| Mi Casa Es Su Casa: Starting your own Bed & Breakfast |
You may not be a celebrity starring in a reality show about opening your own inn, but you can still open a charming Bed & Breakfast with a little instruction to guide you in the right direction. While actress Tori Spelling and husband, Dean McDermott, chose to decorate their Chateau La Rue with modern accoutrements, typical B&B's are historic structures that have been renovated for traveler lodging. Many owners try to maintain the historic ambience with relics and antiques. The structures are often located near rivers, lakes, ski slopes, beaches, hiking trails and other natural or manmade attractions, but can sometimes be found in older residential areas.
The B&B is more personal than your average travel spot, marrying the comfort of a private home with the amenities of a luxury suite. Because the owner typically lives on site, a warm demeanor is a required ability in their skill set. Patrons are treated as invited guests rather than paying customers. This hospitality normally includes a communal meal (hence the Breakfast part) that is included in the cost of the room. It may also include offerings of wine and cheese platters or "right on time" refreshments such as iced tea or hot coca.
The Life for You?
It should be said early on that the Bed & Breakfast business won't make you rich. The choice to open an inn is usually one that has more to do with lifestyle preferences than money. Maybe you simply like hosting guests. Many B&B owners just want a chance to escape the city life.
Others are drawn to the architecture of the old Victorian homes and Queen Anne style mansions. They may otherwise opt to renovate an antiquated lighthouse or convert a colonial tavern. Whether they choose to bring a condemned structure back to life or a feat less challenging, new owners will pay from $20,000 to $50,000 per room to renovate and outfit their quarters with fixtures, new towels, pillows, and mattresses. This cost will also include upgrades to kitchen equipment and fire safety measures. To give you some perspective, most B&B's average somewhere from 40-50% occupancy at around $120 per room per night. However, there are also other operating costs such as utilities and supplies to consider.
As a solo innkeeper, you will be tasked with greeting guests, taking reservations, cleaning rooms, preparing meals, serving meals, washing dishes, giving patrons information about the area, answering the phones, bookkeeping, marketing and minor maintenance problems. If this seems like a lot, that's because it is. Any owner with over four rooms should consider hiring extra staff. Even owners with less than four rooms should look into seasonal help for the busy times of year.
Room Prices
Your room rates will be a function of several factors, however. The prices charged by comparable lodging providers in your area, your location, your facilities and current occupancy rates will all contribute to the amount you can charge for a room. If you offer a swimming pool, Jacuzzi bathtub, fireplaces, and private verandas, you will have more leverage with your pricing. If the area you are located in is saturated with other lodging sites, your prices must be competitive. Occupancy rates will always be a consideration. On the slower days of the week, owners reduce prices or offer special incentives in order to fill vacancies.
The most important determinant of price, however, is your location. Depending on the location, a B&B is likely to see peak and off-peak seasons. Usually, the closer you are to an area's attractions, the more you can charge. If you are right on the beach or near a historical site, you'll be better off than if you set up shop on a lonely road on the outskirts of town.
To offset the lulls in business during slow seasons owners choose locations where they can appeal to several markets. The largest source of clientele will be from tourists. Guests will also include business travelers, couples looking for romantic getaways, college town visitors (especially parents of students) and guests of local residents whom the hosts could not accommodate.
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Another concern for new innkeepers will be city and county zoning regulations. If you are considering a business district as opposed to a residential space, your worries are less likely to keep you awake at night. In a residential district you may be required to petition for a zoning exception by appearing before a city planning board. You will need to explain how your business could be beneficial to the community and ensure that it won't stick out like a sore thumb. In a suburban neighborhood, you may have to forego facilities such as a communal pool or a large sign. In more obscure places these regulations may be less strict.
Depending on your size, some communities will require you to have off-the-street parking for your patrons – one space per family. Others will require space for recreational vehicles. In smaller communities you can get away with deferring your patrons to large public lots. Some neighborhoods may require you to put your sign on the edifice of your building as opposed to the more noticeable curbside.
Well, you may not be able to roll out the red carpet at your grand opening with free television advertising and celebrity endorsements, but you should be able to make good with your neighbors and market yourself effectively. Targeting your specific audience will help to avoid aimless spending for those of you without the Hollywood budget.
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