Chapter 7 - Do You Have What It Takes?

By Karla Jones Seidita, Home Economist

B&B Owner/Operator, Retired

"Invite the World to Your Door & It Will Show Up"

The idea of opening a B&B appeals to a lot of people.

Is your B&B guest friendly?

A house filled with weekend guests who pay for the entertaining you'd be doing anyway with friends and family for free seems likes the ideal occupation.

But, before you open your doors, take stock of your life style and personality.



Are you flexible?
Guests come in all shapes and sizes with a myriad of needs and requests.
They arrive at all hours of the day (and night) even though you make them aware of your check in times.

How will you handle food
preferences?

Guests have food preferences that may be totally different from yours.  Some love gourmet.  Some health food.  Others thrive on junk and caffeine. 

There will be guests with allergies and health problems, vegetarians (and vegans!) those with religious restrictions or ethical concerns - you name it.

You'll have guests who want to be left alone and guests who want to chat with you all day long - probably both types staying at the same time.

And let's not forget guests with strong (and very vocal!) political opinions.



Will you accept children and/or pets?
Children are not always raised as you would like to see them raised.  They can be loud, cranky and fussy.  They'll need kid-friendly food and toys to keep them occupied.  They'll touch everything with sticky fingers and break family heirlooms.  Pets are exactly the same - but often better behaved.

Will your guests be comfortable? 

Can you accept other people's life styles?
Couples may not always be married.  Some may be gay.  Your guests may be foreign nationals or interracial couples. 

Guests may have different religious or political views than you.  They may be older, younger, handicapped or have special needs.  

Guests may return from dinner drunk. They may have insomnia and watch TV in the living room all night long.  They may knock on your door in the middle of the night looking for an aspirin or to ask that you give them an early wake up call.  Guests can be neat and tidy or messy and thoughtless. 

Can you accept (and enjoy) your guests without being critical, judgmental or offended? 

When you invite the world to your door, it will show up.  There are some things you can control (like whether or not pets and children are welcome) but many things you can't so it's important to do a bit of soul searching before you book your first guest.

If you love being around other people and enjoy their differences, you'll have great fun with your B&B.

Updated 11-12-22

Chapter 8 - Strangers in Your House

When I was growing up, my mother rented our spare bedrooms.   It was the 1950's and life was different.  Our big Victorian house had 5 bedrooms so there were always lots of strangers around. 

Cheesecake Farms
The Mane House

We lived near an army base and families regularly came to say good bye to soldiers being shipped overseas so our "Guest House" (as we were called) provided some of the very much needed lodgings. 

Usually our guests came as referrals from the chaplain's office on the base.  The people stayed a couple of nights, sharing the one (and only one!) bathroom in the hall.  The rooms were small, had no amenities and there was no breakfast.

When there were more guests than we had rooms, my mother even rented our rooms (with our clothes still in the closets and in the drawers) temporarily housing us on the couch and day bed in the den. There was also the "alcove" - a twin bed in a hall way nook hidden by a drape.

The locks for all the rooms used skeleton keys.  That means that any one could have opened any door with their key.  The alcove didn't even have a door to lock.  Somehow it all worked out.  Nothing ever got stolen from the rooms and no one was ever surprised by strangers entering their rooms unexpectedly.

Comfy Accommodations
The Hay Loft Suite @ the Barn

The Tack Room Suite @
The Barn

Things are different today.  Although each of your B&B rooms will have their own key, can you live with the idea of strangers in your house?  

Strangers will look at your stuff - maybe even open your cabinets and closets.  

Strangers who may take some of your things.  

Strangers who are up at night after you've gone to sleep. 

It's important to think about strangers in your house.... nice people, of course, but strangers none-the-less.

Take stock of your home for safety and security.  Something as easy as moving valuables and heirlooms to protected areas of the house where guests have no access may be enough.  Adding secure locks and privacy drapes to the inn keepers quarters will provide peace of mind.

Yes, times may have changed but, just like you, most people are honest and decent.  Even so, do a safety and security check of your B&B for the peace of mind it will provide.   

How to Open a Bed & Breakfast - Chapter 3 - How Many Guest Rooms Can I Have?

By Karla Jones Seidita, Home Economist
B&B Owner/Operator, Retired 

"More ????"

Most municipalities have specific guide lines on how many people can safely occupy a building.



Go to the source when
checking regulations. 

The number of people is based, in general, on the square footage of the room or building.   

Renovations you may be required to make for fire and safety may also impact the number of guests you'll be allowed.

For example, the State of Virginia is encouraging Bed and Breakfasts as a way of increasing tourism and promoting business in our very rural areas.  To make things easier and more affordable, the state requirement of sprinkler systems for overnight lodgings has been amended.

In prior years, Virginia required sprinkler systems in case of fire for all hotels.  Any place that provided overnight accommodations was considered a "hotel".

With the new amendment,  a B&B that has 5 or less bedrooms in one building, is not required to have a sprinkler system.    If, however, the B&B has 6 or more bedrooms in one building then, yes, a sprinkler system is still required as it would be in any hotel.

Sprinkler systems are an expense you may not have planned but they're not terribly expensive if you're on public water and the pipes are run outside the sheet rock.  You'll often see this kind of pipe retro-fitting in modern office buildings. 

For people on wells, however, the expense of a sprinkler system is enormous because a holding tank of thousands of gallons of water is required to insure that, in case of fire, sufficient water is available.  And, if local codes require that the tank be buried, the cost becomes astronomical not to mention the amount of yard space that would be needed.

So, when deciding on how many bedrooms to have in your B&B, it's important to research the fire and safety requirements in your area.  Do this before you get started setting up your rooms.

Check with your local building office and fire department.  Get a printed brochure or print out the information that's posted on line.  Don't rely on hear say or a clerk's interpretation of what is required.  Always go to the source. 

Fire escapes don't have to be ugly.
This deck and stairs add to the
charm of the room as well as provide
an emergency exit.

In addition to sprinkler systems, you may be required to post emergency exit signs, lights that go on when the power goes off and provide fire escapes or a second means of egress (exit) but you won't know what you'll need until you check your local regulations.

This can be tedious stuff but it helps if you keep in mind that these regulations are intended to provide a safe environment for your guests  - just like what you'd expect when you vacation or treat yourself to a weekend get-away.

How to Open a Bed & Breakfast - Chapter 2 - The Planning Office

By Karla Jones Seidita, Home Economist
B&B Owner/Operator, Retired 

"Why do I have to do all this?

It's ONLY a bed and breakfast!"

Your B&B - no matter how small - is still a business and it's important to have it on a solid foundation right from the beginning.

The drive way from the barn to the
Mane House Country Inn

If you live anywhere but the most rural of areas, zoning is going to be your number one hurdle. 

But many areas also have planning offices that work hand in hand with zoning.

Planning offices look for things like adequate parking, use of public roads, entrance right of ways, signage and things to make sure your community works well for everyone who lives and works there.  

That's important.  

Your ideas have to fit in with the rest of the community.

Just like zoning, your local planning office probably has all of their requirements on line.  Not everything will pertain to you but read every word anyway.

View down the shady lane
from the Inn to the back of the barn.

If you're in a historic district, for example, changes you make to your property has to align with established historic requirements... paint colors, window types, fencing - what ever.

If you're in an urban area, off street parking may be required.

There maybe signage specifications, noise restrictions even things like gardens and trees or green space requirements.



The entrance to Cheesecake Farms
is a charming, environmentally
friendly gravel drive.

My point is that it's important to get a copy of your community's ordinances and study them in detail.  Not everything will apply to you but you need to be aware of things.

Never rely on hear-say or other peoples' opinions - not even the clerk in the town office.  

While a clerk may be well intentioned and helpful, you shouldn't expect that they know how the local ordinances apply specifically to you.  

A B&B is not the same as a 500 room resort or a shopping center or a 1000 home subdivision and being broad-sided with expensive and time consuming requirements that may not actually be required of you can leave you in B&B limbo. 

Go to the source and read the documents for yourself. It will help you maneuver through the sea of rules and regulations without drowning.

It's up to you to know the parts of the law that will benefit you and thpse parts that do not apply.

How to Open a Bed & Breakfast - Chapter 1 - Zoning

By Karla Jones Seidita, Home Economist
B&B Owner/Operator, Retired 

"Before You Open Your Doors, Make Sure You're in the Zone"

Having guests pay to stay in your home is more involved than having friends and family stay overnight for free.

Getting a B&B started requires dealing with a lot of tedious, boring stuff.  There's a lot of detail to plow through before opening your doors and it takes longer than you think.

Cozy and inviting - that's
a B&B

The fun stuff (like decorating and cooking) comes later - much later.

The first thing to do is check your local zoning office to see if a B&B is permitted in your area.  

Generally, the more rural your area, the more relaxed the zoning requirements.  Areas that are trying to rebuild and revitalize are also more receptive to a B&B.

Never listen to friends opinions about what is or what is not permitted.  Hear-say is never reliable no matter how trust worthy the source.  

Always check the written zoning document.  That's very important.  You'll be surprised at what you'll learn.  Most localities have everything posted on line these days so the information you want is just a click away.

Provide plenty of
panache

Can't find what you're looking for on line?

Call the zoning office and ask what the link is for your address.  They'll be able to tell you.

If all else fails, go into the zoning office in person and look it up.  There will be photo copy machines to copy documents so you can bring them home to study.  Be through and meticulous.  

Call the office before you go, ask what coins the copier machines take and bring plenty of the right coins with you.  Zoning offices never have enough cash on hand to make change for you.  Sometimes they will do the copying but expect it to be expensive.

If you live in a subdivision, also check your community documents. Your town may permit a B&B in your zone but the covenants of your subdivision (the rules you agreed to follow when you moved in) may not.


Checking zoning and covenants is always your first step.


The B&B Experience
Comfortable Lodgings
and
Great Food!

When we opened Cheesecake Farms Bed and Breakfast on our farm, we were permitted a B&B in our zone (rural agricultural) but even so had to get a variance.  It's a way communities keep track of what's going on so they can adjust your taxes.

We had to make a presentation to the planning commission showing what we had planned. 

A county ombudsman walked us through the procedure.  Be sure to ask if your locale has a support system to help you open your B&B.  It's really helpful especially when you come up against confusing or contradictory laws and regulations.

For example, all businesses in our county were required to have paved drive ways. But, being zoned "rural agricultural" (we're a farm) our zone had requirements to restrict run-off (rain, irrigation & other liquids) from hard surfaces (like paved drive ways) that would pollute our streams.... a catch 22.

Frustrating?  Sure, but the ombudsman had us file for a hard surface waiver - something we would not have known to do.  

So..... first things first.

Before you open your doors, make sure your zone permits B&B's.

Chapter 10 - How to Bring in Guests Marketing 101

Keeping the guests coming is a lot more work than you'd think.

It's something that you have to constantly work on.

Some bed and breakfast locations are easier to book than others.  Places like the beach or a good sized lake or a ski resort always have lots of visitors so it's easy for guests to find you on line.  

If you are off the beaten path, as we are, it takes a bit of creativity to keep those rooms filled. 

When we first opened, we signed up with one of those coupon deal sites (think Groupon) and it was great.  Effortlessly, we were packed solid for our entire first year.  

Our contact person held our hand every step of the way.  He helped us design a package that had wide appeal and he knew how to target the right audience.  He was easy to reach and was in constant contact with us.  Unlike expensive ads in magazines or travel guides that generated no business, we only had to pay a fee for actual bookings.  It was a sweet deal and we made a ton of money.  We were thrilled!  That's the good news.

The second year, our terrific contact person had left the company and we were assigned someone new.  Everything that was great about the first year was bad with the second.  The contact person was hard to reach, audiences suggested for promotion were clearly wrong and the company fees went sky high while they insisted we cut our prices way below our profit threshold.  The good news was that we only had to pay when rooms were actually booked so we didn't have to pay much because, the second year, the coupon deal company did not book many rooms for us.

The point is that most marketing, promotion and/or booking companies know very little (if anything) about you and your business.  What they know about is THEIR business and that's what they're selling.... their business, not yours.  

Oh sure there are excellent marketing firms out there but they handle big clients who can absorb losses from campaigns that are not successful.  With an independently owned B&B, every penny counts.

Bed and breakfasts are perhaps the smallest of all small businesses.   Marketing companies find B&B's easy targets because owners rarely have many employees (if any) and are often overwhelmed with day to day operations.  To weary owners, these companies seem like salvation.  

But the truth is that marketing is perhaps the easiest (and can be the cheapest) part of owning a B&B and certainly more fun than cleaning rooms or making beds.  
   
Marketing is something you need to do for yourself. 
And no one knows your B&B like you do.

So how can you market your business and get bookings without paying a lot of money to a marketing firm?

Start here....


1.  First decide who you are and where you are.
Are you a secluded weekend get-away?  A family vacation spot?  A stop over to somewhere else?

Some B&B's cater to only quilters.  Others to honeymooners.  Others to outlet shoppers, fishermen, bridge players, business travelers, whatever.  Some are only open seasonally or when there is a regional festival or event. 


2.  Target your customer.
Once you've decided who and where you are, focus on that.  Everything you do should pin point your potential customer.  Continually ask yourself..... will doing this help me bring in my type of guest? 


3.  Create simple packages.
Focus on your targeted guests by putting together a package or two that really enhances the reason they are coming to your B&B.  

For example, a winery tour package that includes a picnic lunch, a wine trail map and a brochure on how to taste wine.  

Or, for an antique shopping package, how about an itinerary that includes local antiques shops, driving directions, suggestions for lunch spots and some munchies for the road.   

A quilters package might include a pop up shop for forgotten quilting supplies, a help yourself refreshment table, a brown bag lunch and dinner reservations at a local restaurant.  

Get the idea?


4.  Offer discounts to promoters and organizers.
A reduced (or free!) room or package might be just the thing to motivate someone into organizing a group to book your B&B.  Something like  "Bring a group of 10 to our B&B and you stay free!"  Giving away a free room to someone who organizes a group of 10 to stay at your B&B is a lot cheaper than paying for an ad that doesn't bring in anyone.


5.  Over flow lodgings.
Get information to places that may need lodgings from time to time.  Schools and colleges at graduation time.  Military bases where parents and friends attend ceremonies.  Churches holding revivals.  Wedding venues and wedding planners.  Corporate and training offices.  

Email works well but a nice brochure sent via snail mail is something they can have at hand.  You could even invite contact people to lunch or tea and show them around.  The personal touch is always the best. 


6.  Get a web site.
If you don't already have a web site, get one up immediately.  It doesn't have to be expensive.... maybe a few dollars a month for a basic site.  It doesn't have to be elaborate and you don't have to hire anyone to do it for you.  

With today's point and click, DIY  websites, you can easily put up a one page site with your basic information.  Just google "DIY Web Sites".   BTW, stay away from free web sites.  They are not always reliable.  

Set up a FaceBook page, too.


7.  Get a business phone.
A land line, business phone is still a good business idea because you will get a phone number that people can find on line.  

Cell phones are a nice back up and alternative but can result in missed calls during bad weather or if you're out of the area.


8.  Send out press releases.
Don't be shy.  Newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV, bloggers are always looking for fun information to share with their audience.  Keep it short and sweet. 


9.  Ask for samples.
When people try to sell you advertising, always ask for a (free) sample.  If they won't let you try before you buy, skip it.  If their advertising vehicle was really able to bring in business for you, they'd be happy to let you have a try because you'd then become their customer for life!


10.  Designate one day each week for marketing.
It's easy to let marketing slide.  No matter how busy you are (or not) use some time each week for promoting your business.  

Put it on your calendar.  Don't be slip shod about it.  Schedule it!  It doesn't have to be a whole day.  An hour may be enough.... but make that a consistent, regularly scheduled hour.

Regular marketing will make all the difference.  
Marketing is your life line!   

My GE Meditation

I always laugh at people who tell me that I must meditate and to do that I must sit quietly (in a position I would never be able to get into) and keep repeating a word unknown to me in a language I can not understand.  Somehow that will bring me peace and understanding while expanding my consciousness.

Well, that may work for some but, for me, meditating like that would be just another chore. 

Once upon a time,  I found myself in a picturesque Zoroastrian temple somewhere in India.  It was complete with fire columns just like a set from an Indian Jones movie.  I started to ask the priest questions about the meaning of life but, before he responded he said,  "Those were good questions, now let me ask you a question.   What's wrong with Americans that come to his poor country looking for the treasure you already have?"    WOW!

And then there was that Alfred Hitchcock movie, Rear Window, where the Thelma Ritter character says.... "People with sense belong where they are put."

Saying the same thing, aren't they?
I have other (actually many other) examples that all say the same thing.

So this brings me back to meditation.
Meditation is a treasure we already have.  
We don't need to go looking for the proper way to do it. 
If we have any sense, we'll do it where we're put. 

Meditation is simply turning off a wandering brain so you don't have to listen to it's insufferable chatter and constant nagging. Turning off the brain helps the rest of the body relax and reboot.

Meditation can happen in an infinite number of ways. 
There is no one right way to meditate.

There's the  "sit like a pretzel and chant Hindi" method if that appeals to you but there's also prayer, day dreaming, staring at the stars, gardening, going for a walk, cooking, getting lost in a good book or good glass of wine, even getting lost on FaceBook.  The method doesn't matter.  What matters is that you turn off your brain.

So what does that have to do with my GE meditation?

Well, for me this morning, ironing sheets (with my General Electric iron) is really bless-ed meditation.  

Ironing is a totally mindless task that completely turns off my brain.

When I'm finished, I'll be relaxed and re-booted with a bonus for my bed and breakfast guests of crisp, dream weaving, sleep encouraging sheets!   Now that's really a treasure, isn't it?