For over 40 years, Linda Hayes has created experiences for others. Schooled as an interior designer, her career includes working in corporate America as a designer, facility manager, and a market sales manager for a Fortune 500 in southern Florida and the Caribbean, all before creating a successful lodging property and restaurant in SW Virginia. Those previous years of interactions with clients and guests are the basis for Hayes’ consulting work over these past ten years. Her business acumen, lodging, food and beverage experience, and insightful vision make her a great asset as a business consultant to her clients, focusing on the final results which shorten the process involved in analyzing and growing their business. Hayes’ clients stretch across the United States and Mexico and range from owner-operated limited services properties to larger full-service properties with event venues and restaurants. Much of Hayes' knowledge of the hospitality industry originates from her personal properties, having designed, built, and successfully operated Inn at Riverbend, a Select Registry seven-room inn overlooking the Appalachian Mountains and the oldest US river, the New, in SW Virginia. Owned and operated starting in 2003, Hayes transferred ownership and moved just eight miles away in late 2010. During that time frame, Hayes was also the owner of a historic building in the downtown area, and together with chefs who leased the space, created The Bank Food and Drink. In 2011, Hayes took over the operation of the restaurant until selling the building in the spring of 2015. In March 2016, Hayes launched The Future Innkeeper Hands-On Workshop, a 4-day "boot camp" allowing attendees to truly experience all aspects of operating a small lodging property with a behind-the-scenes opportunity to work in all areas of a small lodging property. Over 30 attendees now own and operate their properties. Since the onset of COVID-19, she has created a five-week virtual bootcamp.