201 8th St Baraboo, WI
RESERVATIONS

Month: March 2020

Safer at Home Order in Wisconsin for COVID-19

Governor Tony Evers has called upon all of us to take all possible actions to reduce further spread of COVID-19 to save lives. Therefore, the state of Wisconsin has issued a Safer at Home order that prohibits all nonessential travel.  The order is effective at 8 am on Weds., March 25, 2020 and will remain in effect until 8 am, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, or until a superseding order is issued.   I’ve added a copy of what constitutes essential travel above, directly from the emergency order #12.   Any violation of this law can result in a $250.00 fine and/or 30 days in prison for those found in violation.

However, for those of you that have essential travel, we are here to be able to support you in this difficult time.   We are licensed, inspected and insured and use the utmost of safety and precautions and adhere to all the required guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Please see a previous blog page for more information on the precautions we are taking:  COVID-19 Info

Our dedication to cleanliness and  hospitality is our commitment to you. Our guests are like family.  So if you must travel, our inn may be the right spot for you.

We welcome you to also explore our website, for your future travel planning, as we all look forward to resuming our normal lives.

We sincerely hope that you and your family and friends are safe and well during these challenging times.

 

 

The New Normal in the COVID-19 Lodging

Over the last week at the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast, we have gone from creating bookings and turning people away because we do not have any rooms available, to an empty house.   From one person running the Bed & Breakfast with some staff, to having my recently laid off partner at home helping.   So by empty, we mean we don’t have any guests in our guest rooms.

Therefore for us, there are no worries that we will catch the virus from traveling guests, but there is a lot of worry, that at some point we will not be able to pay our bills.    We also understand the fear of our guests that are calling to cancel their stay, either the event that they were coming for has been cancelled, that they no longer want to travel via public transport, and are self-quarantining,  afraid to leave their house – much less travel anywhere.  Their workplace may have closed, or have been laid off and have no income.   When calling to cancel a reservation, many of our customers have taken a refund in the form of a gift certificate, which helps us immensely.  Thank you to those that have chosen that option!

Needless to say, this pandemic has created a lot of fear.   Here at the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast we have decided that we need to change the way we do some things, some by choice, others by mandate.   We hope to get people coming back to Baraboo after this “quarantine” ends, because, people are people, and they are still going to be scared.   I guess we will characterize these changes  as the “New Normal”.

Fewer People in a Bed & Breakfast

First of all, a Bed & Breakfast is small. we only have 6 rooms, and could have a maximum of 12 people in the house at a time.   Much less than the standard hotel, and therefore, much less chance of catching the contagion.

Check in changes

We are asking guests to wear masks upon check in and around the common area’s of the house.   We are also asking guest to wait at the back door until we open it for them, to give us time to check in one guest, before bringing in another.

Food Changes

Our breakfast is typically served family style in our dining room at Henry Ringling’s dining room table.    Now, per the Wisconsin mandate #72, we now will be delivering breakfast to peoples rooms, serving on the front porch or dining room, with a staggered start time, and distancing everyone more than  6 feet apart.

In lieu of  the wine and cheese happy hour on the weekend, we will be bringing people a “mini bottle” of wine or champagne and/or a snack to their room.

Baraboo also has many restaurants that have curbside pick up now or dining inside/outside with social distancing in mind,  outside of the breakfast that is served here at the Bed & Breakfast.   You can pick up your dinner, and eat it in a mansion!  How’s that for the new normal?

Sanitation Additions

We are not only cleaning the rooms, but going through and sanitizing any surface that would frequently be touched like remotes, keys, faucets, light switches, chair arms, etc, in between each guest change.  We also have disinfecting wipes placed around the house for people to use before/after touching something.

We want to be sure that our guests are not only comfortable with our amenities, but with our sanitation methods when they are ready to travel again.  This will be the “New Normal” for us until the virus threat has significantly tapered off.

What’s to do?

The good thing about Baraboo are so many outdoor areas and parks to explore.  It’s easy to practice “social distancing” while enjoying the great outdoors.   Indoors, we also have many games you can borrow and play inside your room or another area in our elegant home.  Our rooms are all equipped with internet-enabled smart TV’s, and our music rooms is equipped with several musical options.    So, come experience the fun part of travel!

Coupled with our  naturally limited occupancy levels, enhanced sanitation procedures, modified breakfast options, and multiple entertainment selections, we hope you will consider the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast as a safe and comfortable lodging option!

Sincerely,

Julie Hearley & Stuart Koehler

Innkeepers, Ringling House Bed & Breakfast.

Murder Mystery Dinners

Have you ever participated in a murder mystery dinner?   There are several different kinds.   One has actors that play the parts, and audience members can help solve the mystery.  Mostly just a watching a show kind of Murder Mystery!

The type of Murder Mystery Dinners that we hold at the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast, are the kind where YOU get to play the part, dress up, and attempt to solve the murder while having an elegant diner and mingling around the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast.   Of course, you could be the MURDERED, or the MURDERER.   You just won’t know until you get here.   And wouldn’t you like to mingle about in the mansion, and try to solve the crime?  Click the link to one of these events and get your ticket now!

We have two of these murder mystery dinners coming up:
Jazz Age Jeopardy:  Saturday March 21, 2020  5pm
Casino Dead Money:    Saturday, April 25, 2020  5pm

Approximate Schedule of evening:

5:00pm arrival, pictures & cocktail hour
5:30pm Round 1 of Game is started
6:15pm dinner is served Round 2 Starts
**** Murder Happens ****
7:30pm vote & guess on suspects
8:00pm Round 3, confessions
8:30pm Awards & Prizes

Cost: $45.00 includes 1 free drink, dinner and a whole lot of fun with murder!

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