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Becoming A Bed & Breakfast Host

There are both advantages and disadvantages to operating a B&B, and if you want to be successful, you need to be aware of both. This chapter explores those advantages and disadvantages as well as the personal qualities and skills that are most desirable in a B&B host. We then provide you with a method of measuring your own skills and show you how to create an “action plan” to improve those skills.

1. Advantages

There are many advantages to starting a B&B. Some of them relate to running your own business generally, and some to the unique nature of a B&B.

(a) Be your own boss: You have complete control over all work-related activities. You can decide when to take a day off, when to go on vacation, or whether to shut down for a season. You also get to set your own working standards and don’t have to answer to anyone else (acknowledging, of course, certain minimum standards set by municipalities and health authorities).

(b) Earn extra money: The extra revenue earned through a B&B can be a powerful incentive, and it can provide a meaningful contribution to a family’s income.

(c) Gain a tax advantage: A B&B can produce considerable tax advantages by allowing a wide range of deductions for business expenses, including a portion of your house expenses.

(d) Work at home: As a B&B host, you work in your home. You eliminate the need to battle heavy traffic or bad weather in order to reach your workplace, which allows you to begin your day in a more relaxed frame of mind.

(e) More family time: A B&B business allows you to spend more time at home, which can be very important if you have young children or if you are caring for a family member at home.

(f) Continue other interests: By conducting your business at home, you have the opportunity to pursue other interests during the day. For example, you may have an existing home-based business that can be blended with your B&B business, or you may have a craft or hobby that can be carried on in conjunction with your B&B enterprise.

(g) Meet new people: B&B hosts meet many diverse and interesting people. This can be a very rewarding experience, particularly for hosts who live alone. Sharing your hospitality with your guests can result in many personal and business benefits.

(h) Choose your customers: B&B hosts can specify the type of customer that they accept into their home. A host that speaks one particular language may decide to accept only visitors who can speak that language. A female host who lives alone may decide to accept only female guests or family groups.

2. Disadvantages

Just as there are many advantages to being a B&B host, there are some disadvantages that should be considered.

(a) Less family privacy: Conducting business inside your home makes it more difficult to separate family from business. Some guests may require your assistance during family time, so you need to organize your home and business operations to minimize these problems. You also need your family’s full support if you are to be successful.

(b) Workload: Running a B&B requires extra effort in addition to your regular household duties. You must prepare and serve additional meals, and bed linen needs to be changed and washed after each guest has checked out. All areas that are used by your guests require a higher-than-normal level of housekeeping.

(c) Repetition: There is a lot of repetition to the work involved in running a B&B. Every morning that you have guests you must rise early to prepare and serve breakfast. Every day you must clean effectively and quickly. Your client and business records will need daily updating. You must be prepared for these daily routines without exception.

(d) Income fluctuations: Depending on the traffic pattern of visitors to your area, you could experience sporadic or seasonal fluctuations in the income derived from your business. If you are relying on this extra income, keep these variations in mind.

3. Skills and Qualities That Best Suit the Job

For the moment, let’s visualize the “perfect” B&B hosts. Below is a list of the most desirable skills and personal qualities that these imaginary hosts would possess. This list is not in order of importance because all these skills are equally important. Don’t get discouraged when you read this list — remember these are “perfect” hosts, and nobody is actually perfect.

(a) Friendly: Perfect hosts are very friendly and always smiling. They have a natural love of people, and they are relaxed and at ease with strangers. They welcome each and every guest as if they were old friends.

(b) Tolerant: Perfect hosts show compassion for their guests’ problems. They are tolerant of race and religion, open-minded, and flexible in providing for their guests’ comfort.

(c) Clean: Perfect hosts exhibit acceptable dress code, good grooming, and excellent personal hygiene. Their house exhibits outstanding standards of cleanliness in all areas, but particularly in guest bedrooms, bathrooms, and dining areas.

(d) Diplomatic: Perfect hosts are courteous and tactful when talking to guests. They are peacemakers by nature, but if a guest’s behavior needs to be addressed, they are firm but fair.

(e) Hospitable: When perfect hosts start their day, they are “on stage.” They forget all their own troubles and concentrate on providing the highest level of hospitality possible. They anticipate the needs of their guests and proceed accordingly. They serve meals that feature high quality, variety, and visual appeal.

(f) Organized: Perfect hosts are very well organized and conduct their business efficiently, using thoughtfully prepared operating procedures. Their client and business records are well organized, accurate, and neat.

(g) Prepared: Perfect hosts are prepared for all emergencies. They have medical and fire procedures in place, and they are able to carry out those procedures in a calm and orderly manner. In addition, they have back-up plans for operating problems such as power outages, etc.

(h) Communicators: Perfect hosts have excellent verbal and written communication skills. They have systems in place to encourage good communication between them and their customers. They are good listeners.

(i) Informative: Perfect hosts are very well informed about local matters including history of the area, local events, tourist attractions, retail shops, and restaurants. They keep available current copies of all train, bus, and plane schedules.

(j) Motivated: Perfect hosts are self-starters and achievers, and they often set themselves goals and deadlines. They get satisfaction and enjoyment from operating their B&B.

(k) Hard workers: Perfect hosts have excellent work ethics, and they tackle extra duties and work routines with enthusiasm. They maintain their work ethic through proper diet and adequate rest. Their standards are very high, and they maintain those standards.

The skills and qualities that perfect hosts possess help them be successful. These are the same skills and qualities that you should aim for as you plan your own B&B. You may not be able to achieve the same level of perfection as our imaginary hosts, but if you use them as a target — something to aim at — you can greatly improve your chances of success.

4. Skill Assessment

4.1 Why do a skill assessment?

Successful businesses know the value of assessing the skills of their employees. They use the information to target employee training so that their business can continue to grow. As future B&B operators, you will need to document all the skills you will bring to your new business. If other people are going to support you in the running of your B&B, their skills should also be assessed. By doing a skills assessment during the planning stages, you will be able to identify any areas that require improvement.

Nobody is skilled in all aspects of running a B&B. As we said before, nobody is perfect, but if everyone involved in the running of your B&B pools their skills, the overall results can be very good.

In certain highly specialized areas, such as accounting or legal matters, you may decide to seek outside assistance from professionals. You may need them for some start-up advice, or you might want to retain them steadily for continuing help.

Carol and Bob have decided to run their B&B as a team, and since both of them will be sharing the duties, each completed an assessment worksheet separately so that neither influenced the other.

4.2 Do your own skill assessment

Take the time now to complete your own skill assessment. Be absolutely honest about your skills. Don’t try to hide your feelings. All of us have strengths and weaknesses, and we wouldn’t be human without them. By recognizing your likes and dislikes, and by determining how strongly you feel about each of them, you will be in a better position to identify the skills that you already possess, and the ones that require improvement.

5. Action Plan to Improve Your Skills

5.1 Analyzing the skills assessment

Perhaps you'll need some improvement in cleanliness, preparation, and information. If your skill group that needs the most improvement is organization, which involves preparing operating procedures and setting up client and business records, you may decide to assign bookkeeping to another member of the team. This would release the other to concentrate on other aspects of the business.

5.2 Make your own action plan

Now create your own action plan. Write down the skill statements that you need to improve based on your own skill assessment. Then write down your action plan for improving each of those skills.

Refer to your action plan regularly to monitor your progress, and when you feel that you have conquered a skill, strike it off your list.

Henry Higgins Harvest Muffins

Blend the following dry ingredients together:

• 1½ cups sifted flour

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

In a separate container, blend:

• 1 egg

• ¾ cup milk

• ½ cup cooked pumpkin

• ¼ cup melted shortening

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Add liquids to the dry ingredients and stir only until they are moistened, but still lumpy.

Fill 12 well-greased medium muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm with butter and homemade marmalade.