Establishing any business and excelling in it is not something that happens overnight. Starting a B&B or small hotel is no exception, especially if you are new to the hospitality industry.
With countless factors to consider before opening a property to the public, and even more to contend with once you are running your business day-to-day, it can easily become overwhelming.
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But there’s no need to give up on your dream. In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive guide to starting and running a B&B, so you can put your best foot forward and start enjoying the benefits of a successful small business sooner rather than later.
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A bed and breakfast is a small accommodation property, typically owned and operated by a family or small team who also live on site. Generally B&Bs will have less than 10 rooms.
Guests staying at a B&B usually expect a very homely atmosphere, simple luxury, a rich history and sense of individuality, and authentic food and beverage experiences. They are popular for weekends away, romantic trips, or for special occasions such as travelling for a wedding.
Firstly, you might want to think about if it’s actually something you want to commit to. It’s a huge undertaking that will require your devoted attention day in and day out. Many people may find the concept outweighs the practice.
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It’s extremely important you know what to expect from the job. This is not simply so you know if you’re a good fit, but so that you can do the job well and give yourself the best chance at success. It’s an incredibly difficult endeavour to undertake alone or with a partner.
Another consideration is why you are opening a bed and breakfast. Are you embarking on this journey because the lifestyle appeals to you and you love customer service, or because you see it simply as an opportunity to make money? Loving what you do is generally the recipe needed for favourable results. What you define as success is up to you. Maybe as long as you are receiving strong reviews and keeping your head above water you’re happy, or perhaps you want to be an award winning property.
Any business can be profitable, and of course that’s the ideal goal. Hopefully by providing an exceptional guest experience and becoming popular, your property can achieve profit through the right management and strategies. Before that becomes a reality, you need to establish a steady revenue income. This means attracting regular bookings.
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When you really drill down the numbers, it’s probably unrealistic to expect to earn your entire living off one B&B property. Let’s use an example of a six-room property with pricing at $90 per night:
The amount of money you can expect to make all depends on the size of your property, the area you’re located in and how luxurious your property is, but at the end of the day running a bed and breakfast is certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme. Or at least, if you treat it like one you’ll be sorely disappointed. Starting a B&B is more of a lifestyle decision rather than a savvy business choice and you’re likely to make a real profit when you sell it.
Again, it comes down to whether running a B&B is a good fit for you. If you have already had a successful career and want to supplement your previous income, then it could be just the thing for you.
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There are a number of circumstances under which you might start a bed and breakfast. Perhaps you’re buying land to build one, or turning your own home into one, or purchasing an existing property.
When starting from scratch and opening a new business, you first must consider many of the costs you might face. Depending on what country you’re starting your business, costs will vary. They include but are not limited to these 10 items:
If you’re new to opening and running a bed and breakfast there are countless pitfalls you might encounter if you’re not careful. Although it’s vital to be a “people person”, that alone is not enough. You need to educate yourself about how to market and sell your business and figure out what works. Otherwise, you’ll be overflowing with hospitality and no one to provide it to.
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Any property with five rooms or more is too much to take on without help. When you decide you do need someone to help you run your B&B, it doesn’t mean it’s easy to find the right person.
Find those skill sets that you do need – is it bookkeeping, cleaning, or cooking? Or do you need a multitasker who can do a little bit of everything? Remember that your time is better spent on servicing guests and figuring out how to market your property. Create a detailed job description once you’re sure you know what you need.
The next step is getting your job description out to a talented pool of individuals. Advertise on social media, through family and friends, on association job boards and website forums, and regular job sites.
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Once you’re interviewing candidates it’s important to uncover quickly if they’re right for the role and also the right fit to work with you personally. Ask open ended questions to reveal their true character, get references from past employers, and even conduct practical tests if need be. You should only hire people you can trust.
Then you need to maintain a good working relationship with the successful candidate. Ensure these 5 key ways to keep staff happy:
There are a number of advantages to buying an established bed and breakfast since a lot of the groundwork has already been done for you and the revenue stream should be immediately accessible for you.
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However, there’s a vast amount of information you need to look for and understand when making a purchase decision. Make sure you know the following as a starting point:
Further factors that will influence your decision to buy or reject a property centre around why it was sold in the first place. Is it for financial circumstances, family reasons or does it require a big investment? It’s essential to know why it’s being sold so you aren’t putting yourself at risk.
One of the most important things you can do is to put the opportunities into perspective. Perhaps you’ve found the perfect property but the area is saturated with businesses just like yours. Researching the local competition before you buy is a smart move. This way you can sense any chances to create a niche for yourself and continue attracting regular business. It’s best to give yourself a few choices and narrow your decision down to more than one option. Then you can compare the revenue opportunities for each respective property.
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Marketing your property, taking reservations, checking guests in and out, perfecting the service you provide, maintaining a strong relationship with your audience, reporting on performance, and budgeting are all things you’ll need to look at while you go through life as a bed and breakfast operator. There’s a lot more to it than cooking breakfast and pointing travellers towards the nearest attraction.
Online distribution is one of the most effective ways to bring guests to your hotel. Modern travellers typically do their research and booking on travel websites, so that’s where you need to catch their eye.
Advertising your rooms on multiple channels gives you the best chance at raising your occupancy rate. The most popular channels (known in the industry as online travel agents, or OTAs) include Booking.com and Expedia, but Airbnb is also suitable for small properties, and there are a number of niche channels that suit particular properties or guest types. It’s important to have a diverse channel mix and advertise all rooms at the same time.
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Normally this would mean a lot of time is spent on manually updating your listings when bookings are made and increase the risk of double bookings. However, if you use a channel manager these processes will be automated and updated in real-time. That takes away one worry.
You do have to pay a commission fee to these online travel agents when they secure a reservation on your behalf but that’s no reason not to connect. In fact, direct bookings can still occur from these sites. If you have your profile completed accurately, visitors can move from your OTA listing to your own website. From there they may make a direct booking, or booking directly with you, commission-free.
You can make this easier and more attractive for them by improving the look, speed, and functionality of your website and integrating an online booking engine. Just like a property management system and channel manager, a website builder and booking engine are designed to make bookings simpler for guests and more seamless for you, while aiding your ability to show-off your property and destination. One of the greatest benefits these technologies have is that they work together to keep Google happy, make your property easily accessible, and provide guests with an easy reservation process.
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You can also take bookings via your social media channels on Facebook and even Instagram through your booking engine.
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