For a lot of B&B websites out there, many are harmed by people trying to do it themselves. For every success story of someone building their own website and saving a few hundred dollars or even a few thousand there are 20 untold stories of people shooting themselves in the foot creating substandard or invisible sites. In the case of a website (your most valuable marketing resource), penny wise can be fortune foolish.
Kit Cassingham
B&B Homeowner’s Insurance
Having counseled aspiring innkeepers for close to 20 years now, I am still amazed at the number of people who think that homeowner’s insurance is sufficient to cover their B&B business. And worse yet, there are still agents out there who tell their clients they can cover the B&B in question! The moment you take money from someone so they can stay at your inn, your homeowner’s insurance is voided. Homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover commercial applications. Don’t even waste your time getting homeowner’s insurance quotes.
B&B Blogs
It seems that the blog craze is now being sold to innkeepers hook, line, and sinker. Many web design/marketing companies are setting up blogs for their clients with promises of increased traffic and higher occupancy rates. I am seeing more and more B&B blogs popping up that are being attached to B&B websites.
Green Business Plan Statistics for an Environmentally Friendly Hotel
I have stood on my soap box for years talking about the wisdom of running a green B&B. I’ve been asked several times to review how much money is saved by conserving water and energy, only two of the resources I urge innkeepers to conserve. Here is a list of statistics about the actual resource savings for you to apply your water and energy rates to for coming up with how much you will save by implementing an environmentally friendly operations program.
A Green Business Plan for an Environmentally Friendly Hotel
Your bed and breakfast business plan is where you demonstrate all the thinking you’ve done for making your business successful. It should cover creating and growing income, and managing expenses. Also, you should address keeping your operating expenses down through conservation measures without hurting customer service or the guest experience.
B&B Business Insurance
There are some obvious business insurance coverages that you should buy to cover your bed and breakfast, but there several points that get missed and shouldn’t. Your small business insurance policy should include:
Long Term Care Insurance
While much of the insurance we buy is betting on a rare event, long-term health insurance is betting on almost a sure thing. I’ve seen statistics that show the probability of needing long-term care insurance is fifty percent. Given those odds, you can be assured that this policy is going to be expensive, especially the older you get. As the rate goes up, it strains the budget increasingly until many times the consumer drops it because their fixed income budgets can’t handle it any longer. Because insurance companies know how high the cancellation rate is for this kind of policy, and consumers don’t tend to know it, the potential for fraud is high in this area of insurance.
Web Standards
Hi All,
I recently stired up quite the discussion about website standards. Web standards and writing valid HTML code has always been important to me. I think that’s due to my programming background.
Bamboo Bed Sheets
I don’t normally think of sheets as a guest amenity. But my discovery of the joys of bamboo sheets has me rethinking that attitude. I bought some bamboo sheets at Inn Style during the PAII conference in Phoenix this last April, and I feel like royalty.
100% Environmentally Friendly Sheets
I just mentioned under Daily Operations that I had discovered the joys of bamboo sheets. You can read my review about them at in the article section of The B&B Lady.
Organic Bamboo-fiber Bed Sheets
While attending a bed and breakfast conference recently, I visited Inn Style in the vendor section. Initially I only wanted to find out whether they were carrying any organic cotton sheets and towels. But I so quickly got side-tracked with other wonderful discoveries that I forgot to pursue my original question. What was so exciting as to get me off track? Bamboo sheets. 100% bamboo fiber sheets, not a
bamboo/cotton blend.
Finding an Insurance Agent for the B&B Innkeeper
How do you pick an insurance agent — or insurance broker — for your B&B business or for your personal needs? Do you go with an independent insurance agent (you select an agent and they shop the different insurance companies for the best coverage), a B&B insurance agent (who is a specialized independent agent), or specific company representative insurance agents — or captive agents — (where you shop for the company you want to use and then work with one of their agents)? That’s a tough question, and a straight-forward answer is not available. Let’s look at the options.
An Effective Towel/Sheet Reuse Program for the B&B Innkeeper
There are so many ways to save money in your bed and breakfast without hurting your customer service or hospitality. One goal of developing a hospitality business is to provide the maximum customer service and hospitality while not wasting money. Some money-saving approaches are also environmentally friendly. It’s time to give thought to implementing one in specific: a towel/sheet reuse program.
Medical Insurance for the B&B Innkeeper
Bed and breakfast innkeepers need medical insurance coverage to help preserve their assets. Unexpected health problems can drain your savings accounts to the extent that you don’t have any reserves for the business you are developing. That’s not what you want, of course. Private medical insurance is provided by employers, group or association plans, or by your own personal actions, and is the approach to insurance taken in the US. Much of Europe uses public medical insurance, or nationalized insurance.
Insurance Quotes for the B&B Innkeeper
Life insurance quotes don’t fall into the same category as the above quotes because it’s not prudent to change life insurance coverage since as we age our premiums go up with new policies, even with the same coverage. What you may want to consider though is evaluating your policy and determine if you need to buy additional coverage or drop some of the coverage you have. Your life insurance coverage could be a combination of whole life, universal life, and term life policies. Getting quotes for those various types of policies helps you evaluate your postilion and action.
Life Insurance for the B&B Innkeeper
Life insurance pays your beneficiary when you die. There are several philosophies on how to buy life insurance, ranging from just cover the funeral to give the survivors a fortune upon your death. Whatever your personal belief is on how much coverage to buy, be sure to buy something immediately. Some financial advisors recommend buying ten to fifteen times your annual income. It seems to me that the least amount you should buy is enough to cover your funeral expenses and to hire an assistant innkeeper to take over the chores you leave behind so your partner isn’t burdened with yet another “hat” to wear.
Travel Insurance for the B&B Guest
Have you considered offering travel insurance to your B&B guests as they book their reservations? It may be time to consider that offering. Travel is increasingly uncertain these days, so offering a bit of comfort is a gracious gesture to make. It increases not only your guests’ comfort, but yours too, because it covers everyone’s financial position.
How Hospitable Are You?
From “Ask Kit!”:
Q: The most important experience I want in my B&B along with extra ordinary service, is to make sure my guest have a Great night SLEEP!! An experience that will inspire them to come back for more and tell ALL their friends…
The Deal Fell Through!
I recently had an email from an innkeeping friend of mine who had sold his inn — at the last minute the sale fell apart. All the plans of the retirement and the new life have been put on hold again. This innkeeper is experienced in buying and selling inns, this being at least his second sale.
Health Insurance for the B&B Innkeeper
Health insurance is a “must have” coverage for bed and breakfast innkeepers, even if it seems expensive. Depending on your general health, there are affordable health insurance policies available, but any health coverage is better than paying all of your own care should you get sick. Group insurance insurance is available through various associations you belong to, and if that’s not an option find individual health insurance. Group health insurance versus self-employed health insurance coverage will give you the same sort of coverage if you shop carefully.
Auto Insurance for the B&B Innkeeper
Bed and breakfast innkeepers owe it to themselves to get auto insurance coverage on any vehicle they are using for business. Whether you are running errands like grocery shopping or buying flowers or taxing guests, the car being used needs good coverage. You want insurance that will cover your business assets if you are involved in an accident. You can opt to have an insurance agent who will help you get the best coverage for your situation, or you can shop for your auto insurance online. Cheap auto insurance may not be the same as discount auto insurance because of what’s covered and how claims are handled; shop carefully. Note: you may not be able to get a quote online if you have an older car, if your car is registered out of state, or if you have more than five drivers you are insuring.
Zoning Question
From “Ask Kit!”:
Q: We were advised by the City that provided the city allows a B&B in the rural zone as proposed, that weddings and parties would require no additional approval since the property is then considered a business. Now, the homeowners and one of the planning dept. officials are making threats regarding this saying that even if a B&B is allowed, we will never be able to hold a wedding there. I have searched our zoning ordinance thoroughly. There is never any mention anywhere regarding special events such as weddings. Do you have any sage words of wisdom???
Business Insurance for the B&B Innkeeper
One of the most common questions I get from clients is whether their homeowner’s insurance will suffice for their bed and breakfast. The short answer is “no”. The longer answer is “no way”. It’s important to think about insurance for the business — building, liability, and contents — just as it’s important to think about auto insurance, health insurance, life insurance (be it term life, whole life, or universal whole life), long term care insurance, and disability insurance.
A Will and Powers of Attorney for the B&B Innkeeper
A will lets you take control of how your property is distributed after your death. If you have a simple estate, a simple (or basic) will may be sufficient. But the more complex your estate and life are, the more complex the will may need to be. This is where you get to choose your executor, a guardian for your children, and a manager for property you leave to minor children.
Retirement Planning for the B&B Innkeeper
Retirement planning is a multi-pronged activity. You want to incorporate retirement income planning with:
- health insurance
- disability insurance
- long-term care insurance
- wills
- trusts
- various POAs (power of attorney)
Room Clutter is NOT an Amenity
An excerpt from an old forum post:
I’ve seen a fair number of B&B’s up close and I see a lot more of them through building or reviewing websites and it never ceases to amaze me that so many innkeepers consider decorative clutter to be an amenity that guests are looking for.
Financial Planning for the B&B Innkeeper
Financial planning is one of the more boring-sounding topics to think of as you go about life, but it’s critical to the well- being of you and your inn. The kind of financial planning I’m talking about goes beyond financial retirement planning and even personal financial planning. Do you have a plan to cover the eventuality you (be that singular or plural) get sick?
Credit Card Processing
An excerpt from an old forum post:
Most B&B’s have made the move or are contemplating making the move to accepting credit cards as payment. There are many positives to doing this including more reservations, not waiting for deposit checks to arrive, having security against damages, no bounced checks…
Standard Operating Procedures
As a former elementary teacher, I’m a great believer in structured settings. When children come into a classroom, they need to know what the instructional expectations are with regards to classroom policies, assignments, the storage of personal possessions etc.
What Should You Stock in your Gift Shop?
Excerpts from old forum conversation:
The Inn at Elizabethville is a 7 bedroom facility located in a small borough. Last year this community had THREE gift shops. Two of these were “generic” gift shops that carried scented candles and other knick knacks that are commonly available in similar shops throughout the country. The third gift shop was a slightly more upscale store that carried antique reproductions and European imports.
Hold an Open House to Highlight Your Gift Shop
An excerpts from an old forum:
Is your gift shop open to the public or is it restricted to guests at your B&B? Are the locals even aware that your facility has a gift shop?
To promote your gift shop, consider the possibility of holding an open house. The open house will introduce your products to locals who will also enjoy refreshments and have the opportunity to socialize.
Locals who have never set foot in your B&B before will have the additional opportunity to tour your facility. If they’re suitably impressed, the next time friends and relatives come to town, they might be referred to your B&B instead of having to bed down on the sleeper sofa.
What are some factors to consider in hosting an open house?
Use Your Website to Market Your Giftshop!
The Ice Haus Bed and Breakfast in Minnesota, http://www.icehaus.com/ has a gift shop. To increase their marketing potential, they’ve tied the gift shop into their B&B website and advertise Nana’s pantry scented candles by the Starlight Candle Company. Buyers needn’t go to the inn to purchase these candles. The candles may be ordered through a 1-800 toll free number.
The Number of Foreign Travelers is Increasing
The International Trade Administration’s Tourism Industries office reports that 26 million foreigners come to the United States each year on tourist visas. The average foreign guest spends $1,647 per person of which $318 is spent on gifts and souvenirs. Gross revenue from these tourists total an estimated $91 billion a year.
American Express Travel Forecast for 2006
American Express is predicting a 5-8% increase in in short-haul domestic airfares for U.S. and Canada’s for 2006.
Food Costs
From “Ask Kit!”:
Q: What is a typical or average meal cost?
What types of lightbulb wattage do you use?
An excerpt from an old forum:
State hotel law in Pennsylvania requires the illumination of all public areas. We use 40 watt bulbs for hallways and stairs, a 25 watt bulb in the curio cabinet that illuminates the dining room, and another 25 watt bulb that illuminates the parlor.
Marketing Your Green Inn
Your marketing materials, which at the very least include your website and brochure, are the avenue to tell prospective guests what experience they will have while staying at your inn. Those marketing avenues also give you a way to communicate your guest amenities, rules, contact information, and other important facts about your B&B business.
Smart Hotel Rooms
A conversation from the old forum:
New computer systems at the ultra-luxurious Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York are now connecting individual rooms to network servers that track guests’ preferences.
Online Reservation Systems Are Increasingly Profitable
Do your bed and breakfast have a website? Do you belong to an online reservation system?
Hotels Adopt Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic pricing is a concept that has been recently adopted by several hotel chains including Hilton, Marriot, and InterContinental. Instead of having fixed and inflexible room rates, hotels that use dynamic pricing systems change their daily rates according to anticipated demand.