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In 2011, Joseph Lettieri and Ellen Carlstrom bought a historic mansion called the Hewitt House, sight unseen, at a Buffalo city tax sale. They transformed the home into a boutique hotel called InnBuffalo off Elmwood Avenue, which they own and operate together. “Marketplace” spoke to Lettieri at the inn in early October.
“I refer to this as a ‘magic carpet ride,'” Lettieri said. “We got challenged by some lenders early on that Ellen and I didn’t have any hospitality experience. But I owned a maintenance company, and I felt like I’d been in training to do this restoration for 30-plus years.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent downturn in the travel industry almost bankrupted them in 2020, Lettieri said. They put the inn up for sale as a 12-room single-family home, but there were no buyers.
“If it wasn’t for PPP, I would not be standing here today,” he said. “I am proud to say we’re the busiest we’ve ever been.”
Starting wages for housekeepers at the inn are $25 an hour, and Lettieri said they also offer bonuses.
“I’m experiencing some windfall, so I’m going to share it with my team,” he said. “I don’t have any trouble finding housekeepers. And I think the people that are complaining about the [labor] shortage, maybe they should look in the mirror. You don’t have trouble when you’re fair.”
