Start & Run a Bed & Breakfast

by Monica Taylor, Richard Taylor

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770407220
Publisher:	Self-Counsel Press, Inc.
Publication date:	02/24/2012
Series:	Start & Run Business Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Monica and Richard Taylor owned and operated The Carnochan House, a successful bed and breakfast in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada for more than 14 years. Their gracious Victorian home welcomed visitors to the famous Shaw Festival and numerous historic sites in the area. The Taylors also served on their town's bed and breakfast bylaw review committee and are active in promoting the concept of B&B in North America.

Table of Contents

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