Anyone ever run a BandB

[BarriedaleNick]

I'm thinking that I have had enough of London and working for other people and I am thinking of moving South or South West and buying a BandB.
just the small issue of having no clue about how to run one!

So has anyone run one?  If so - what is like?  Is it easy to do the accounts, how much work - any advice at all?

[BarriedaleNick]

[galina]

https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support-finder

Not a B and B, but when I started my small business, there was all sorts of help about, including several lessons by an accountant on how to do the books.  Looks like there is still help out there and advice for the asking.

Doing the books was not too bad.  Just have to be very disciplined where the receipts etc go, so you can find all financial info quickly. 

How to run a B and B?  You are on your own      

Very good luck with it!

[Bill Door]

Ah!  I have little idea about B&B's but am interested in what brought you to B&B's?  What is your background?  Is it just you or do you have family?  What hobbies do you  have (ok gardening excepted)? What experience of bookkeeping do you have? Have you talked to your partner about this?

As far as the accounts are concerned you could do it all yourself, get help from an accountant/bookkeeper to submit tax returns (you record the transactions). Or you get in a bookkeeper to prepare monthly/quarterly management accounts.

Of course you have to take into account your age and the amount of capital you have to invest and how much you will have to borrow.  This will then affect whether you start from scratch or take over a solvent business.

Don't let this put you off but have a look at the B&B's for sale some gives details of turnover and profit as well as number of rooms.

Good luck with your search.

regards
Bill

P.S. I am sure that others will be able to explain how much work you will have to put in (or somebody close to you!)

[BarriedaleNick]

Cheers Bill - My wife is totally on board and we have no offspring to worry about.  We are both 51 and we thought that a B and B would allow us an income while giving us more time to spend together.  Other than gardening we both love making stuff - cakes, bread, salami, sewing, soap, bacon, jam, chutneys, wine, beer - you get the drift! Love cooking and baking and all things food related.  However I have spent 20 year in IT while my wife does page layout/design and we are both pretty fed up with it although the pay is good.

I used to be self employed so I have some idea of accounting but my wife is super organised and loves a spreadsheet so with some help and a pointer or two we might be ok on the accounts.  I have seen a gorgeous place in Dorset right at the top of our range which would mean taking on a small mortgage but we are in the middle of building works and need time to get things in order..

If we sell our overpriced London house (no mortgage yay!) we will have enough capital to buy somewhere outright if the price is right.

[caroline7758]

I'd think the tricky (and expensive) stuff would be things like insurance, building regs etc. but I guess once they are set up that's it. I'm sure there must be some kind of trade organisation that could help with setting up?

[ACE]

Do people still do B and B ? Apart from commercial travellers and even then the Travel lodge people must have cornered the market. Get yourself a place with a small bit of land and open a small certificated caravan site. No cooking, the house is your own and plenty of room for a big veggie patch.

[Hector]

MIL did very well with her B&B. Her unique selling point was location and in an area too rural for big guys but regular market from steady stream of hill walkers.
They had same folk coming for years and word of mouth via German walkers :)

Edit to add: her word of mouth was she made a big think of home from home. So magazine "library" in German, French etc for visitors. Wee touches like breakfast " history" e.g bread from local guy who has had shop in village x amount of years etc ....wee details on menu.

[Bill Door]

Ok I can see that it isn't just a whim. That is good as I thought that it had been a very very bad day.  So no regrets on the horizon.

Just a couple of things

1)  keep the record system simple.  Some systems for sale make it too complicated.  You don't need to know which room isn't pulling its weight, you will know.  I found that more businesses got things wrong when they complicated what they were recording.  Make sure that the weakest link knows what to do.  If they can't work it it is too complex.

2)Have a look at all the sites with businesses for sale as they will give you a bit of background to use as a compare to the place you want. Also know your competition, what do they offer.

3)  Try to link your hobbies in with the business.  A friend of mine had a fishing "bug" he managed to link up with a nearby coarse fishing lake and had business referred his way.  Someone else I know was into photography and managed to integrate weekends (or longer) with photo techniques/photoshop for 6 or more sessions in the year.  Not sure about golf though as many golf clubs now have hotels attached.

4) be very disciplined about when and how you do things (i.e. making beds).  You might need food hygiene certification if you are cooking the breakfasts.

5) most important is to make time for yourselves

best of luck

Bill

[sparrow]

My cousin has one in Dorset, has had it for over 30 years. A smallish b&b doesn't make a huge living, but obv there are trade offs. This is what they told me when I was looking into it:

Pros
-running it yourself
-about 3-4 months downtime each year if you keep it seasonal
- flexible working
-marketing the venue (if you enjoy it)
-you have a great place for family to visit

Cons
-living quarters are often v small
-downtime is in winter and that's when you do the major upkeep work
-you have to be there in the morning to do breakfasts and check people out and again from 4pm in the afternoon to check people in - in busy times this is manic and you are both pulling 7-day weeks
-marketing the venue (if you don't enjoy it)
-it is fairly hard graft to do properly and employing people eats into your profit margin

Make sure you get one with enough parking for all the rooms and in an area you love because you'll be there for most of the year.
If you are making consumables to sell you need to have the kitchens inspected, have health&safety certs and have a particular kitchen set-up (2 sinks, different work surfaces etc)
Be very clear about the break even level and when that's likely to be reached through the season.
Talk to the owners about their turnover and look back over a number of years of books - if it's run by people at retirement age, often it will be run under VAT levels, which isn't necessarily the best the business can achieve, just what they are happy with. 

Make sure you buy something that can be sold on relatively easily when you've had enough.

[BarriedaleNick]

Thanks for the responses.. I can always rely on you lot!

This isn't a whim and we have given it some thought - we just don't have any real experience or knowledge of it. 
Ideally I'd like to have a campsite with some space to grow veg as Ace above mentioned but they are rare items or you need masses of space.

I was thinking of running some IT courses with small groups - maybe trying to help those who don't have much confidence in using the web but these days even my wife's grandma who is 95 uses her tablet happily..
Plenty of time to look!

[ancellsfarmer]

BDN, youve got it there, well nearly.The money is in repairing and uncluttering pcs, laptops and tablets. Know a guy who "doctors" sickly Ipads and phones, he charges from£80 for 40mins. No vat, pay on drop-off , call back within 2 hours to collect. He doesnt garden, he has no time.