What’s holding you back from opening your dream bed and breakfast? Start making moves now with this guide on how to open a bed and breakfast in your state.
Successful landlords with very few properties can easily make $50,000 a year, but the owner of a bed and breakfast could make more with even less hassle. If you like to host guests, have a great personality, and love to meet new people, opening a bed and breakfast could be a great way to earn a living.
Your only hurdle could be figuring out how to open a bed and breakfast.
The US travel industry is a nearly trillion dollar industry. With the rise of Airbnb and other websites, people are looking for a more authentic experience when they travel that hotels can’t. A bed and breakfast offers the charm of local color with all of the comforts of home.
If you’re wondering how to open a bed and breakfast, all you need is a little bit of business savvy. Follow these 8 tips and you’ll be struggling to keep a vacancy.
1. Find Your Niche
Get to know what kinds of other bed and breakfast options are in your area. If you notice that other options aren’t kid-friendly, or feel stuffy, try to find a way to make yours more casual. If there’s nothing that caters to creative people like you, make yours the answer to what’s missing.
Figure out who is traveling in your area. If there aren’t a lot of kids or creative people, but more tech types, make sure they have what they need when they visit. Create a style that feels personal without ignoring what your customers need.
2. Think About Referrals
While you’re just starting out, thinking about how to open a bed and breakfast, you need to also project into the future. When people are looking at places to visit, they look at review sites to find out about your reputation.
Directories like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google My Business matter when it comes to getting business. They allow users to write reviews, potential visitors to see photos, and people to learn about your business.
Claim those listings and reward past guests for leaving reviews. Encourage positive feedback by giving people what they need and listening to criticism.
3. Add It Up
Make sure you’re doing the math every step of the way. If your house costs x-amount of dollars a month in just taxes and fees, you need to make sure you’re not selling yourself short. Renting rooms at bargain basement prices might leave you without the ability to keep your rooms open.
If you find a great place like this Sunset Canyon ranch, you need to make sure you can keep it open as long as possible.
If you’re finding yourself cutting corners on toiletries and amenities, it’s time to raise the prices. Give your customers the best. They’ll be willing to pay for it.
4. Make It Feel Local
Support local artists by showing their work on your walls. If your area is known for a particular type of wine or treat, offer those to your guests. Let them leave with a small local souvenir without having to pay extra for it.
Make them something locally derived for breakfast. Use local honey or local produce. Show off how special your region is with every choice you make.
5. Every Sense Matters
When people walk in, they’re going to notice every sound, smell, and sight. Make your lighting unique and people will get a certain feeling from your B&B. Bake treats or bread as often as possible to give it a sense of smell.
Put on some light music and offer to carry your guests’ suitcases to their rooms. They will immediately feel pampered.
Offer them a cup of coffee, tea, beer, or wine. They’re there to relax and the first place to start is with the senses.
6. Provide Everything
All the little toiletries that people need when they travel don’t always fit into their kits. They might have forgotten some essentials in their rush out the door.
Have lots of toothbrushes, toothpaste, condoms, tampons, phone chargers and nail clippers on hand. Leave a basket with these things in their room.
Have a deck of playing cards or a board game in their room. They might have an hour to kill and want to just shut off their brain for a while. Hair dryers, irons, and ironing boards are a must.
7. Every Detail Matters
Don’t meddle and don’t let it be known, but you should be obsessive when you’re cleaning and caring for your guests. Make sure every room is spotless and every corner has been cared for. Don’t settle for “just enough”.
Listen to every casual bit of feedback that people have. If they ask whether you have a certain type of sweetener or offer laundry services, think about how you can keep anyone from asking for that again. Offer everything your customers want.
Those details are what people will remember you for and they’ll end up making the difference between a good and a stellar review.
8. Make It Fun
Even though the customer is always right, this is your business. You know the goals that you want to reach. Ultimately, when thinking of how to open a bed and breakfast, you want to make people feel great when they’re away from home.
If you’re stressed out or unhappy doing your job, people will notice and they won’t feel relaxed. Running around, you won’t have time to chat with your guests and make them feel at home.
You’ve found a great way to , so keep it that way by staying positive.
Share who you are with your guests. Laminate an 11×14 list of places to visit with a map at the bottom. People want to get to know the places they visit, so show them the best sights within walking distance.
You Already Know How To Open A Bed And Breakfast
If you’ve got a little bit of business school under your belt or have taken some courses, you know what will work for your business. The number one thing to remember is that you’re in the travel and vacation industry. Make sure your place always feels like a home away from home.
If you’re ready to start a new business, for more tips on marketing and running your place.
