Small Business Boomers

What do you need to be a B&B Owner?

by Jean on June 18th, 2008

To continue my interview with the owner of Olde World Bed and Breakfast in Dover, Ohio (Check out Part 1-intro, Part 2-benefits of staying in a B&B, and part 3-cost/benefit analysis of b&b ownership).

My husband and I just returned from spending two nights at a wonderful bed and breakfast in Dover, Ohio called Olde World B&B. We have stayed here at least 4 times, partly because we have family in the area, and also because we love this place. It has a beautiful garden, a hot tub in a separate building, and a deck out back where you can sit and grill out and watch the sunset.

In addition to being a great B&B, Olde World is also a “tea room,” where groups (usually ladies) can come for a lovely lunch and tea. They also do wedding and baby showers in their large parlor.

Yesterday I talked about the process Linda and Ronnie Stroup went through to find the B&B and get it started. After they took over last June, the summer and fall were pretty good, with tourists coming to see the fall foliage and do Christmas shopping. Then the winter hit, and they went for weeks at a time with no business. They laid off their housekeeper and did the work themselves when people came, and the wedding/baby showers helped keep them going. The lived off their savings (Ronnie had changed jobs), and made it through until now. With the good weather, business is picking up, but it is still slow because people aren’t traveling with the gas prices so high. Linda is hoping people will start taking short day/weekend trips (”one-tank” trips, she called them).

As you can see, the B&B business is tough. Linda says you need to be in a tourist area or large university town, but even the tourist business may be seasonal, and the economy has a direct effect on it.

Linda says they are in this for the long haul. They love their lives now and they want to be in the area. She says it’s not unusual for B&B owners to burn out after a couple of years. It is very hard work. The biggest challenge is the requirement that you be around, all the time. Don’t plan on taking trips, or taking off for more than an afternoon/evening. You need to be there to serve breakfast every morning, and make sure the guests feel welcomed and provided for.

The Stroups live in the basement of their B&B,as do many other owners, but you may need to find somewhere else to live (close by), or find someone to run the place for you.

Linda believes there are several essentials you need to have if you want to be a B&B owner:

• A love of cooking. You’re going to be doing a lot of it.
• A genuine interest in people and an ability to relate to them. Introverts don’t do well, because you have to chat with people, show an interest in them, and generally be a “friendly innkeeper.” No introverts here, please.
• As I stated above, you must be willing to give up travel plans and long vacations (unless you do them in the very slow time, but then who has the money then?!) and concentrate on being there every day.

To Linda’s list, I would add two more:

• An ability to do fix-up chores easily. Most B&B’s are older homes, and they need a lot of care. If you or your spouse aren’t mechanically inclined, you’ll need to find someone to do the work for you, sometimes on an emergency basis.
• Finally, and maybe most important, enough cash reserves to sustain you in the slow times. If Linda and Ronnie had not had savings to draw on last winter, they would not have been able to pay the bank and other fixed expenses. You must know how to live on a small income and “make do” until business comes in.

Tomorrow, marketing a B&B

Photo courtesy Linda Stroup

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