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Self-Counsel Press - Monica Taylor , Richard Taylor

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140 pages

English

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Description

Have you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast and thought how exciting it would be to open your own B&B? This book shows you the business side of opening your home to visitors. The clearly written text, along with dozens of easy-to-follow worksheets and explanatory samples, shows you how to plan everything.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
INTRODUCTION xi
1. THE BUSINESS OF BED AND BREAKFAST 1
1. What Is Bed and Breakfast? 1
2. Take a Look at Your Competitors 2
3. Who Are the B&B Customers? 3
4. Can You Operate a B&B? 4
5. How Will This Book Help You? 4
2. BECOMING A BED AND BREAKFAST HOST 7
1. Advantages 7
2. Disadvantages 8
3. Skills and Qualities That Best Suit the Job 8
4. Skill Assessment 9
5. Action Plan to Improve Your Skills 10
3. MARKET RESEARCH 15
1. Why Do Market Research? 15
2. Sources of Information 15
3. What Tourist Attractions Are in Your Area? 16
4. Know Your Potential Customers 18
5. Know Your Competition 20
6. Document Your Market Research Costs 24
4. USING YOUR MARKET RESEARCH 26
1. Summarize Your Market Research Surveys 26
2. What Does Your Market Research Summary Tell You? 27
3. Do a Trial Bed and Breakfast Visit 29
4. Establish Start-up Parameters 32
CONTENTS
iv Start & run a bed & breakfast
5. MAKING IT LEGAL 35
1. Sources of Information 35
2. Your Business Structure 36
3. Registering Your Business Name 36
4. Levels of Taxation 37
5. Bylaws and Zoning 38
6. Business Licenses and Inspections 39
7. Insurance 40
8. Document Your Costs 41
6. TIME FOR RENOVATIONS? 43
1. The Renovation Survey 43
2. Guest Bedrooms 45
3. Guest Bathrooms 47
4. Guest Hallways and Stairways 49
5. Common Sitting Area 50
6. Guest Eating Areas 50
7. Exterior Guest Areas 51
8. Private Family Areas 51
9. Document Your Costs 53
7. PLANNING YOUR FOOD SERVICES 55
1. A Good Breakfast — A Good Start to the Day 55
2. “What Time Is Breakfast?” 55
3. “What Kind of Breakfast Do You Serve?” 56
4. “What’s for Breakfast?” 57
5. “Is This the Breakfast Room?” 60
6. Other Food Services 62
7. Handling Food 65
8. Document Your Costs 67
9. Calculating Guest Food Costs 67
8. SETTING YOUR HOUSEKEEPING STANDARDS 72
1. Bedrooms 72
2. Bathrooms 74
3. Eating Area 75
4. Common Sitting Area 76
5. Guest Hallways and Stairways 76
Contents v
6. Food Preparation Areas 77
7. Washing Dishes 77
8. Laundry 78
9. Order of Cleaning 78
10. Exterior Housekeeping 79
11. Pedestrian and Vehicle Access 80
12. Equipment and Supplies 80
13. Document Your Costs 81
9. KEEPING CLIENT RECORDS 84
1. Use Technology Wisely 84
2. Types of Bookings 87
3. Booking Procedures and Forms 88
4. Document Your Costs 95
10. CUSTOMER SERVICE OPTIONS 98
1. Check-in Procedures 98
2. Safety and Security 100
3. Tariff Payment 102
4. Check-out Procedures 105
5. Customer Services 107
6. Problem Customers 110
7. Document Your Costs 113
11. ESTABLISH YOUR FINANCIAL RECORDS 115
1. What Records Do You Need to Keep? 115
2. Business Expenses 116
3. Expense Record Forms 119
4. Revenue Record Forms 122
5. Audits 127
6. Document Your Costs 127
12. ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION 129
1. Word of Mouth 129
2. Business Stationery 130
3. Signage 133
4. Advertising 133
5. Websites and Internet Advertising 134
vi Start & run a bed & breakfast
6. Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Booking Sources 139
7. Document Your Costs 140
13. FORECASTING YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS 142
1. The First Year 142
2. Subsequent Years’ Forecasts 147
3. Statistics 147
4. Document Your Costs 151
14. FINANCIAL PLANNING 154
1. Calculate Your Start-up Costs 154
2. Review Your Start-up Costs 154
3. Sources of Start-up Capital 155
4. What Is Financial Forecasting? 157
5. Estimating Revenue 157
6. Estimating Expenses 158
7. Cash-Flow Analysis 160
15. YOUR START-UP PROJECT PLAN 165
1. Why Do Project Planning? 165
2. Organizing Your Plan 165
3. Implement Your Start-up Project Plan 168
16. SETTING AND MAINTAINING YOUR LEVEL OF SERVICE 172
1. Setting Your Level of Service 172
2. Maintaining Your Level of Service 173
3. In Conclusion 173
APPENDIXES
1. Free publications 175
1. United States 175
2. Canada 180
2. Worksheets 183
3. Cost Sheets 199
DL CONTENTS 212
Contents vii
SAMPLES
1 Skills assessment 12
2 Skills action plan 13
3 Tourist attraction survey 17
4 Customer survey form 21
5 Competitor survey 23
6 Market research summary 28
7 Hospitality rating form 31
8 Renovation survey 44
9 Food services bulletin 59
10 Food cost analysis 69
11 Start-up equipment and supplies 82
12 Reservation book 90
13 Reservation slip 91
14 Deposit reminder slip 94
15 Booking confirmation slip 94
16 Long distance telephone slip 96
17 House rules 111
18 Calculating business portion of a home (room method) 118
19 Calculating business portion of a home (square-foot method) 118
20 Monthly expense record 121
21 Expense summary 123
22 Monthly revenue record 124
23 Revenue summary 126
24 Business card 132
25 Brochure 132
26 Booking forecast 143
27 Morris B&B advance bookings 148
28 Morris B&B actual bookings 149
29 Morris B&B booking sources 152
30 Financial estimates 159
31 Cash-flow analysis 162
32 Task forms 167
33 Project plan 169

Sujets

Small business

Informations

Publié par	Self-Counsel Press
Date de parution	24 février 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781770407220
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0032€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

START & RUN A BED & BREAKFAST
Monica Taylor and Richard Taylor
Self-Counsel Press
(a division of)
International Self-Counsel Press Ltd.
USA Canada-

Copyright © 2012

International Self-Counsel Press
All rights reserved.
Introduction

Have you ever thought about operating your own bed and breakfast? Perhaps you have just taken early retirement and want to run a small business to supplement your pension. Or you may have family obligations that keep you at home and you are looking for a home-based source of income. Maybe you have stayed at a B&B and were attracted to the lifestyle of the owner. If you already live in a tourist area, you are ideally situated to cash in on the passing trade, and if you like talking to people, you probably have the right temperament to become a successful B&B host. If you have a nice home and one or two extra bedrooms, why not give it a try? We did!
We took early retirement and purchased an old Victorian home in a small tourist town. We quickly realized that we were in an ideal spot to open a B&B but we didn’t know how to start. We looked in libraries and bookstores for a how-to book, but there weren’t any. We talked to a few B&B operators, but they all had different points of view. In the end, we opened for business not fully understanding how to proceed, and we were blissfully unaware of the many pitfalls and problems that we would face. We wasted time, energy, and money, and we learned the trade by trial and error. Thank goodness we had forgiving guests that put up with our mistakes, and some of them even offered helpful suggestions and gentle encouragement.
After our first year in business, we realized how simple the whole process would have been if we could have hired an experienced B&B operator to guide us. As we gained expertise and confidence, many of our guests began to ask advice on how they could start their own B&B. In response to this evident need, we decided to write a book for anyone who was thinking of starting a B&B business.
Operating a bed and breakfast can be a very interesting career and it can be financially rewarding. For most people the start-up cost is within reason, since they can use their existing home. But if you are thinking about starting a B&B, you owe it to yourself to investigate all the pros and cons and to consider all the implications before you proceed. After you have read this book, you will have a thorough understanding of the B&B trade, you will have assessed your skills as a potential B&B host, and you will have calculated the dollars needed to start your business.
With your enthusiasm and our help, we know that you will become a very successful B&B host. To make this book even more enjoyable, recipes for some of our own house specialties precede each chapter.
1
The Business Of Bed & Breakfast

1. What Is Bed and Breakfast?
Bed and breakfast (B&B) has its roots in ancient times. In parts of the countryside where public inns were not always available, weary travelers would be accommodated by a local family who would provide food and lodging for a fee.
B&Bs have been popular in Britain and Europe for many years, but only recently have they gained wide acceptance in North America as a legitimate and popular type of accommodation.
The modern B&B provides the same type of environment as its ancient counterpart. The emphasis is on hospitality in a family setting. The visitor is greeted by the host and is given overnight accommodation in one of the spare bedrooms. In the morning, the visitor usually joins the host family for a leisurely breakfast and social conversation. The breakfast menu varies from house to house, but guests are offered selection and quality. The cost is usually less than comparable accommodation in a hotel or motel, especially when the price of the breakfast is included.
Because of the increased popularity of B&Bs, a range of services are now offered in the name of bed and breakfast. Most of them are legitimate, but some vary greatly from the original concept of this special type of accommodation.
The following are brief descriptions of different establishments that may call themselves B&Bs.

1.1 Private homes
The true B&B falls into this category, and it usually consists of a home situated in a residential area with one or two family members running the business. Spare bedrooms are set aside for guests and breakfast is served by the hosts.
From the guest’s point of view, the emphasis is on visiting a local family, enjoying their companionship, and sharing their home. Meals other than breakfast may or may not be available.

1.2 Family-run operations
Family-run establishments consist of small lodges or inns that are owned and operated by a host family. The hosts live onsite and might join the guests for breakfast. Although these establishments are operated on a larger scale, they can provide an alternative to a private home, but guests should not expect the same level of interaction with the host family. Additional meals may or may not be served.

1.3 Commercial operations
Larger commercial establishments consist of blocks of apartment suites, cabins, motels, or hotels. The owners usually don’t live onsite, and there is no interaction with a host family. All these operations have some form of lobby or front desk, where the visitor checks in and out. Breakfast can vary from coffee and muffins available in the lobby to a prepared breakfast in a coffee shop.
These establishments actively advertise themselves as B&Bs in order to attract that part of the marketplace, and although they do, technically, provide a bed and a breakfast, they do not offer the friendly family environment that gives a true B&B its unique appeal.

1.4 Other variations
There are a number of other variations of B&B that don’t seem to fall into any particular category. They offer a variety of unusual sleeping accommodations followed by a fairly standard breakfast. Houseboats, camping trailers, recreational vehicles, and tents have all been offered as B&Bs.

2. Take a Look at Your Competitors
If you are thinking about opening your own B&B, you have probably stayed at a few establishments and have your own ideas of what you would like to do to make yours unique. It’s a good idea to explore other B&Bs to trade ideas with other hosts or just to see how others have set up shop.
If you want to find out more about other B&Bs, the following references will be helpful. You will also want to consider having your own B&B listed or advertised in one or more of these publications.

2.1 Free publications
Free pamphlets listing B&Bs or reservation services are available from most government tourist offices. A list of tourist offices along with the titles of their B&B brochures is provided in Appendix 1.

2.2 Bed-and-breakfast guide books
There are numerous guide books that provide detailed descriptions and sometimes pictures of B&Bs. Specific features of each home are pointed out, and a coding system tells you what services are available and what restrictions may apply (e.g., no smoking or no children younger than 12).
Bookstores and libraries generally carry a large selection of bed-and-breakfast guide books, which are regularly updated and revised.

2.3 Reservation services
Reservation services act on behalf of groups of B&B hosts and match a customer’s requirements to one of the homes registered with the service. Each B&B pays an annual membership fee to be listed with the reservation service, which will actively seek customers for their members by advertising in government brochures, travel publications, newspapers, etc. Most reservation services will inspect each B&B to ensure a certain standard is maintained.
There are two general types of reservation services available: booking agencies and B&B associations.
A booking agency does all the reservation tasks on behalf of its members. The agency will record the visitor’s name, address, telephone number, and estimated time of arrival. Some agencies will collect a room deposit or guarantee the reservation by credit card. Many of them will arrange restaurant or theater ticket reservations as well. B&Bs are usually charged a fee for each room booked through an agency.
B&B associations are composed of individual operators who have collected together to promote business by focusing on some common service. They may all be located in a specific area, or they may have a common type of customer (e.g., hunters, hikers, canoers, etc.). These associations will match a customer’s requirements to one of their members, but it is up to the traveler to contact the B&B directly to make reservations and deposit payments.

2.4 Other sources
To assist travelers in locating B&Bs there are a number of other sources of information:

• Chambers of commerce often have listings of local B&Bs. Some of them also provide reservation services.

• Tourist information centers may provide help locating B&Bs. Many of these centers are operated by government personnel who have access to the government publications mentioned previously.

• Private advertising is conducted by many B&B operators. They distribute business cards and brochures to various tourist locations, and they often advertise in selected magazines or tourist-attraction pamphlets.

• Signs identifying B&Bs are permitted in some municipalities. Signs are usually located directly outside each establishment. In are