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Bed and Breakfast Guide: Getting Started

Many great business ideas fall by the wayside, victims of poor foresight, unfortunate timing, or inadequacy of prosecution. The B&B enterprise is no different. Every Bed and Breakfast owner brings his or her skill set to bear on their business. It would serve you well to think about which category of the business is right for you.

The Traditional Bed and Breakfast
The bed and breakfast, a time-honoured English tradition, was traditionally a low-cost alternative to hotel accommodation. The client's expectations were commensurately lower-while not communal like hostels, closely separated sleeping quarters and shared bathroom facilities with the host and other guests were tolerated as part of the experience. To stay at a B and B was a little like being a temporary family member, thus its unique and powerful appeal. Many travelers find this arrangement satisfactory, and even superior to the more sterile and impersonal hotel and motel accommodation.
The Missing Market

Unfortunately for traditional innkeepers, there is a significant part of the traveling public that will not stay at a traditional bed and breakfast. They do not appreciate cloistered accommodation; they are protective of their privacy, and want to take their meals in a restaurant-like setting. This type of client (the author fits this category!) will never be captured by the B&B market unless operators of Bed and Breakfasts are willing to offer something different. Established operators may be unwilling to change; there is comfort in an existing niche, however limiting it is. Certainly financial reasons deter most changes. As a new entry into the market, you are better positioned to affect change.

The New Bed and Breakfast

For the past few decades, a revolution has taken place: bold, new entries into the B and B industry are tapping into this vast market, previously the unchallenged domain of motels and hotels. Increasingly, tourists and business travelers are demanding more of their hosts; new entries in the bed and breakfast industry have responded by becoming more upscale and offering hotel-like features, while retaining the personal touch. It is noteworthy that the innovative new establishments are often theme-oriented as well, emulating the success of major hotels in becoming one-stop destinations, and adding value to their basic accommodation function. Examples of this are "farm experience", "wilderness" and "wellness" B&B's. We are therefore seeing a remarkable dichotomy on the market today, with an older establishment of Bed and Breakfasts, offering a traditional expectation of service, and a new breed of "Optimized" Bed and Breakfasts, going head to head with the big players.

Which kind of B&B is right for Me?

If you wish to reach the greatest number of potential clients, you need to offer the broadest platform of services that your niche can provide. If you are considering starting a Bed and Breakfast, now is the time to decide on this option; it is more difficult later, when construction will impede your business. The purpose of these articles is not to suggest marketing ideas; I will assume in all that follows that you have already paid due diligence to whether your area is right for a B&B, whether the local market is saturated, whether local by-laws prohibit their construction, etc. I would suggest to anyone contemplating a plunge to ask of themselves two questions: 1) what unique service niche can I provide 2) How can I tailor my existing house to optimize my appeal to travelers? The next article in this series will assess the question: Why build an Optimized Bed and Breakfast?.

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Bed-and-Breakfast-Guide:-Getting-Started&id=5647992] Bed and Breakfast Guide: Getting Started

Run A Bed And Breakfast Business Better Than Others

Travelers are attracted to small inns and if you plan to open one, you will have a ready market for it. Some travelers prefer small inns to large hotel chains. It is important to know why these certain travelers do prefer to stay at a bed and breakfast business rather than a glitzy hotel so you can capitalize on those factors. Find out what these travelers want from a smaller inn.

Most travelers prefer small inns to a 5 star hotel because of the price. There are some expensive B & Bs but most are more affordable than hotels. Tough financial times today make a bed and breakfast business even more appealing to travelers who are trying to cut down on expenses. Provide guests with clean surroundings, room and toilets at a more affordable price.

One thing that a bed and breakfast business can offer to travelers is a home-cooked meal that tastes better than hotel food. Breakfasts are also supposed to be free at a B & B. Dining at hotels can be quite expensive. If you decide to serve more than just breakfasts, you can offer cheap home-cooked meals for lunch and dinner. This will be more convenient for some travelers and make more money for you.

A well known characteristic of a bed and breakfast business is the homey ambiance. It's 'home away from home' reputation appeals to many travelers who find big hotels uncomfortable and unfriendly. As a bed and breakfast owner, you don't need to furnish your inn with expensive looking furniture. As long as you provide comfortable and clean accommodations, your clients would more or less be happy to stay at a B & B. Provide the comforts of home like television, magazines and books.

Many inns are known to give personalized service. Treat your customers like real guests. Be there to welcome them when they arrive and greet them with a genuine smile. You can even make some small talk if you have the time, that's something hotel staff can't do. Show yourself to customers at least once or twice a day and entertain them if you sense that they want company.

When you have house guests in town, it's typical to want to take them around town. Of course you wouldn't be expected to actually take customers around town but you can provide information about where customers can go to have fun. Recommend tourist attractions, restaurants and sports activities so they can have a more memorable experience staying at your place.

Let's say mountain biking is popular in your region, you can provide bikes for them to rent or borrow. If you have good museums around town, have museum passes available from your bed and breakfast business so customers don't have to line up for tickets anymore. Have a calendar with the whole year's activities and festivals so you can quickly recommend things to do.

It isn't hard to open a bed and breakfast or to run one, but it takes a bit of extra effort to make one more successful than others. Make your customer's stay memorable and you will surely see them back next season. Find more ways to make your bed and breakfast business stand out from the rest. Exceptional service and making your customers feel treasured will guarantee more customers in the future.

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How to Keep Your Bed and Breakfast Fully Booked Ninety Percent of the Time

A bed and breakfast is the perfect home-based business. What could be better than living in a house that you own and making a living from it too? Running an inn isn't so hard to do, especially if you have inside information on how to do it. There's a lot that goes on at the back of the kitchen and in the office that are responsible for making a B and B successful. A good place to start is to change the way you promote your place. Sign up with a hospitality directory and join organizations. Focus more on internet marketing than traditional advertising. That way you will reach a wider market rather than just local travelers. You should expect more people going through your doors by modernizing the way you promote your business.

You will notice many bed and breakfasts that are for sale online. Maybe the owner wants to retire or is planning to move to another city. Others sell their bed and breakfast inns because they aren't making profit like they used to. Times have changed but unfortunately, some inn keepers have not changed with the times. Hence, you will notice dwindling occupancy rates in some bed and breakfast places that used to be always fully booked. There is only one way to change that trend, and that is to revolutionize the way you run and market it. The good news is, you don't have to spend a ton of money hiring a marketing consultant to promote your B&B. You can do it yourself if you are equipped with the know-how on modernizing your establishment.

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Keep-Your-Bed-and-Breakfast-Fully-Booked-Nin...] How to Keep Your Bed and Breakfast Fully Booked Ninety Percent of the Time