starting Bed & breakfast business

julie8314dave

Hi to all you lovely money savers out there. :j
First of all hubby not happy in his job, small son starting big school in september, me bored and want to do something either from home or starting a business, have paid my fees to daltons business to look for small b&b. guest house etc, lots that we can/could not afford, does any body know about these type of businesses, would it be something that we could work around our son, i know it is hard but rewarding work, and it would mean uprooting to a different part of the country, i love the seaside.if any one has any advice i would be very grateful, i will be doing a lot of the research as well. waiting in anticipation, any help, ideas, big or small please.
thankyou.:T
julie xx

welshgirlmel

My husband considered this very briefly as we live by the sea in a street full of b and bs, but we have decided to go into the family business instead.
A good book to recommend is The Daily Telegraph Starting and Running a B and B by Stewart White which my hubby bought. I am sure you could work it around a family.

I dont personally know much myself, however something to take into consideration is the fact that lots of b and bs are quite old fashioned and when we look to go to Tenby its very difficult to find a modern b and b instead the decor is awful, and the breakfast is often not the best. Personal touches make all the difference too, nice biccies, bottled water, fruit in the room and you should be able to charge a bit more to cover these costs.

Anyway good luck
love Mel

julie8314dave

Thankyou welshgirl me!
Thats lovely advice, i agree the personal touches are the best way for repeat business, we once stayed in a b&b in blackpool, and they put small bars of choclate on our pillows, they asked how old our son was (3 at the time) of booking and we found a box of suitable boys toys next to his bed, what a great idea,
Do you want to sell that book if you still have it?
thanks for advice.
julie xx :j

barrymung

Saw a book in Makro a few months back which was very good. Can't remember if it was the one Welshgirlmel recommended or not. Probably worth going to the library to see what they have.

I'm not an expert on B&Bs...but I always suggest to everyone about to start a business to do extensive research before parting with any money!

Find out why the B&B owner wishes to sell. Are they retiring or is there some other reason for selling? Perhaps, send a couple of friends along to stay in secret at the B&B for a night, then you'll get a true idea of what it's like rather than the owners "rose coloured" view.

If the B&B makes a decent profit, don't rush into changing things. Something you see as a quirk that can be got rid of may well be the reason people continue to visit year after year.

Ask to see the books. Ask how they advertise. Ask for a breakdown of occupancy. Ask who their target customers are (If they say 'stag and hen' then forget it!) Have a nose through their guest book. Try and get to talk to their guests. Try and talk to some locals to see what they think of the place.

Ask the local tourist board for information and assistance. Join the local chamber of commerce. Do searches on the internet.

Good luck!

barrymung

From my personal perspective:

I don't care if the decor is not bang up to date so long as it is clean and not too mad!

Breakfast: This is important (For me anyway)! If it's good I tend to forgive any shortcomings the B&B may have.

motorguy

correct me if i'm wrong here but is the b&b market not pretty much dead (or dying) in seaside towns? Blackpool particularly most of them struggle to make ends meet....

welshgirlmel

Have sent you a pm Julie

I live in a street with abut 9 b and b`s in and only one has been sold in the last few years. They are almost always full high season and I know my next door neighbour makes a decent little living but I would think its down to the individual b and b, the location and the people who run it. Obviously what you make high season needs to be balanced with the low season

People will always want to live and stay by the sea even in this country and I know the welsh assembly is promoting coastal towns even more.

Apparently there is a renaissance in the seaside tourism market and in 2005, there were 25m overnight trips to the seaside, according to Visit Britain.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5260198.stm

Many of these areas are earmarked for regeneration too, so its worth looking into this when you are thinking of buying in a particular seaside location

Hope this helps
Mel

motorguy

welshgirlmel wrote: »

Have sent you a pm Julie

I live in a street with abut 9 b and b`s in and only one has been sold in the last few years. They are almost always full high season and I know my next door neighbour makes a decent little living but I would think its down to the individual b and b, the location and the people who run it. Obviously what you make high season needs to be balanced with the low season

People will always want to live and stay by the sea even in this country and I know the welsh assembly is promoting coastal towns even more.

Apparently there is a renaissance in the seaside tourism market and in 2005, there were 25m overnight trips to the seaside, according to Visit Britain.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5260198.stm

Many of these areas are earmarked for regeneration too, so its worth looking into this when you are thinking of buying in a particular seaside location

Hope this helps
Mel

Check out how many B&B's support the income of two people - more often than not one partner works full time... which isnt what the o/p is proposing, so they need to look at an area that can not only sustain a b&b, but can potentially support one partners job requirements if needs be.

Like any business, if the b&b is successful chances are its not for sale, if it is for sale, why? if its for sale and not successful, what can someone with no experience in the field bring to the party to turn it around?

It could work out, but personally i think the train left the station on this one about 30 years ago.

anitamarie

My parents just sold their b&b - two tricks to the trade:
a) the online directorties - bandbdirectory in particular - only bother with the free ones - people like being able to enquire by email
b) register with your local tourist office - still generates a surprising amount of business. Or with the local airport travel bureau if you're in that type of area.
c) consider the seasonality of the business - e.g. Lake District B&Bs are only going to do well at certain times of year. B&Bs near airports, etc are therefore a good bet (theirs was within a mile of Luton Airport).

For when you're up and running:
- Make sure you take deposits against reservations. People think nothing of not turning up. Get them to send you a cheque for a tenner or send it via Paypal.
- Icky but has to be said: - you'll need protectors on the beds and to bolt down anything you don't want nicked.
- Get yourself on Google Maps

anitamarie

PS My parents sold theirs for family reasons and because they decided they wanted to go off and see the world. Get to know other b&bs in your area and you may find people in the same boat start putting work your way when either a) they're full or b) they've had enough!

Your biggest competition may well be the Travelodges... Make sure your place is differentiated by being a nice homely place to stay rather than a soulless hotel.