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Running a Maine Resort This Summer Was No Vacation

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Running a Maine Resort This Summer Was No Vacation


BAR HARBOR, Maine—On a latest Wednesday on the Bar Harbor Inn, basic supervisor Jeremy Dougherty’s day began with a textual content saying an worker had Covid-19 and can be out sick, including to a summer time pileup of absences and staffing shortages.

There was rainwater leaking from the ceiling of the lodge restaurant and an worker who wanted to crash on the lodge following a dispute along with her roommate. Throughout Mr. Dougherty’s patrols of the property, which is nearly absolutely booked from Mom’s Day to mid-October, he picked trash off the grass and scooped up room-service trays from hallways.

Days like this are not uncommon at this standard New England trip spot. “Day by day is full-capacity and we merely should make it occur,” mentioned Mr. Dougherty, the lodge’s basic supervisor.

A surge in demand, prices and costs collided this summer time with extreme labor shortages, resulting in some robust decisions for hospitality properties throughout the U.S. Inns minimize housekeeping, eating places minimize hours and a few providers grew to become automated—sometimes by robots. Costs for labor and provides rose whereas homeowners and managers struggled to recruit again staff laid off earlier within the pandemic.

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The Bar Harbor Inn, which began within the 1800s as a social and literary membership, grew to become an inn in 1950. It has 153 rooms.

These identical trials examined the Bar Harbor Inn, a historic property in Maine that opens from mid-March via November every season. Surrounded by rocky seashores and lobster boats, it started as a social and literary membership in 1887 that drew rich summer time guests such because the Vanderbilts and Pulitzers. Throughout World Struggle II, it grew to become an commentary headquarters for the Navy, and in 1950 opened as an inn. One standard draw for the 153-room, five-building complicated is close by Acadia Nationwide Park, which spans greater than 37,000 acres and attracts hundreds of thousands of holiday makers yearly.

Like virtually all motels across the nation, the Bar Harbor Inn closed through the early phases of the pandemic and had restricted demand as soon as it opened for the 2020 season. Bookings skyrocketed in 2021 when lockdowns lifted and remained sturdy this 12 months as Individuals scratched their journey itch, aided by the financial savings they’d amassed in lockdown. Occupancy is up 11 proportion factors via August in comparison with the final prepandemic season, in 2019. Labor prices are up 24% from 2021 because the lodge pays staff extra, however room charges additionally rose to maintain tempo with surging inflation. Room income is up 12.7% via August in contrast with the identical interval final 12 months.

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The duty of managing the present surge in demand falls to Mr. Dougherty, 41, an Military veteran and ultramarathoner who obtained his begin within the hospitality trade as a safety guard and labored his technique to administration roles at motels within the Phoenix space. He set himself a aim of changing into a basic supervisor by the age of 35 and achieved that at 33 with a startup lodge firm in Tempe, Ariz. In 2017, he, his spouse and their two youngsters moved throughout the nation to Bar Harbor so he might take the highest job on the Bar Harbor Inn, which is owned by Maine-based Witham Household Inns.

Jeremy Dougherty obtained his begin within the hospitality trade as a safety guard. He grew to become basic supervisor of the Bar Harbor Inn in 2017.

The brand new environment had been an adjustment. One shock for Mr. Dougherty, he mentioned, was that some workers had “lumberjack beards.” One other was how laborious it was to seek out youthful seasonal staff in a state that has the very best median age within the nation, in line with the newest U.S. census information. That obtained even harder as soon as the labor market tightened through the pandemic.

The lodge has raised wages in an try to lure and retain extra staff. In 2019, front-desk attendants made $13 an hour, and now they start at $17 an hour—nicely above the state’s minimal wage of $12.75. But this 12 months not a single individual got here to the three job gala’s Bar Harbor Inn held on totally different days in numerous places. Up to now, Mr. Dougherty says at the least 75 folks would present as much as every one.

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Like many companies in Maine, the Bar Harbor Inn has lengthy relied on staff, primarily from Jamaica, who come to the U.S. on seasonal employee, or H-2B, visas. The H-2B staff now make up about 35% of the inn’s workforce of roughly 160.

However Mr. Dougherty discovered that recruiting international staff isn’t a surefire technique to fill positions, both. Though the lodge employs about 30% extra H-2B staff than it did in 2019, the variety of staff who can return is unsure 12 months to 12 months. The federal authorities instituted a nationwide lottery for these visas in 2019 resulting from what it says was intense competitors, and the inn has struggled with staffing shortages whereas ready for accredited staff to reach, Mr. Dougherty says.

One such worker in that place this 12 months was Alax McCalla, a 31-year-old seasonal employee from Jamaica, who has been working summers on the Bar Harbor Inn since 2016 and depends on the job for many of his annual revenue. He says he often arrives in March, however this 12 months wasn’t in a position to arrive till early July as a result of the nationwide lottery reached its preliminary cap with out awarding him a visa. He obtained it as a part of an extra spherical of approvals designed to assist alleviate the nation’s labor scarcity.

The server now picks up additional shifts to make up for the months he misplaced and sends cash residence to his grandmother, who’s going via most cancers therapy, and to his girlfriend, who’s anticipating a child in September. He’s “at all times working,” he says. “That’s what I’m right here for.”

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Bar Harbor Inn basic supervisor Jeremy Dougherty meets with colleagues on the resort throughout a morning workers assembly.
In the course of the lunch hour, visitors and different patrons pack the patio at Bar Harbor Inn’s Terrace Grille, which overlooks Frenchman Bay.

Bar Harbor Inn basic supervisor Jeremy Dougherty, left, meets with colleagues on the resort throughout a morning workers assembly. In the course of the lunch hour, visitors and different patrons pack the patio on the resort’s Terrace Grille, proper.

The employee shortages go away the lodge with roughly the identical variety of workers members it had in 2019, in line with Mr. Dougherty, regardless of the rise in demand for rooms over the past two seasons. If he might, Mr. Dougherty says, he would rent 20 to 25 extra staff. He hopes to usher in 15% to 25% extra H-2B staff for subsequent 12 months.

Many workers are logging additional hours so the lodge can provide every part it offered earlier than the pandemic, from day by day housekeeping to room service. This 12 months, workers are projected to work greater than twice as a lot additional time than in 2019, the final supervisor says. The corporate presents staffers the chance to work one other job on the lodge as a substitute of looking for second jobs elsewhere, which offers them with extra additional time. That observe, which began final 12 months, comes on the danger of workers burnout, says Mr. Dougherty, whereas noting that many of those workers would hunt down a number of jobs even when the lodge didn’t provide them.

A method Mr. Dougherty works to spice up morale is by approaching workers on his rounds to debate every part from profession ambitions with school college students to homesickness with staff from different international locations. On this present day, he additionally stopped to see a cook dinner who talked about he wanted assist protecting some overdue dental work. Mr. Dougherty advised him he would look into contributing among the firm’s worker aid fund—which presents as much as $1,000 per request and is funded by worker and firm donations.

“We find out about every part that’s occurring in folks’s lives,” Mr. Dougherty says.

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Discovering seasonal staff and preserving them wholesome and motivated is tough sufficient. Touchdown them a spot to remain is one other riddle Mr. Dougherty has to unravel. Accessible housing is so scarce that Mr. Dougherty mentioned that he let an worker sleep in his above-garage residence earlier this 12 months whereas he seemed for house. Provide is tight partly as a result of staff should compete with vacationers for leases every season.

Jeremy Dougherty, left, likes to ask after workers on his rounds. Right here he talks with Fitzroy Walters, a breakfast line cook dinner.

The lodge proprietor, Witham Household Inns, has tried to unravel the problem by creating housing for its staff. It bought its first residence for that goal in 1987, and presently owns six single-family properties, 4 duplexes and 23 residence models. In these areas it homes 235 of its 430 workers who work for its eight properties within the space. This 12 months it charged them $65 every week for a shared house, up barely from $60 every week in 2018.

Witham Chief Government David Witham additionally labored with native officers to present detailed enter on zoning adjustments for worker dwelling quarters in Bar Harbor. This was finished to assist relieve strain on denser residential neighborhoods dominated by year-round residents. Witham now plans to construct a $6 million worker dorm-style constructing in Bar Harbor that can home roughly 84 staff.

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As a result of about half of Bar Harbor Inn’s workers dwell in worker housing, Mr. Dougherty says 20% of his job is dedicated to managing points that consequence from these lodging, although some days it takes up 100%. Relying on the day, the drama can get difficult. On this specific Wednesday in August, he needed to navigate a dispute between workers sharing an area.

“It’s like ‘The Bachelor,’” he says.

Mr. Dougherty has to fret in regards to the satisfaction of holiday makers, too, as demand for rooms surges whereas the ratio of staffers to visitors drops. The Bar Harbor Inn is charging 10% to fifteen% extra for rooms this 12 months than final. Mr. Dougherty and Mr. Witham say they may cost extra, however don’t wish to elevate expectations past the service they will present or alienate their buyer base. Summer season room charges vary from $449 an evening to $1,000 an evening.

Mr. Dougherty oversees greater than a dozen managers who work with the seasonal workers. In a gathering with a few of these managers, Mr. Dougherty distributed packets of each visitor remark and the rating rating left on suggestions surveys for every part from room situation to meals high quality, after which proceeded to learn every of the handfuls of feedback aloud.

Many praised the friendliness of the workers, day by day housekeeping and the fistbumps from bellmen Errol England and Harry Blair. Some additionally complained in regards to the choices on the continental breakfast. Mr. Dougherty nonetheless hears in regards to the gradual Wi-Fi, despite the fact that it was upgraded final 12 months.

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The Bar Harbor Inn overlooks Frenchman Bay and is close to Acadia Nationwide Park, which attracts hundreds of thousands of holiday makers annually.

The excellent news is that sure visitor scores measuring the efficiency of workers and repair both stayed constant or rose. However the general worth rating capturing what visitors really feel they obtain for what they paid has declined just a few factors since June.

“The place final 12 months they had been like, ‘Hey thanks a lot for simply being right here.’ Now it’s like ‘I’m paying extra money. You must have every part right here,’” Mr. Dougherty says.

Some visitors have made annual pilgrimages to the Bar Harbor Inn for many years, with one celebrating a sixtieth annual keep this summer time. These visitors ship photographs and handwritten notes to Mr. Dougherty, and name forward a 12 months prematurely to e-book the identical room over the identical dates.

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However customer patterns are altering, Mr. Dougherty mentioned, with folks taking a number of journeys to totally different places as a substitute of 1 massive household pilgrimage to the identical place annually. Mr. Dougherty hopes to make visitor stays memorable sufficient that they return sometime.

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What has been totally different about your lodge stays this summer time in contrast with prior years? Be a part of the dialog beneath.

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One in all these newer guests was Christie Malayil-Lincoln, who was on the Bar Harbor Inn along with her household for the primary time. The 46-year-old Houstonian initially thought the worth was steep earlier than she arrived, however the radiologist says she feels she obtained her cash’s price. She cited the situation, cookies within the foyer each afternoon and free stuffed animals given to her two youthful youngsters.

Mr. Dougherty says he is aware of there are some visitors who gained’t be joyful, regardless of greatest efforts. He expects complaints from visitors a few pool heater that broke down earlier within the week. He and his crew scrambled to seek out one other heater, however the pool took time to heat again up.

He returned to his workplace on the finish of the day and checked on the 2 workers who had their roommate dispute, confirming that one can be quickly staying on the lodge as a substitute. Two buckets had been now amassing rainwater from the restaurant roof, which he knew can be repaired within the off season. His dad and mom had been resulting from go to within the morning. Tomorrow can be one other busy day.

Write to Allison Pohle at Allison.Pohle@wsj.com

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Maine

Lobster Roll specialist shutters in Denver, Boulder — for now

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Lobster Roll specialist shutters in Denver, Boulder — for now


Maine Shack, which first opened its doors in Denver in 2019, is closing its two free-standing locations in Colorado, according to the company’s social media pages.

The Boulder store, at 2010 16th St., closed on Sunday, Nov. 3, just a year after it opened.

“This was not an easy decision to make, but with the rising cost of labor and goods, along with current economic challenges facing small businesses, closing Boulder was best for the health of our company,” the message read.

The Denver, 1535 Central St., store will close on Sunday, Nov. 10. “With a rent increase and no security to get us through the summer, it was time to move on,” the message continued.

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But the owners, Drew Ryan and partners Eric Pirritt and John Caprio, said they are looking for a “new and improved space to call home starting in spring/summer 2025,” at least for Denver.

Maine Shack is also opening another location in Florida.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

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Cooper Flagg Excites CBB Fans in Duke Debut as Kon Knueppel, Blue Devils Beat Maine

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Cooper Flagg Excites CBB Fans in Duke Debut as Kon Knueppel, Blue Devils Beat Maine


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Cooper Flagg and the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team started the 2024-25 campaign with a win.

Duke defeated the Maine Black Bears 96-62 in Monday’s season-opening showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium. All eyes were on the freshman, and he opened his highly anticipated season with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals while helping lead his team to a straightforward victory.

He wasn’t the only one who played well, as Kon Knueppel spearheaded the scoring efforts with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal.

But it was Flagg who drew the most reaction on social media, especially after he threw down quite the dunk:

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JWF3 @JamesWFortnerII

Look where he jumps from off 2 feet …. athletic with a 7ft wing span. Geez! https://t.co/65bsdPP032

Steven Padillas @Falcons_Pad

Cooper Flagg is the most unselfish high IQ recruit Duke has had in a while. The game comes to him he doesn’t force it too often.

Mick @DBGyt_

So Cooper Flagg is a lock for #1…

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Amy Murray @VTDukefan

Yeah, that’s unguardable play by Cooper Flagg. So freaking skilled he is!!

Cassidy Brown @TheSasckMask

COOPER FLAGG AGAIN!🐰🐰🐰

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CT @CTFazio24

The baseline with Cooper Flagg is that he doesn’t even have to score a lot to impact the game. Defense is special, makes winning plays

Amy Murray @VTDukefan

The thing that has impressed me a ton with Cooper Flagg is how well he can handle the PG duties. He has great vision on the floor. Love that Duke has another big man that can bring the ball up the court & create plays.

The game was a blowout as expected, but it was still the first chance for college basketball and NBA fans to see Flagg in action. The No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, is one of the most-hyped freshmen in years and will be appointment viewing every time he takes the court.

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Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman projected Flagg as the No. 1 overall pick in his latest mock draft, noting that the 17-year-old “has been considered one of the bigger prizes of the decade.”

His presence is a major reason expectations are once again so high for the powerhouse Blue Devils after they reached the Elite Eight last season, and Monday’s game was an opportunity to set the tone against an overmatched opponent.

Yet it was Knueppel who did just that by pouring in 15 points in the first half alone, four of which came on a four-point play when he was fouled beyond the arc. With Maine focusing plenty of defensive attention on Flagg, he was able to take advantage of open looks and anchor the offense for stretches.

Flagg certainly had his moments in the first half as well, including when he unleashed the monster tomahawk jam to fire up the crowd. He followed that with an assist on a Sion James three and a reverse layup to push the lead to 11 by intermission.

The game was never in doubt, and Duke wasted no time pulling away in the second half with Flagg doing a little bit of everything. Even when he wasn’t the team’s go-to scorer, he was facilitating, battling for boards and playing lockdown defense as the best two-way player on the floor.

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It is a formula that should lead to plenty of wins in what figures to be his only collegiate season, especially if Knueppel proves to be the scoring threat he was Monday. Maine had no answers for the two freshmen, and it isn’t difficult to envision them leading the Blue Devils to plenty of success.

They will look to continue the early momentum Friday when they face Army.





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‘Too many deaths’: Retiring Maine police chief says stress took its toll

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‘Too many deaths’: Retiring Maine police chief says stress took its toll


Citing the impacts of his job on his mental health, the police chief for Baileyville has announced his pending retirement.

Bob Fitzsimmons, who grew up in Baileyville and has been the town’s police chief since 2013, said on the department’s Facebook page that he plans to step down at the end of the year. The rigors and challenges of the job have built up over the years and it is time for someone else to take on his responsibilities, he said.

“It has been a rough 5 years in Woodland for me,” Fitzsimmons said, referring to the town’s informal name. “Too many deaths, too much ugliness to deal with.”

While many police officers and other first responders struggle with mental health challenges associated with their jobs, it’s far less common for them to openly share those struggles on platforms such as Facebook.

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Fitzsimmons said that in his time as Baileyville’s police chief, he has either found or been with 60 people when they died. He said he has received counseling and treatment, and has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

“There will always be another child, another person I have watched grow up, and another person that watched over me. Friends, or friends of friends. It’s never going to stop,” he said.

Fitzsimmons, 60, is known for his posts on the department’s Facebook page, where he would seek volunteers to help out residents or describe his interactions with local children. Often the posts reflected his wry sense of humor, but they also described the real struggles that local people were going through.

He said he has been granted “every courtesy” by the town manager and the council, and that he considers it a privilege to have served as the police chief, and before that with the law enforcement departments in Calais and Pleasant Point. But he said he plans to spend more time with his wife and to work on his mental health so he can enjoy retirement.

“The PD is in great hands now, I just hope I left Woodland just a bit better than it was,” he wrote.

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Fitzsimmons encouraged anyone who has been struggling with their mental health to be open about it and to get help.

“Mental health needs to be treated like any other illness or injury,” he wrote. “It’s ok to talk about it, it’s ok to seek treatment without shame, it’s all gonna be ok.”



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