When Geoff and Nicole Skidmore traded their California corporate careers for a 13-room lakefront bed and breakfast in Poland, Maine, they thought the pandemic pivot would be their biggest challenge. They had no idea that their real test would come just months later, running a hospitality business while caring for a newborn, all while trying to master the complex art of revenue management in a market they barely knew.
For Nicole, owning a bed and breakfast wasn’t just a pandemic-inspired career change, it was a childhood dream born from summers spent at her grandparents’ inn in Chatham, Cape Cod. “She’d been dreaming about this since she was a little girl,” Geoff recalls. When COVID-19 created an opportunity to leave their corporate lives behind, Geoff was fully on board with making that dream a reality.
The Wolf Cove Inn, perched on the shores of Tripp Lake just 40 minutes from Portland, represented everything they’d hoped for: 12 unique guest rooms, a private cabin, farm-to-table dining, and the chance to create the kind of intimate hospitality experience Nicole had witnessed growing up.
The timeline tells the story: Nicole was six months pregnant when they bought the inn. Four months after moving cross-country and taking over the business, their son arrived. Suddenly, they weren’t just learning how to run a bed and breakfast—they were doing it on no sleep with a newborn in tow.
“That’s where life got very crazy,” Geoff admits. Their initial attempts at yield management through outsourcing quickly gave way to DIY rate-setting, trying to interpret market data while making it “fair to our guests.” But between 2 AM feedings and guest check-ins, managing dynamic pricing became one task too many.
Geoff first noticed TakeUp at an industry conference, hearing “word on the street” about this new AI-powered revenue management system. What caught his attention wasn’t just the technology, it was the human element. “It’s not just complete AI,” he explains. “There’s a lot of human element to it.”
The timing couldn’t have been better. As new parents and new innkeepers simultaneously, they needed a solution that could work intelligently in the background while they focused on their guests and their baby.
“Truth be told, because of the chaotic lives we have being new parents and innkeepers, we almost forgot to look at our rates,” Geoff confesses. “And that turned out to be a good thing.”
Geoff Skidmore, Co-Owner, Wolf Cove Inn
TakeUp’s advice was simple: sit back and let the system learn. For Geoff and Nicole, overwhelmed with the demands of new parenthood and inn ownership, this guidance proved almost too easy to follow.
“Truth be told, because of the chaotic lives we have being new parents and innkeepers, we almost forgot to look at our rates,” Geoff confesses. “And that turned out to be a good thing.”
While they were focused on perfecting their farm-to-table breakfast service, launching The Den (their intimate craft cocktail bar), and ensuring guests had unforgettable experiences on Tripp Lake, TakeUp was quietly optimizing their rates in the background.
The numbers tell a story that even surprised the Skidmores: the Wolf Cove Inn is now hitting record revenues never before seen in the property’s history. While Geoff credits this to a combination of factors including their marketing efforts, he’s clear about TakeUp’s role: “I think very much in part due to what TakeUp is doing.”
The system has given them something even more valuable than increased revenue—peace of mind during one of the most challenging periods of their lives. While they were navigating the steep learning curve of both inn ownership and parenthood, TakeUp ensured they weren’t leaving money on the table.
Geoff ‘s guidance for other innkeepers considering TakeUp reflects his own journey: “Just be patient, let it do its thing. Let it learn and just sit in the back seat and watch it for a little bit.”
He adds with a laugh, “Maybe pay a bit closer attention than we did, but let it do its thing.”
For the Skidmores, TakeUp has proven that sometimes the best strategy is knowing when to delegate—especially when you’re juggling a crying baby, arriving guests, and dreams of building the perfect lakeside retreat.
As the Wolf Cove Inn continues to evolve, with its barrel sauna overlooking the lake, wedding venue capabilities, and Chef Kevin Peters’ celebrated seasonal menus, Geoff and Nicole can focus on what matters most: creating memorable experiences for their guests and building a life around their family dream. With TakeUp handling the complex mathematics of revenue optimization, they’re free to perfect the art of Maine hospitality, one sunset cocktail and farm-fresh breakfast at a time.
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