BED AND BREAKFAST
THE EASIEST HOME-BASED BUSINESS
There's an exciting new "down-home" kind of business springing
up among homeowners all across the country. It's called Bed and
Breakfast. Basically, this is a transplant of European Hospitality,
adapted and refined to the American way of doing things. To
foreign visitors, it's the comfort and hospitality of
home - staying overnight "with people of the land" and enjoying a
hearty breakfast - without the traditional gaudiness and plastic
feelings visitors get from most big cities in the United States.
To U.S. citizens, it is a welcome alternative to the same old
hotel/motel circuit. Now, all it takes is a spare bedroom, a good cook and an
outgoing personality. Prices per night range from a low of $25 to
$100 or more. If you have an extra bedroom, a large home, or extra space in
your farm house, you have the necessary beginnings to start making
extra income as a Bed and Breakfast Inn. One of the beautiful
aspects of this idea is that so long as you're hosting "over night
visitors" on a small scale, no licenses will be required. It's
always best, however, to check with your local authorities just to
be sure. 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 writing
desk, and a large comfortable bed, or twin beds. Most foreign visitors will expect and appreciate a "quick
tour" of the interesting sights in your area. However, as your
particular popularity as a B & B Host grows, you'll find that a
lot of American tourists and business people on the road will
begin availing themselves of your hospitality. Certainly with
these people, it won't always be necessary to give the "Red
Carpet" visitors' treatment. Which brings us to the basic appeal of a Bed and Breakfast
Inn. Travelers seem 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. Most people will either write to you ahead of time, inquiring
about the possibilities of staying at your home while in your town
or city. This means a bit of advertising on your part, or listing
your availability with a B & B broker. Some people will check the
local telephone listings, and the newspaper advertisements when
they arrive in a strange town. And 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. For newspaper advertising, a similar listing in the personal
column of your local paper, particularly on Thursdays, Fridays and
Saturdays, will be all you'll need. But when it comes to the
yellow pages of your telephone and business directories, go with a
small display ad that describes in greater detail the comforts and
pleasures of your services. Be sure to list your services with all the travel agencies in
your area. A brochure or a short synopsis of what you offer will
most assuredly give the travel agents an idea for steering
visitors your way. At the same time, listing your services in a
number of national travel magazines - particularly those that
cater to women - will bring customers in for you. Listing your services with a broker usually won't cost you
anything up front, but they will expect some sort of referral fee.
It might be a certain percentage - usually about 25% of the total
bill. This same arrangement applies with travel agents. By all means, have some business cards made. Include them
with everything you mail out - letters, thank you notes, etc.
Give a few to those brokers, travel agents and your guests. You
might even think about getting some card holders and leave your
cards on the counters in car rental agencies. In this business,
word of mouth and good use of business cards can be two of the
best and least expensive ways to advertise. Now, suppose you're organized and ready to receive your first
customers. You greet them as host or hostess 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 foreign visitors will want to stay
several days. With most people of this country who are just
traveling through your area, it'll be a one-night stopover.
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 it! The complete how and why of this tremendously
profitable business that's becoming more and more popular. It's
called Bed & Breakfast, and it's very definitely a low investment
idea. And you can parlay it into a very interesting and comfort-
able income producing business - all from the comforts of your own
home!