Do you have a favorite quote or affirmation? What does it mean to you / what do you like about it?
2020 pretty much ran on the adage “Fake it ‘til you make it”. Since then we frequently turn to Elsie de Wolfe’s “Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you”. Without being overly cheeky or trite, it’s a reminder that hospitality is our number one reason for being here, and the guest experience is the focal point of that.

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?
While we both have artistic leanings and an aesthetic eye, we fell into this career path more than pursued it. That being said, having the independence and autonomy to make our own decisions – whether that be a choice in paint color or window treatment or the garnish for a new breakfast dish – is something that suits us both. We both relish food, and working in a setting that lets us create menus that help elevate the often-overlooked meal of breakfast is both a challenge and a reward unto itself.

What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want people to remember about you?
The Bross Hotel was here long before us and will continue to be here long after, so in a sense we’re just caretakers in an ongoing line of many. There’s a certain satisfaction in knowing that our work is contributing to something that we know will outlast us.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are the owners and full-time managers of the historic Bross Hotel, a 117-year-old inn in Paonia on Colorado’s Western Slope. We are open 9 months of the year – March through November – and while visitors travel to or through Paonia for a variety of reasons, the top draws include the wine industry, local agriculture, and outdoor recreation including hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and river trips. We can’t say enough good things about many of the local farmers, ranchers, grape growers and winemakers, with whom we collaborate and whose work is truly the backbone of our valley.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, the historic mill site in Marble, the Grand Mesa, and of course some of the fantastic wineries here in the North Fork Valley. The mill site, located next to the Crystal River in Marble (south of Redstone, about 6 miles off of Highway 133) is a park featuring the remnants of a large marble mill constructed between 1896 and 1905. Stone from the Yule Marble Quarry was used to construct monuments as far away as Washington DC, including both the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Today, visitors can stroll amongst the stone piers that supported the immense fabrication building and see cast-offs of the marble manufacturing process scattered across the landscape. Not only that, but if you visit between May and October you can also treat yourself to some fine barbecue at Slow Groovin’.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our parents! Especially Suzanne’s dad Chuck, without whose unwavering support we would not be here doing the work we do. We would also be remiss in not giving a huge bit of thanks to Kevin and Karen Kropp, the previous owners of the Bross who took a chance on hiring us to run the inn for them – while we like to think that it worked out for everyone, were it not for that serendipitous first introduction in January 2020 who knows what we’d be doing now?

Website: www.brosshotel.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/brosshotel

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/paonia