People now need a home away home when they travel, and not hotels or motels anymore. With technology helping us to travel better, staying away is no more an issue, especially with so many registered platforms around. Travelers enjoy staying at a homely place and it’s cheaper as well as convenient.
What Is A Bed & Breakfast Business?
To start with, it’s definitely not a hotel. In simple words, it’s an independent small property offered for commercial accommodation purposes. You have to offer a place where visitors can stay overnight and with free breakfast in a home-like setting.
If compared to a hotel or motel, bed & breakfasts are generally small and have fewer guest rooms.
Market Research & Location
Before you even start, you need to understand the market first. Who is your target audience and which customers you are going to cater to your place too? You need to have a clearer picture of your area and who are the visitors to this place.
Is this a popular tourist destination? How many people visit the area per year? What are the other lodging options are available in your area?
Primarily, the guests can be broadly divided into:
Tourists
Business Travelers
Couples on a romantic getaway
Locals in need of extra bedrooms
Before you proceed, make sure that you have clearance from the local Zoning Board, and your location is zoned for commercial use.
Licenses & Permits You Need
As a bed and breakfast business, make sure that your place is legally allowed to rent. Consult a lawyer if you want to and be aware of all the local laws and regulations. This varies from country to country. Some of the states even add an occupancy tax for renting out properties.
Customizing Your Bed & Breakfast Place
Users generally book out a bed and breakfast instead of a hotel room as it is cheap. Many prefer it over hostels for its local touch. The guests mostly want to enjoy a neighborhood and experience what the locals do.
Make sure your place is comfortable and not situated in any noisy place.
Cleaning & Handling
You have to ensure that your property is cleaned properly whenever a guest leaves. Thoroughly cleaning and keeping it prepared well before the guest’s arrival will help you get better reviews. Have a steady staff.
Property maintenance plays an important role in any bed and breakfast business.
Your cleaning and handling tasks will include fresh pillows and sheets, pest control, plumbing, electrical, and appliance repairs.
Fixing The Prices
Tourist demand will determine your price. If you are close to a top-visited destination, you can charge high for your bed and breakfast. But in case you are away from any tourist attraction, it’s better to price competitively.
The most sought-after tourist destinations and centrally located sites are always in demand thus, you can keep the prices on the higher side.
You can also choose to price your bed and breakfast according to your investment. Calculate the operational costs and you can charge your customers per night in order to keep your business running.
Listing Approach
You need to click pictures, provide details and upload them to any of the sites like Airbnb or Bnbfinder. property by submitting photos and descriptions of the space for rent. Once submitted, it will then be approved by the platform. The property will then receive a listing and will be viewed by travelers.
The searches will depend on the parameters like area, availability of dates, price, number of rooms and more.
Do remember that bed and breakfast is an online business. You have to let your listing stand out in the marketplace.
If you have anything better to offer, why would even guests choose you? Either you have to price below your competition to attract more customers or offer affordable amenities at a competitive price.
First, check out what other listings in your area offer what are the and prices. Also, make sure that your property is properly listed with the right details and emphasize what unique you offer.
Improving Your Bed & Breakfast Online Listing
You have to be on top to get more bookings. For that, you need to improve your rankings. Do remember, that either your spend on sponsoring your property or improve your internet search rankings. Higher the ranking, the more are chances of your property to be booked.
The key to the success of a successful bed and breakfast business is honest ratings. Build trust with your guests by offering a great experience for your guests with accurate details, references, and genuine reviews.
Offer Responsive Services
The best bed and breakfast properties are always found to be the best responsive ones. Your ratings also depend on the service you offer. This will help you to get a higher search rank with increased bookings.
Make sure you attend all the phone calls, if not available, call them back. Follow up with feedback later if everything was the line or anything else they felt like should improve.
Take Reviews Seriously
If someone is complaining about something, take that as constructive criticism. You are not a professional hotelier, so you may miss a feature or two. If a guest reports a problem, solve them straight away, and if not immediately, ensure that it’s solved as soon as possible. Make sure you apologize to the guest.
If someone posts a negative review or gives less rating, act upon it and learn from your mistakes. Respond to all the complaints individually in a professional manner so that other guests exploring your property can have the confidence in you.
Offer The Best Possible Customer Service
It’s a service industry. The better the service you offer, the higher will be the chances for you to have a successful bed and breakfast business. As a host, provide your guests with the best customer experience possible, and your property will be rewarded with positive reviews and higher search rankings.
Even the platform where your property is listed will start you to list as a top bed and breakfast option in your area.
If you have some available rental space, this the best business you can do right now. It’s really easy to start a profitable bed and breakfast business in 2020 without any investment.