Bed and Breakfast Entrepreneurs

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If you own a home you own a potential asset even if all you can see at present is upkeep, repairs and bills.  If you have a room or number of rooms which you are not using, these rooms can be turned into an income producing asset.  Try looking at each room as a unit of production which is currently dormant but with a bit of thought and imagination, could be made inviting for guests.  Guests could be anyone from the traditional lodger who is working in the area, international students who are going to a local college or university, backpackers or even overseas visitors straight off the plane.

Assuming that you have read this far and thought about what you can do to make the room(s) appealing, you are now bound to be thinking of the problems.  These come in two broad categories; the confidence and mechanics of looking after guests and financial considerations.  Let us take them in that order:

The confidence and mechanics of looking after guests

You will have to get used to having strangers in your home;

You will need extra towels and linen;

You will need to ask about special diets and allergies;

You will need to be able to clean up quickly after they have gone ready for the next lot.

Financial considerations

What sort of occupancy do you need to make it worth your while?

Will your existing household insurance cover you for public liability if an accident happens to the guest?  Will it cover breakages and theft?  Advice given by insurance brokers is to contact your insurance company to see how the company deals with ‘guests and lodgers’ on your policy.  You should get this in writing rather than just listen to someone from a call centre.

Are there any local zoning restrictions regarding using the property for guests, parking etc.?  Contact council.

If you can get over the hurdles, you could well have a good financial proposition and get to hang on to your home.  Make a profit and the banks will probably be happy to lend you money for improvements and maybe release the equity from your original home to add further homes to your portfolio.

Please contact me if you decide to follow this advice on my personal email jaclodge@optusnet.com.au and I will publish your story.

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Are you asset rich and cash poor? 

Do you have a beautiful home which you love but are having trouble paying household bills?

Would you like to keep ownership and make money?

If you answer yes to all or any of the above, then consider this competition.  Send me a photo of the property, your story and how you could offer accommodation within your home to my private email jaclodge@optusnet.com.au and I will advertise the best entry for free in bedandbreakfastentrepreneurs.com and provide free advice on start up.

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We all love a fluffy towel, guests most certainly do and will compliment you on yours. The following information is presented with thanks to ‘Pillow Talk’, a shop that not only sells towels but provides a sheet telling you how to keep them fluffy.  Having just purchased some new towels for the Bed & Breakfast, I can tell you that the following tips do work:

New towels should always be washed before use by adding a cup of vinegar to a full load of water.  This washes away any finishing products used in manufacturing and allows ‘the cotton to bloom’;

Do not use too much detergent as it allows a build up of soap in the fibres which in turn affects absorbency;

Finally when drying use a warm tumble drier or line dry in the shade to keep the softness.

These tips should be followed in conjunction with the Amway SA8 powder recommended on this site.  The main positive for the B & B owner is the cheaper cost of a 3kg box of SA8 in comparison to other powders due to the concentrated nature of SA8, meaning more washes for your money and less detergent to clog the fibres of the towel; other pluses are that it is biodegradable, protects zippers and metal buttons and has a rust inhibitor to protect the machine.  I go into more detail regarding the positives of SA8 in a previous article http://www.bedandbreakfastentrepreneurs.com/doing-the-washing/.

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