Gwenn David and Randy Hodges, outside their home on Monday, Jan. 17, have experienced joys and challenges in Manitou.
No one could accuse Gwenn David and Randy Hodges of not earning some down time. They moved to Manitou Springs 13 years ago and soon leaped into business ownership and community involvement.
In December 2008, the couple purchased the property at 711 Manitou Ave. and dug into renovating it, a process David calls a “labor of love.”
They spent 30 days painting, hanging wallpaper, refinishing the floors, adding a gas insert for the fireplace, updating kitchen counters, flooring and carpet, and buying beds and linens. The Avenue Hotel Bed & Breakfast opened for business in February 2009.
“Owning and operating the B&B was an experience of a lifetime. We loved meeting people from all over the world. In our 12 years of operation, we met people from every state and 14 countries,” said David, a Michigan native.
Her favorite part of the job was cooking breakfast, baking and preparing guest packages.
“We enjoyed being downtown and loved the historic building we lived in,” she added.
But no surprise, it takes a lot of maintenance to keep a structure built in 1916 looking good and working well — especially when thousands of people visit it every year.
Hodges handled that part, keeping ahead of repairs while they kept updating and improving the property. The main building is 6,429 square feet, with 13 bedrooms and 10 baths, and the duplex out back is 1,162 square feet, with two bedrooms and two baths.
For David, the biggest challenge was learning how to use the internet to market the B&B.
“I had to learn website editing, food photography, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, emails and blog writing,” she said.
And finding part-time workers to help with increased summer business was always difficult.
As Hodges and David started to prepare for retirement, they decided to put the Avenue Hotel on the market. It went up for sale in fall 2019 and sold in October 2020.
“With the changes we were seeing in lodging over the years we owned the B&B, such as Airbnb, VRBO and the changes COVID brought on us, we knew it was likely the property would not remain a B&B,” David said.
Rod and Cindy Schmidt purchased the property and turned its focus to larger groups, such as reunions and family vacations for 16 to 20 people.
In January 2016, David and Hodges bought Whickerbill Gifts at 906 Manitou Ave., No. 102, as part of their retirement plan. Unfortunately, it closed earlier this month.
“There was not enough in sales to keep us going. So many people shop online,” David said.
All this time, both Hodges and David were involved in community service.
Hodges, a native of the plains east of Pueblo, was appointed to the Open Space Advisory Committee and the Historic Preservation Commission. He was a six-year member of City Council and a seven-year member, then president, of the Metropolitan Parking District; his term on the Manitou Arts, Culture, and Heritage board ends in July.
On top of all that, Hodges has worked full-time engineering corporate security systems, electronic door locks, badge readers and closed-circuit TV systems. He’ll continue for the foreseeable future.
David has served on the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce board of directors for more than six years, including four years as president. Since she’s no longer a business owner, she’ll remain as past president and serve as the board’s community representative.
“So many joys and challenges with our community service,” she said.
After 50 years of working, David is ready to take some time off to decide what’s next for her. They’re looking forward to having weekends to be with family, explore the mountains and travel.
And now, they’ll have more time for events and activities in the community they love.