Even though Historic Dunleith Inn is for sale, its management says it will continue to operate as usual and people with events already on the books don’t need to worry.

Dunleith’s assistant general manager, Lyn Fortenbery, said the property, which is popular for weddings and high-end receptions, currently has events booked through 2017.

“With a property this size, there is no timeline for how long it would be for sale,” she said. “But everything that is contracted out will be honored.

“People love coming here, and we want to make sure if there is a new owner we will continue as usual.”

The owner of the 1856 mansion, outbuildings and 60 acres, Mike Worley, signed a contract in December with a New Orleans-based Realtor who specializes in historic properties, but the potential for the sale wasn’t publicly announced until earlier this month.

“The rumor has always been out there that Dunleith was going to be sold,” Dunleith’s General Manager John Holyoak said. “When it finally was for sale, nobody paid any attention until the story came out in the newspaper.”

Worley has operated the historic house — a Greek revival mansion that is the only antebellum house left in Mississippi ringed by two-story columns and wrap-around porches on both floors — as a hotel for the last 16 years.

While Worley could be interested in continuing to have an ownership stake in the hotel, he is looking to get away from the responsibility of being the main ownership, Holyoak said.

“Mr. Worley wants the business to continue as it is,” Holyoak said. “He has a lot of respect and devotion to the staff, and he would like to see it continue but also possibly expand in the future.”

The current asking price for the 22-room inn and its dependencies — including The Castle Restaurant and Pub, operated in the property’s original carriage house — is $6.95 million.

Bowie’s Tavern, which Worley also owns and has often acted as an extension of Dunleith, is also for sale.

“Ideally, we’d like to have the same ownership for both properties, because we’d be to continue to utilize both properties for staffing and events,” Holyoak said.

In addition to the buildings and properties, the sale would include most of the art, antiques, modern furnishings and equipment and eight historic carriages.

The property is currently listed and being marketed as a business, but Holyoak said it’s not outside the realm of possibility someone could buy it and convert part of the property into personal living space.

“It’s not uncommon for someone to carve out a sort of family compound within a hotel like this, and have the hotel operate around them,” he said.

But Holyoak said one of the key selling points for the property is that it can be marketed as a turnkey operation. The hotel was given a $2 million renovation in 2012, and The Castle was renovated in 2015.

“Someone could come in and start running it immediately,” he said. “The property is in spectacular shape, and I think that’s its biggest selling point. Some of the buildings here are 200 years old, and to walk in and see them in the shape they’re in, that’s a big (benefit to the seller).”

Dunleith is a designated National Historic Landmark, and was added to the National Historic Register in 1974.

It served as a private residence until the mid-1970s. It first opened as a luxury inn in 1976.

The property currently has 65 employees.