Abram's Creek Lodge & Campground An Eco-Friendly Campground & Retreat
Stream-Front Wilderness Camping, Lodging, Cabin, & Tipi rentals Located off U.S. Rt. 50, 3 miles east of Mt. Storm, WV
vegetarian, healthy life-style a plus, but not required
non-drug User / non-alcoholic
non-smoker a plus (no smoking inside of the Lodge House)
have your own vehicle a big plus
can answer phones and return / pass on phone messages
okay to have an alternate day job (9 to 5 type work, Monday to Friday)
prefer someone who goes to bed at a reasonable hour and rises relatively early (i.e. by 9:00am). Late night personalities may be inconsistant with our Lodge House Quiet Hours
and Guest / Tenant sleep schedules
This individual shall be living at the Lodge House at a minimum 5 days a week (Monday morning through Friday morning); potential weekends off when members of Abram’s Creek staff are
present. However, your presence during busy Lodge House / Campground weekends and events are a big plus and greatly appreciated, as this individual can assist in maintaining order
and to provide guidance to guests. A 15% commission of all Lodge House fees will be paid to the caretaker for their role in registering and assisting guests in getting them settled
into their respective rooms.
Caretaker must be present to receive/ assist guests during check-in hours (5pm to 10pm nightly), to answer phones, keep the house clean, to wash bedding after guests leave and
in general keep the place beautiful (guests do clean up after themselves in the kitchen). Duration of service for this individual will vary
depending on their skill set, motivation and desire (we are seeking someone who can make a minimum 6 month commitment, but longer periods are encouraged and beneficial to all parties).
Due to the remote location of this campground, and a lot of male hikers / campers / male contractors-tenants staying in the facility, as well as the dormitory style accomodations available,
a male caretaker is sought.
In exchange for their duties as “Caretaker” of the Lodge, this Caretaker will receive:
Free lodging and complete use of Center / Lodge House
Access to all events and happenings at the Center and Campground (see 2007 Schedule of Events and Workshops at www.abramscreek.com)
Free utilities including
unlimited long distance phone service
free high speed satellite internet use
free computer use
free electric / heat
free use of washer / dryer
free use of a massively well stocked and equipped kitchen
free satellite TV
free access to all workshops held at the lodge and possibly many held at the campground
Food & Life basic staples supplied including: paper towels, tissue paper, soaps and laundry detergents, spices, sugar, flour, rice and lentils, butter, cooking oils and sprays,
and most other basic staples required to run a house and kitchen. We CANNOT supply your main course or side dish meals or fresh vegetables, etc. on a regular basis, however,
frequently we do as guests leave vast amounts of fresh and packaged foods behind for the house.
We CANNOT supply your transportation or transportation costs.
use of the whole lodge house and enjoyment of the campground and it's amenities / natural features.
What we would like in exchange for all of the above:
A person who lives in the home and cares for the home as if it were their own—keeping up it’s appearance and helping to keep it’s guests happy when other Lodge House staff are
not available. Your presence provides security to this rural retreat (home does include monitored ADT alarm system with outdoor siren).
Basic lawn maintenance not required (May through October). Bi-weekly lawn mowing with riding mower, lawn mower, and weed whacking of lodge house property as well as using a
leaf blower to finalize and clean up excess debris on sidewalks / porches will be handled by a lawn maintenance person, separate from the caretaker. However, if additional income
is needed, this opportunity exists.
Keeping the house neat and orderly, including performing a list of weekly and monthly cleaning chores as needed -- vacumming / mopping / cleaning bathrooms as needed...
Answering the phone and taking messages or passing on Vince’s number for more detailed information regarding lodging / camping/ retreat.
Being available for scheduled maintenance appointments and contractors when other Abram’s Creek staff are not available. You would need to let them in and roughly supervise
if needed during their work.
Overseeing new winter monthly rental tenants and their minimal needs.
Collecting money from monthly tenants and any guests that may stay at the Center / Lodge during the week when Campground staff not present.
Sleep schedule must be consistent with business hours.
Prefer someone who is not afraid of hard work and doesn’t see our required tasks as burdensome chores
Need someone who can enforce our House Rules to our guests, our own staff members, and lives by them themselves. Quiet Hours and the No Shoes policy are especially important
to enforce for all guests and tenants peace and serenity.
Other financial opportunities:
15% commission will be paid weekly to the caretaker for all fees paid related to the Lodge House, including those for weekly boarding, daily bedding, and speical events.
Frequent work opportunities will arise both at the Lodge House and at the campground where additonal monies can be made on a regular basis.
Other Caretaker Responsibilities:
Check mail often (at least every other day) – place mail into mail slots in kitchen
If kitchen or other trash cans get noticeably dirty, please wipe down
If noticeable smudges appear on a door or near a door knob or light switch, please wipe down periodically
Change out recycling bags if they get full – both in basement and in laundry room area -- put full into garage
Place all full trash bags into outside dumpster
Note: Please check periodically, that basement lights and heaters are not on / running after tenants leave for work. Also, ask tenants not to run basement bedroom electric
heaters much higher than 67 degrees as it creates a huge increase in the electric bill.
Note: Our whole house thermostat is set at 67 degrees. Please keep it there to conserve our expensive heating oil supplies. This is a very large house to heat,
and even 1 extra degree takes a lot of added energy.
Note: Please do not disturb tenants in basement after 9/9:30pm at night as they need to go to bed to wake by 5am. Do enforce Quiet Hours among them and basement TV off by 10pm.
Note: No shoes to be worn in house by house guests or tenants. Reduces noise and clean-up.
Lessons learned from past Caretakers
Please do not crank our whole house thermostat beyond 68 degrees. It takes a huge amount of additional energy to raise a 4,000 square foot house even 1 degree, let alone 5,6, or
7 degrees.
Please be very conscientious of our tenants Quiet / Sleep Hours, particularly Sunday night through Thursday night. Our tenants are frequently are in bed by 9/10pm to be up by 5am.
Loud TV’s, noisy foot stomping, excessive noise on kitchen floor or any stair case, reverberates downstairs.
Please give our tenants peace in their basement area / space after 9:30pm.
Please do enforce all House Rules with tenants, as well as any overnight guests in the house. Also, we must abide by the same rules that we enforce as well.
Please do enforce the “No Shoes in House” rule. This really helps to minimize cleaning efforts and reduces noise on hard floors.
Most guests visit between Friday night and Sunday. All cleaning chores, after the weekend guests depart, should be spread out over 4-5 days so as to never be too much work on
any one day and to allow a good job at caring for the house. Figure about 5 hours per week of total work after a busy weekend.
Absolutely no pets in the house. Not guests pets, not our own.
The basement is an equally important area of the house to keep clean (vacuuming / dusting / monthly floor mopping / keeping bathrooms clean and trash/ recycling bins emptied).
Our tenants are a big part of our financial livelihood for the winter and they should be kept happy and feel good about the place that they live.
Interested persons may contact Vince at 703-328-1840 or e-mail vlombardi2003@msn.com. Postion is available as early as August 15, 2007