Is innkeeping for me?

Many inngoers fantasize about running their own B&B; for some the fantasy will become a reality. Positives include:

• Living in a beautiful home in a vibrant city or small town neighborhood, or a peaceful country setting.

• Meeting fascinating people from all over the world.

• Renovating and decorating the house of your dreams.

• Serving meals that look as good as they taste.

• And last but not least, having the freedom to choose which 20 hours a day you'd like to work.

Before taking the plunge, it's vital to find out as much as you can about this demanding business. Before you buy or convert your home into a B&B, plan to stay at lots of inns, so you can note the pros and cons of different locations, target markets, building and decorating styles, and type of interaction between host and guests. It’s hard to be a good innkeeper if you’ve never been a guest!

It’s essential to have up-to-date computer skills. You’ll be updating your online listings and using property management software to run your inn and handle online reservations. You’ll need to be savvy about hiring experts to create an effective website.
 
More information
Free online resources: Register for the free BedandBreakfast.com Forum for aspiring innkeepers, read the comments, and post your questions. Be sure to read some of the articles in the BedandBreakfast.com Innkeepers Resource Library to increase your understanding of key innkeeper concerns. Whether you’re just beginning your quest, or are seriously looking to buy, be sure to visit BedandBreakfast.com Inns for Sale, where you’ll see details on hundreds of properties.

Background reading: Visit your library or search Amazon, and look at the books listed below. Be sure to check the copyright dates, and remember that the research for the book was done at least a year in advance of the copyright date. Bear in mind that anything published prior to 2005 will not accurately reflect the importance of the Internet, now generating at as much as 90 percent of inn reservations.

• How to Open and Operate a Bed & Breakfast, by Jan Stankus, 2007.

• How to Open a Financially Successful Bed & Breakfast or Small Hotel, Lora Arduser and Douglas R. Brown, 2004.

• So You Want to Be an Innkeeper, by Pat Hardy, Jo Ann Bell, and Mary Davies, 2004

• Complete Idiot's Guide to Running a Bed and Breakfast, by Susannah Craig, Park Davis, 2003.

• How to Start and Run Your Own Bed & Breakfast Inn, by Ripley Hotch and Carl Glassman, 2005.

Seminars and conferences: Visit the Innkeeper's Calendar to check on upcoming workshops, conferences and seminars. Many state B&B associations sponsor special programs for aspiring innkeepers on the first day of their conferences; use the contact information provided to obtain program details. Other seminars are sponsored by retired innkeepers and/or realtors specializing in B&B sales; Yellow Brick Road has a helpful list of these workshops. Prices for these workshops vary widely; ask for references before investing thousands in travel, lodging, and accommodation costs. On the other hand, you generally get what you pay for, so don’t be penny-wise and pound foolish when you’re planning to buy an inn, a major investment and a significant lifestyle choice.

Associations: If you’re serious about becoming an innkeeper, we highly recommend joining the Professional Association of Innkeepers International. Start by reading Thinking of a Career as an Innkeeper? then join when the time is right. PAII’s annual convention and tradeshow is the best way to learn more about innkeeping from expert-led workshops, through networking with other innkeepers and aspiring innkeepers, and at the trade show. Mention this article if you decide to join and get two months free!

If the state where you’re planning to operate an inn has an active B&B association, we recommend joining that as well as PAII. Click here for a complete list.