START & RUN A BED & BREAKFAST
Monica Taylor and Richard Taylor
Self-Counsel Press
(a division of)
International Self-Counsel Press Ltd.
USA Canada-
Copyright © 2012
International Self-Counsel Press
All rights reserved.
Introduction
Have you ever thought about operating your own bed and breakfast? Perhaps you have just taken early retirement and want to run a small business to supplement your pension. Or you may have family obligations that keep you at home and you are looking for a home-based source of income. Maybe you have stayed at a B&B and were attracted to the lifestyle of the owner. If you already live in a tourist area, you are ideally situated to cash in on the passing trade, and if you like talking to people, you probably have the right temperament to become a successful B&B host. If you have a nice home and one or two extra bedrooms, why not give it a try? We did!
We took early retirement and purchased an old Victorian home in a small tourist town. We quickly realized that we were in an ideal spot to open a B&B but we didn’t know how to start. We looked in libraries and bookstores for a how-to book, but there weren’t any. We talked to a few B&B operators, but they all had different points of view. In the end, we opened for business not fully understanding how to proceed, and we were blissfully unaware of the many pitfalls and problems that we would face. We wasted time, energy, and money, and we learned the trade by trial and error. Thank goodness we had forgiving guests that put up with our mistakes, and some of them even offered helpful suggestions and gentle encouragement.
After our first year in business, we realized how simple the whole process would have been if we could have hired an experienced B&B operator to guide us. As we gained expertise and confidence, many of our guests began to ask advice on how they could start their own B&B. In response to this evident need, we decided to write a book for anyone who was thinking of starting a B&B business.
Operating a bed and breakfast can be a very interesting career and it can be financially rewarding. For most people the start-up cost is within reason, since they can use their existing home. But if you are thinking about starting a B&B, you owe it to yourself to investigate all the pros and cons and to consider all the implications before you proceed. After you have read this book, you will have a thorough understanding of the B&B trade, you will have assessed your skills as a potential B&B host, and you will have calculated the dollars needed to start your business.
With your enthusiasm and our help, we know that you will become a very successful B&B host. To make this book even more enjoyable, recipes for some of our own house specialties precede each chapter.
1
The Business Of Bed & Breakfast
1. What Is Bed and Breakfast?
Bed and breakfast (B&B) has its roots in ancient times. In parts of the countryside where public inns were not always available, weary travelers would be accommodated by a local family who would provide food and lodging for a fee.
B&Bs have been popular in Britain and Europe for many years, but only recently have they gained wide acceptance in North America as a legitimate and popular type of accommodation.
The modern B&B provides the same type of environment as its ancient counterpart. The emphasis is on hospitality in a family setting. The visitor is greeted by the host and is given overnight accommodation in one of the spare bedrooms. In the morning, the visitor usually joins the host family for a leisurely breakfast and social conversation. The breakfast menu varies from house to house, but guests are offered selection and quality. The cost is usually less than comparable accommodation in a hotel or motel, especially when the price of the breakfast is included.
Because of the increased popularity of B&Bs, a range of services are now offered in the name of bed and breakfast. Most of them are legitimate, but some vary greatly from the original concept of this special type of accommodation.
The following are brief descriptions of different establishments that may call themselves B&Bs.
1.1 Private homes
The true B&B falls into this category, and it usually consists of a home situated in a residential area with one or two family members running the business. Spare bedrooms are set aside for guests and breakfast is served by the hosts.
From the guest’s point of view, the emphasis is on visiting a local family, enjoying their companionship, and sharing their home. Meals other than breakfast may or may not be available.
1.2 Family-run operations
Family-run establishments consist of small lodges or inns that are owned and operated by a host family. The hosts live onsite and might join the guests for breakfast. Although these establishments are operated on a larger scale, they can provide an alternative to a private home, but guests should not expect the same level of interaction with the host family. Additional meals may or may not be served.
1.3 Commercial operations
Larger commercial establishments consist of blocks of apartment suites, cabins, motels, or hotels. The owners usually don’t live onsite, and there is no interaction with a host family. All these operations have some form of lobby or front desk, where the visitor checks in and out. Breakfast can vary from coffee and muffins available in the lobby to a prepared breakfast in a coffee shop.
These establishments actively advertise themselves as B&Bs in order to attract that part of the marketplace, and although they do, technically, provide a bed and a breakfast, they do not offer the friendly family environment that gives a true B&B its unique appeal.
1.4 Other variations
There are a number of other variations of B&B that don’t seem to fall into any particular category. They offer a variety of unusual sleeping accommodations followed by a fairly standard breakfast. Houseboats, camping trailers, recreational vehicles, and tents have all been offered as B&Bs.
2. Take a Look at Your Competitors
If you are thinking about opening your own B&B, you have probably stayed at a few establishments and have your own ideas of what you would like to do to make yours unique. It’s a good idea to explore other B&Bs to trade ideas with other hosts or just to see how others have set up shop.
If you want to find out more about other B&Bs, the following references will be helpful. You will also want to consider having your own B&B listed or advertised in one or more of these publications.
2.1 Free publications
Free pamphlets listing B&Bs or reservation services are available from most government tourist offices. A list of tourist offices along with the titles of their B&B brochures is provided in Appendix 1.
2.2 Bed-and-breakfast guide books
There are numerous guide books that