About:
From doing this completely on your own to going through a "middle-man/woman" (i.e. a broker) such as Airbnb or one of it's now-worthy competitors, all this idea really takes is an up-to-par spare bedroom, a good cook, and an outgoing personality. You can set your price per night depending on what you offer and by doing a little research on current reasonable and customary local/regional prices. If you have an extra bedroom, a large home, extra space in your farm house, etc....you get the picture.....then you have the necessary beginnings to start making extra income as a Bed and Breakfast Inn. As with many business ideas, you can find some possible gray areas in this one, and there are always exceptions to everything depending on your exact set up and situation and where you are located; but, in general, to do this as legitimately as possible, the two (2) major kickers are the following:
1) In many cases this requires owning the home and land it sits on (yes, I know this isn't always the case 100% of the time), so this is an idea that works best for homeowners or those looking/willing to purchase a home - not a real "bootstrap start-up" idea here, UNLESS you already own a home. Again, this is possible to do in rented accommodations as well, it just depends on the terms of the lease you signed up front.
AND
2) Completely depending on where you are located, this could require anything from no to very minimal government paperwork/licensing on one end of the spectrum to not being allowed at all as per local business and/or zoning regulations on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, with, of course, a whole range of scenarios and options in between. In many cases and places, Bed and Breakfast type set ups are allowed (at least speaking in terms of the U.S.), but always do your due diligence and look into business and licensing laws and requirements and local zoning laws FIRST is all I am really saying.
As with any business idea, do your homework first regarding specifically looking into any and all laws and policies (local, county, state/provincial, federal/national) about it before jumping in with all you've got!
Naturally, your "visitors" will expect a clean, neat, and comfortable home. So assuming that your home meets these prerequisites, and you have a spare bedroom, simply "doll it up" a bit. Make sure it's painted brightly, there's an outside window, lots of room, closet space and bureau, and perhaps a small desk, and a large comfortable bed, or twin beds.
Again, depending on where you are located and who your intended visitors are, some visitors will appreciate a quick tour of the interesting sights in your area, so be prepared to have something worked out along these lines - whether you take them on a local drive yourself, or have a practiced speech prepared in advance for them pointing them in the right direction to things, be ready for such questions and queries. As the host intending to do this right, you should definitely be "up to speed" and "in the know" on the major current events, local attractions, history, and layout of your local area. Some visitors won't even ask, but when someone does, you don't want to be standing there humming and ha-ing around....and you definitely don't want to be the one to say: "Just check it out online." Remember, there is probably a cheap motel with WiFi somewhere easily accessible they could have stayed in if they didn't want you as their host (again, this completely depends on where you are actually located with your Bed and Breakfast venture)!
Which brings us to the basic appeal of a Bed and Breakfast Inn......travelers who seek out and enjoy staying at Bed and Breakfast type places often tend to be looking for and appreciate a quiet "home-style" place to stay. Generally, they enjoy visiting with the people off the superhighway and want to get away from the sterilized atmosphere and sameness of hotels and motels.
The vast majority of people will want to communicate with you in advance, inquiring about the possibilities of staying at your home while in or around your town or city (or, again, where ever you may be located - maybe you have opened the doors, or intend to open the doors, to your Bed and Breakfast venture on your farm way out in the countryside). Regardless of where you are, the point is you will want to indulge in a bit of advertising, or list your availability with a B & B broker. People will check local business search results and online ad spaces before arriving in a new town, and, yes, some people really do still check physical "offline" bulletin boards when they arrive in a new town, so post a flyer for your Bed and Breakfast enterprise on some high-profile bulletin boards in major areas around your town or city. If your town or city has a "Visitor's Center" of sorts, many of these places have bulletin boards that are great for posting such flyers. Also, list your B&B with your local Chamber of Commerce if you are allowed to do so. And, although not the "typical majority" (i.e. don't expect hordes of people to show up at your door step this way), some people will just be driving across the country, come to a town or city they think is interesting, and start driving through the residential areas looking for Bed and Breakfast Inns. Thus, you should have a small sign posted either in your front yard or on the front of your house. This sign needn't be much more than about two feet wide by about ten inches deep. It need only state: BED AND BREAKFAST - Inquire Within or Call 123-4567. Of course, it can say whatever you want it to say, but the point is, keep it brief. Make sure anyone reading it who is driving past in a car can very quickly note: 1) that there is a Bed and Breakfast establishment at that residence, and 2) a clearly visible way to contact you to book a stay! NOTE: check in to local laws and policies regarding placing business-related signs around your house before doing so.
With the rapid slow death of print, newspapers have become a GREAT place to get relatively cheap advertising in recent years. Don't be shy to post a classified ad in your local/regional paper - or several of them as well as reach out and get your ad into online classifieds and business directories, especially targeting your local area as much as possible. Of course, listing your services with a broker won't hurt either; it just depends on whether or not you want to use a brokerage service or not.
Now, suppose you're organized and ready to receive your first customers. You greet them as their host and offer to assist them in getting situated in the room or rooms you have for them. If they'd like to take a drive around your area and see the points of interest, you do that. And then in the morning, serve them a big, delicious breakfast.
You'll probably find that many foreign visitors will want to stay several days and nationals and long-term residents of the country who are just passing through might just stay the night. Whatever, if they want to sleep comfortably through the night, eat breakfast and be on their way, so be it. If they want to sit around after breakfast and plan an itinerary for a complete visit of your area, your assistance and help will be greatly appreciated. (Remember those recommendations)!
That's basically it regarding the essentials of this tremendously profitable business that's become more and more popular over the past recent decades - it's called Bed & Breakfast, and it's very definitely a low investment idea (if you already have the right set up to start with). And, you can parlay it into a very interesting and comfortable income producing business - all from the comforts of your own home!
External Links/Further Reading:
How to Start and Run a Bed and Breakfast
The First Step Every Aspiring Bed and Breakfast Owner Needs to Take
Confessions of a B&B Owner: Innkeeper Secrets Revealed
Thinking About Running a Bed and Breakfast? Read This First
How to Start a Bed and Breakfast
Decisions to Make Before Starting a Bed and Breakfast
Bed and Breakfast Coach
What to consider when thinking of starting a B&B
Starting a Bed & Breakfast Business? Things you need to know
11 legal matters to take care of when opening a B&B (U.K. site)
From doing this completely on your own to going through a "middle-man/woman" (i.e. a broker) such as Airbnb or one of it's now-worthy competitors, all this idea really takes is an up-to-par spare bedroom, a good cook, and an outgoing personality. You can set your price per night depending on what you offer and by doing a little research on current reasonable and customary local/regional prices. If you have an extra bedroom, a large home, extra space in your farm house, etc....you get the picture.....then you have the necessary beginnings to start making extra income as a Bed and Breakfast Inn. As with many business ideas, you can find some possible gray areas in this one, and there are always exceptions to everything depending on your exact set up and situation and where you are located; but, in general, to do this as legitimately as possible, the two (2) major kickers are the following:
1) In many cases this requires owning the home and land it sits on (yes, I know this isn't always the case 100% of the time), so this is an idea that works best for homeowners or those looking/willing to purchase a home - not a real "bootstrap start-up" idea here, UNLESS you already own a home. Again, this is possible to do in rented accommodations as well, it just depends on the terms of the lease you signed up front.
AND
2) Completely depending on where you are located, this could require anything from no to very minimal government paperwork/licensing on one end of the spectrum to not being allowed at all as per local business and/or zoning regulations on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, with, of course, a whole range of scenarios and options in between. In many cases and places, Bed and Breakfast type set ups are allowed (at least speaking in terms of the U.S.), but always do your due diligence and look into business and licensing laws and requirements and local zoning laws FIRST is all I am really saying.
As with any business idea, do your homework first regarding specifically looking into any and all laws and policies (local, county, state/provincial, federal/national) about it before jumping in with all you've got!
Naturally, your "visitors" will expect a clean, neat, and comfortable home. So assuming that your home meets these prerequisites, and you have a spare bedroom, simply "doll it up" a bit. Make sure it's painted brightly, there's an outside window, lots of room, closet space and bureau, and perhaps a small desk, and a large comfortable bed, or twin beds.
Again, depending on where you are located and who your intended visitors are, some visitors will appreciate a quick tour of the interesting sights in your area, so be prepared to have something worked out along these lines - whether you take them on a local drive yourself, or have a practiced speech prepared in advance for them pointing them in the right direction to things, be ready for such questions and queries. As the host intending to do this right, you should definitely be "up to speed" and "in the know" on the major current events, local attractions, history, and layout of your local area. Some visitors won't even ask, but when someone does, you don't want to be standing there humming and ha-ing around....and you definitely don't want to be the one to say: "Just check it out online." Remember, there is probably a cheap motel with WiFi somewhere easily accessible they could have stayed in if they didn't want you as their host (again, this completely depends on where you are actually located with your Bed and Breakfast venture)!
Which brings us to the basic appeal of a Bed and Breakfast Inn......travelers who seek out and enjoy staying at Bed and Breakfast type places often tend to be looking for and appreciate a quiet "home-style" place to stay. Generally, they enjoy visiting with the people off the superhighway and want to get away from the sterilized atmosphere and sameness of hotels and motels.
The vast majority of people will want to communicate with you in advance, inquiring about the possibilities of staying at your home while in or around your town or city (or, again, where ever you may be located - maybe you have opened the doors, or intend to open the doors, to your Bed and Breakfast venture on your farm way out in the countryside). Regardless of where you are, the point is you will want to indulge in a bit of advertising, or list your availability with a B & B broker. People will check local business search results and online ad spaces before arriving in a new town, and, yes, some people really do still check physical "offline" bulletin boards when they arrive in a new town, so post a flyer for your Bed and Breakfast enterprise on some high-profile bulletin boards in major areas around your town or city. If your town or city has a "Visitor's Center" of sorts, many of these places have bulletin boards that are great for posting such flyers. Also, list your B&B with your local Chamber of Commerce if you are allowed to do so. And, although not the "typical majority" (i.e. don't expect hordes of people to show up at your door step this way), some people will just be driving across the country, come to a town or city they think is interesting, and start driving through the residential areas looking for Bed and Breakfast Inns. Thus, you should have a small sign posted either in your front yard or on the front of your house. This sign needn't be much more than about two feet wide by about ten inches deep. It need only state: BED AND BREAKFAST - Inquire Within or Call 123-4567. Of course, it can say whatever you want it to say, but the point is, keep it brief. Make sure anyone reading it who is driving past in a car can very quickly note: 1) that there is a Bed and Breakfast establishment at that residence, and 2) a clearly visible way to contact you to book a stay! NOTE: check in to local laws and policies regarding placing business-related signs around your house before doing so.
With the rapid slow death of print, newspapers have become a GREAT place to get relatively cheap advertising in recent years. Don't be shy to post a classified ad in your local/regional paper - or several of them as well as reach out and get your ad into online classifieds and business directories, especially targeting your local area as much as possible. Of course, listing your services with a broker won't hurt either; it just depends on whether or not you want to use a brokerage service or not.
Now, suppose you're organized and ready to receive your first customers. You greet them as their host and offer to assist them in getting situated in the room or rooms you have for them. If they'd like to take a drive around your area and see the points of interest, you do that. And then in the morning, serve them a big, delicious breakfast.
You'll probably find that many foreign visitors will want to stay several days and nationals and long-term residents of the country who are just passing through might just stay the night. Whatever, if they want to sleep comfortably through the night, eat breakfast and be on their way, so be it. If they want to sit around after breakfast and plan an itinerary for a complete visit of your area, your assistance and help will be greatly appreciated. (Remember those recommendations)!
That's basically it regarding the essentials of this tremendously profitable business that's become more and more popular over the past recent decades - it's called Bed & Breakfast, and it's very definitely a low investment idea (if you already have the right set up to start with). And, you can parlay it into a very interesting and comfortable income producing business - all from the comforts of your own home!
External Links/Further Reading:
How to Start and Run a Bed and Breakfast
The First Step Every Aspiring Bed and Breakfast Owner Needs to Take
Confessions of a B&B Owner: Innkeeper Secrets Revealed
Thinking About Running a Bed and Breakfast? Read This First
How to Start a Bed and Breakfast
Decisions to Make Before Starting a Bed and Breakfast
Bed and Breakfast Coach
What to consider when thinking of starting a B&B
Starting a Bed & Breakfast Business? Things you need to know
11 legal matters to take care of when opening a B&B (U.K. site)
