Virginia Doser

One of the Few Professional Innsitters

Interests: Cooking, travel, and reading

Virginia Doser is one of the few professional innsitters in the U.S. She began innsitting the summer of 1994 in Emporia, Kansas by taking care of the White Rose Inn for her friends who really needed a holiday. She enjoyed this experience so much that the following spring, she completed an intensive, hands-on innsitting workshop in northern California, and decided that innsitting was for her.

“I was a librarian for the previous twenty years in all types of libraries: public, community college, law and accounting firms, and I have also done consulting for corporations and individuals in library start-up and management. Additionally, I reviewed books for Library Journal and a major southern California daily newspaper, and compiled bibliographies. I enjoyed the diversity of all of this, but I was ready for something else,” says Virginia.

Originally from Wisconsin, she grew up in Long Beach, California. She attended California State University, Long Beach and earned two undergraduate degrees in English and Comparative Literature.

Virginia quit working as a librarian in 1995, and set up her innsitting business, mailing out brochures and resumes, and visiting as many inns as she could in California and Wisconsin. Her first innsitting position was very local, seven miles down the coast in Laguna Beach at the Carriage House, a lovely older inn that she still works at when she is able.

As an innsitter, Virginia’s duties might include greeting guests, taking telephone and in person reservations, sending out confirmations, giving brief tours of the inn, cooking and serving breakfast and afternoon snacks, shopping and banking, housekeeping and laundry, and pet care and light gardening if needed.

Since innsitting for over a year, Virginia would like to venture into caretaking too. She has done some house sitting and small estate caretaking locally, and would like to move up to larger properties all over the country as a caretaker. She has seen a lot of the United States and Canada, and has been to Europe, China, Australia and New Zealand.

“I hope to be doing this work for a long, long time; what a wonderful way to encounter good people and see the world!”