Home Business Idea: Bed and Breakfast
Business description
Operating a bed and breakfast business involves having both the appropriate lodging for your customers, the amenities that they are looking for, and the breakfast service that they expect. As a bed and breakfast small business owner, you assume the costs associated with running a hotel and providing a meal service.
Materials needed
The most significant material that you will need in order to start your own bed and breakfast is the location or building for your bed and breakfast. Many bed and breakfasts start out as a part of the original owner's home. The business owner may use the top portion of the home as the business and the bottom portion as their primary residence. All of the regular materials for living comfortably will be required as well as the additional amenities that your customers will expect when they pay a higher price to stay away from home.
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Space requirements
While you can run a bed and breakfast out of your home, you will need to commit a good deal of space to your business. You will need at least one guest room and a bathroom. Your customers will expect a certain degree of privacy, so the positioning of this business space is important. You will likely also need a reception or lobby area where you can greet your guests and handle the business needs of the bed and breakfast.
Time requirements
The time requirements of a bed and breakfast business may be the most demanding of all the requirements. The daily routine of a bed and breakfast owner combines early rising, cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, banking, bookkeeping, advertising and marketing, check-ins, reservations, management, and more.
Income potential on a scale of 1-5
Owning a bed and breakfast could potentially be a very lucrative endeavor. For smaller bed and breakfast owners who rent out only one or two rooms mostly on the weekend, the earning potential is about a 3.5. If you are able to sell one or more rooms on more than just the weekend, your income potential could be as high as a 4.5. The one financial drawback to owning a bed and breakfast is that you are accruing the costs of maintaining and paying a mortgage on the rooms even when they are not being sold for the night.
Keys to success
Bed and breakfast owners are usually most successful when the owner is able to combine what they enjoy doing with serving others. Successful owners of small bed and breakfast businesses generally enjoy the duties associated with owning an operation like this. If you enjoy cooking, serving others, paying attention to detail, and keeping house, you are well on your way to operating a successful business.
Risks
Running a bed and breakfast requires a great deal of commitment. Not only must you commit a good deal of your time, but when you run a bed and breakfast out of your home, you sacrifice privacy and convenience for your business. Your workdays are a lot longer than the traditional 8 hour work day when you run a bed and breakfast. You have to be available to your guests 24 hours a day and that can be difficult especially if you are also trying to raise a family. For these and many other reasons, owning a bed and breakfast is not for everyone. You really have to be a good fit for the job to be successful.
