plan to arrive in the early afternoon so that you can get a good look at the house exterior. If the B&B is quite close to your home area, don’t be concerned about fabricating elaborate excuses for your overnight stay. Just say that you want to get away for a day. Most hosts won’t even bring up the subject, because they have found, as you will, that the best policy is never to ask personal questions of their guests.
3.2 Inspecting the home
When you make your trial visit, imagine that you are an inspector for a B&B booking agency. You are there to look at every facet of the operation (without the knowledge of the owner).
Begin your inspection by doing a survey of the facilities and services. Use a copy of the competitor survey that you used in Chapter 3 and fill in as much as you can by reading the description in the guide book. Take the worksheet with you when you visit the home so that you can complete your survey.
To complete the inspection, you must document the level of hospitality that you receive. We define hospitality as the open and friendly reception of guests, followed by a high level of continuous care and attention, given in pleasant surroundings. This means that a hospitable B&B will have hosts who are friendly and approachable and that the level of care will not deteriorate during your stay. As well, the surroundings will be comfortable, clean, and pleasant.
Create a form allowing you to apply a rating of poor, fair, or good to specific features of the home. The bottom of the form allows you to document your personal observations and to suggest how you would improve the hospitality.
Note the following during your visit:
(a) Exterior: What are your impressions of the exterior of the house? Was it easy to locate? Note if parking is a problem, and rate the general condition of the structure, landscaping, and neighborhood. What exterior guest areas are provided (e.g., patios or gardens)? Was trash or garbage in view?
(b) Check-in: Did you feel welcome and did the hosts help with your baggage? How efficient was the check-in routine and tariff payment? Did the hosts show you all the guest areas and did they explain the house rules? Did they offer advice on places to eat or visit and was their general attitude friendly and helpful?
(c) Bedroom: Rate the layout, cleanliness, and decoration in the bedroom. Look for comfortable surroundings and functional furniture. What extra features and services are there, and how would you rate privacy and security?
(d) Bathroom: Rate the overall cleanliness and decoration. Are the fixtures, lighting, ventilation, and towels of good quality? How private and convenient is it?
(e) Breakfast: How welcome do you feel? Rate the overall presentation and cleanliness of the eating area. How convenient is the breakfast time? Rate the food quality and variety and the host’s attitude and hygiene.
(f) Check-out: Was the check-out time convenient? How efficient was their check-out routine? Did the hosts help with the baggage, and what was their general attitude? Would you stay there again?
(g) Hospitality rating: Give an overall hospitality rating to the home.
As you do your own rating, think about things that could be changed to improve the level of service you are receiving. Try to think both as a guest and as a host.
Don’t forget to ask the host for a receipt for payment, and keep track of any transportation costs, etc.
3.3 Document your costs
Locate your cost records and enter any costs associated with your trial visit. Remember to include any transportation, parking, and tariff costs, and put all your receipts into a labeled envelope. Get into the habit of documenting all costs no matter how small. Your accountant will ultimately advise you on what is deductible and what is not.
4. Establish Start-up Parameters
It is time to take a “snapshot” of how you visualize your B&B. To do this, take a blank copy of a competitor survey you created and complete it as if you were looking at your own B&B. This preliminary survey is not cast in concrete, of course, because you will be making further decisions in later chapters of this book. It is useful, however, to establish a preliminary list of facilities and services that you would like to offer to your chosen customers.
Your preliminary survey will help point you in the right direction. Fill in each entry carefully and pay particular attention to the following points:
(a) Think about a name for your new business. In the next chapter we discuss the pros and cons of legally registering your business name. For now, you should be thinking about some suitable names that could be used for your establishment. B&Bs often use the same name as the host family. For example, our imaginary couple, Carol and Bob Morris, have decided to name their B&B Morris House. Others make use of local features such as Willow Beach Lodge or River Glen House. Historic homes are often named after the original owners, such as The Carnochan House.
To get more ideas on typical B&B names, refer to any one of the free brochures listed in Appendix 1.
(b) Refer to the list of facilities and services your customers will need. What facilities and services were needed during your trial visit? Also note the facilities and services offered by your direct competition and by local commercial establishments.
(c) What bedroom arrangements would you probably use? Consider your chosen customer types and your existing home layout. What bathroom facilities could be provided for your guests?
(d) What style of breakfast will best suit your chosen customers? Where will they eat breakfast, and what other food services do you propose? What extra refreshments would you have preferred during your trial visit?
(e) Decide when your operating season will probably be based on the availability of your chosen customers. Also think about any customer restrictions you might apply.
(f) Check your market research summary information, and determine a realistic rate for your B&B. Make some preliminary decisions on any special rates you might offer.
These preliminary parameters will prove to be a useful first step in your total planning process. As you continue to study each of the remaining chapters, you will adjust these parameters to develop your final start-up plan.
Bran and Superbran Bread
• 1 cup ready-to-eat bran
• ½ cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• ½ cup molasses
• ¾ cup hot water
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sifted flour
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine bran, raisins, shortening, and molasses in a bowl.
Add hot water and stir until shortening is melted. Add egg, baking soda, and salt. Beat well.
Slowly add flour and stir until combined. Pour into a 9½˝ x 4½˝ loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes.
Slice and serve warm with homemade jam.
5
Making It Legal
When you open a B&B, you provide a service to the general public for a fee. When you provide this service, you must follow specific regulations designed to safeguard the general public. Similarly, when you collect a fee for the service, you must obey all the tax rules that apply to that fee. These rules and regulations are established by one