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Ezine Ready

Setting Up Your Own Bed&Breakfast? A Few Things to Consider

For many people it is an ambition to open up a B&B by the coast or in a quaint country village but there are some important factors that need to be addressed before you can aim for your idyllic dream B&B.

Bed and breakfasts are infamously dictated to by seasonal tourism so the primary thing you need to do is research. This is not just about your choice of property; perhaps more importantly it is concerning your location. If you are going to be moving in order to open your B&B you are going to have to perform some thorough research, preferably you should know the area better than the back of your hand, either through being a resident or numerous visits. Consider these questions while researching; what major tourist attractions or festivals are there in the area? How can you exploit these spectacles and events to gain more custom? At what times of the year does the area see its heaviest influx of custom?

You may be buying a new home for your B&B, or you may be converting your current place of residence into a B&B, either way you must check whether or not you are changing the terms of use of the property. Paperwork is rarely fun but an unfortunate necessity. You will definitely need to talk to your insurance company and alter your policy to take into account that you will be owning and operating a bed and breakfast. It is also worth discussing with them changing the cover on your car, if you are using it for business purposes that should be taken into account in a new policy. It is also likely that you will need to confer with the local council to see if planning permission is required in order to open your B&B. Depending on the size and scale of your project you may need to employ extra staff, therefore inquire about Employee Liability cover. And last but certainly not least is the vital health and safety inspection.

It may seem obvious, but you need to ask yourself. Do I really want to run a bed and breakfast? It is hard work, physically and mentally draining with holidays few and far between. You have to be prepared to work all hours of the day and night. You must have skills across a number of different disciplines including, catering, customer services and DIY home improvements. Have you seriously considered how you will feel about inviting strangers into your home? It takes a specific type of person to operate a successful B&B as well as enjoying the lifestyle itself. Every time that entry bell rings with new guests you will have to put a smile on your face and adhere to their needs and wants.

A realistic budget for your business costs. Do you need to make renovations to the property? If so how significant and costly are these going to be? You need to consider everything very carefully, from new furniture, linens, sheets, towels and upholstery, to the utilities available such as cable television and broadband internet. Does the property need developing in the en suite areas? Is every room as immaculate and presentable as you could possible make it?

It is no mean feat being the proprietor of a B&B, it takes a lot of planning and even more patience but if you can pull it off the nature of the work can be immeasurably rewarding.

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John McE writes articles on a number of subjects including hotel consultancy and hotel strategy. For more on this see Hotel Solutions.

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