THE BUSINESS OF B & Bs.

Bed and Breakfasts across the state are marketing for year-round occupancies.

Donna Gentry Massay opened her two-unit bed and breakfast facility located just outside of Palmer about four years ago, a home-based business that she and her husband planned to build as a financial supplement

In fact, the couple built their home, located on a secluded, scenic seven-acre parcel, specifically for such a lodging business. "We designed the house to fit," said Massay, seated at the sunlit breakfast table in her lower level guest quarters.

Home-baked bread sits under a bell glass on the table, Massay's personal touch for her continental breakfast, which guests enjoy at their leisure in the shared living and kitchen area. Massay's own kitchen is located upstairs, as is the rest of her family's living quarters.

"Before a person takes the jump into a B & B, they really need to assess the impact on their time, family and lifestyle," she said. "If you have kids in the house, you can't be having teen dances or a pizza party and staying up watching movies until 3 in the morning."

That time commitment for bed and breakfast operators has been extending beyond the parameters of Alaska's "typical" tourism season-June through August. Slowly but surely, operators who choose to stay open during the off season are seeing an increase in visitors.

"Spring and fall are really growing for the tourism season ... there's more interest in the shoulder season," Massay said. "Last year we were full from May 15 on until it died off right after the state fair, around the 25th of September."

With the name Iditarod House, Massay also receives a number of inquiries around the time of that famous sled dog race in early March. A retired Iditarod competitor, Massay's mushing memorabilia adorns the walls of her guest lodgings.

Another bed and breakfast operator, located almost halfway across the state in Tok, has also enjoyed a strong winter clientele. Donna Blasor-Bernhardt, owner of WinterCabin, has built a complex of cozy log guest lodgings at her Eastern Interior Alaska home as a means to supplement her income as a writer.

A wood stove heats the two-room Celebrity Cabin during the winter, radiating a bone-soaking warmth that electric blowers can't seem to duplicate. Tanned fur pelts are draped across the easy chair in the living area, complete with a large book rack, hi-fl stereo and record albums for guests to enjoy.