Many people dream of owning a bed and breakfast. What wouldn’t be better than owning your own business in a beautiful historic house while meeting interesting people every day? It definitely sounds better than what most people do day to day.
But what most people don’t think about is that a bed and breakfast is a business. There’s a lot more to it than the gorgeous house and fun guests. Ultimately, you want the business to be successful. Here are some tips to help you learn the basics of owning a bed and breakfast.
Don’t Be Cheap
There are plenty of instances where it is better to be frugal with your money when it comes to a business. This isn’t one of them. People expect an experience when they stay at a bed and breakfast. They aren’t expecting a budget-friendly environment.
Depending on the era of the house, period furnishings add to the ambiance and create the atmosphere that guests are expecting. They also expect to sleep well, so spend a little extra on some great mattresses that will add to the luxuriousness of their stay. You can find exactly the mattress you need at Bedding Mart. They have mattresses from Tempur-Pedic, Serta, Beautyrest, and Taylor & Wells. This is not to say overextend yourself, just be realistic when it comes to what your guests will be expecting.
Decide What You Are Offering
When deciding on a marketing plan, you need to decide on what exactly are you offering. You don’t want to sell your bed and breakfast as something it isn’t. This will be helpful in not attracting guests that have unrealistic expectations.
Some people are looking for a historic experience with gourmet food. Others may be looking for an eco-friendly environment complete with solar panels that operate the entire house. Just be realistic with your selling points and make sure to emphasize the selling points of your bed and breakfast. This will allow you to attract guests that truly appreciate your theme and overall experience.
Getting Help
When starting any business, getting help is always key. That can mean creating groups of service providers and vendors that are reliable. It can also mean hiring employees that you will have to train and communicate expectations with. Just remember that, in most cases, you can’t do everything on your own.
Ultimately, you are running a business that will need to keep a sufficient cash flow to continue operations. It is important that you either learn enough accounting and bookkeeping principles to take care of this one on your own, or you need to hire someone that can take care of this for you. Staying on top of your finances will help you generate enough money to meet your expenses, as well as have enough information from your business to make important decisions.
Marketing is also a key part of your success, especially in this age of social media and SEO content. You will need a user-friendly website and a good reservation system that will allow guests to easily find you and book a room. Again, if you don’t know what you are doing or are feeling overwhelmed, get help. It is definitely worth it.
Food
One area you can’t skimp on is food. You are ahead of the game if you have past restaurant experience, but this is also an important area to get help with if you need it. You want a dining room and kitchen layout that is efficient, along with a cooking and service process that keeps things moving quickly.
Having a great breakfast experience can really help those bed and breakfasts that are off the beaten path, and that may require your guests to have a little more motivation to make the journey. Just remember that guests will often have special requests or may not be happy with your breakfast choices. Smile and remember that your job is to make every guest happy and have an amazing time.
Laws and Regulations
Since your bed and breakfast is a business, it is subject to the laws and regulations of the country, state, and city that you live in. It requires having a business license, and that your bed and breakfast is actually located somewhere that is zoned for a business. If you aren’t, that will require requesting a conditional use permit or a variance.
It can often take a few years to get all the license and permits that are required to run your bed and breakfast. You also need to consider the different ordinances regulating safety on both the local and national levels, including food and fire safety. Plus, you will need to get business insurance to help protect you in the event someone gets hurt on your property.
When starting a bed and breakfast, remember that you need to stay involved in the community and share information on your business. You never know when people in your neighborhood will have someone visiting and your bed and breakfast will be nice and convenient for them. Plus, word of mouth is always a good selling tool, so it is important to get local residents to be out there recommending you as well.
