What It Takes To Open A Bed And Breakfast
A bed and breakfast inn may seem like the ideal way to ditch your nine-to-five routine and become your own boss. But a B&B is more than a home-based business – the home is the business. Do you have what it takes? (Hint: It takes a lot!) Benefit from the hindsight of experienced innkeepers before you take the plunge.
The B&B Charm
Bed and breakfast inns evoke images of cozy, luxurious and enchanting getaways. But the romance of owning a B&B shouldn’t overshadow the facts. As with any business, it takes work, dedication and commitment to succeed. And perhaps more than any other business, innkeeping is work that can take over your personal life.
Still, the lifestyle that innkeeping offers is attractive to free-thinking entrepreneurs. It is a fulfilling way to generate an income while serving others and welcoming them into your home. The demands are high, but you call all the shots. This VidBook will introduce you to the business of innkeeping and the challenges you can expect in your day-to-day life as an innkeeper.
What It Takes
Behind the peace and tranquility that a good B&B exudes, there’s an innkeeper working hard to keep up appearances. He wears many hats: marketer, cook, janitor, staff supervisor, community representative and more. As an innkeeper, you will fill these roles day in, day out. Weekends and evenings off will be a thing of the past. Sure, the work isn’t ditch digging, but it demands a tempo of living that takes some getting used to.
Are you a “people person?” B&B guests come to get away, to rejuvenate, to take a break from their fast-paced lives. At a big hotel they’re just another room number, but in your inn they’re your houseguests – sometimes even your good friends. B&B guests don’t just pay for the room; they pay for your time.
Considerations Before Buying
There are essentially three types of B&Bs: urban inns, destination inns and rural inns. Each kind presents unique challenges for the innkeeper.
Urban inns cater to business travelers with amenities such as guest room telephones, early breakfasts and private areas for meetings and conferences. The typical guest eats early, heads out for business and is gone all day.
Destination Inns Are More Relaxed
Destination inns attract travelers visiting popular vacation or resort areas. Here, the guests sleep in and eat breakfast late. They keep their host busy. They don’t necessarily have to have phones in their rooms, but they better have a TV. There’s often stiff competition among destination inns, but usually there are enough guests to go around.
Rural inns provide accommodations where there are few other places for travelers to stay. Running one can be tough if you don’t have another source of income, because bookings are usually seasonal and there’s not a lot of traffic. However, there is an upswing to the seasonal ebb and flow: you may be able to take the slow months off.
Whatever type of inn you’re considering, its location will ultimately determine its success. There’s no point in having the best inn in a town that nobody comes to. Do people have a reason to come to your area? Think past your front gate.
Be aware of city restrictions and regulations that affect zoning, food and alcohol service, building codes, and architectural preservation in historic districts. Don’t buy a property only to discover too late that you won’t be allowed to do what you want with it. Can you serve wine with dinner? Can you expand the building or build a parking lot?
Beware The Basement Laundry Room
Make sure you have plenty of legal parking – complaints from neighbors can get your license revoked. Where is the laundry room? Is it accessible? Starry-eyed inn buyers never think about it, but a laundry room can make their life miserable if it’s in the basement of a four-story inn that doesn’t have dumbwaiters. Are there enough rooms to pay your mortgage? What about the innkeeper’s quarters? Most innkeepers live on-site, some in a room not much larger than a closet.
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