Bed and Breakfast

Bed and Breakfast If you live in a historical old home, if you have a large home in a lovely neighborhood or if you simply have a large home in a well traveled area, you may have the perfect work from home solution at your fingertips. You could turn your home into a thriving Bed and Breakfast.

You’ll need to register your business with your local city and get any licensing required to start your business up. You’ll also want to check with your insurance company and find out if you need to upgrade your policy to include a bed and breakfast.

You’ll want to prepare your rooms for guests so you’ll need to clean out any personal items and make them more like a hotel room. A nice bed with comfortable bedding, nice curtains, fluffy towels and of course the usual shower or bath accessories. Perhaps a small desk and a dresser. A closet is nice as well. Some provide a television and others don’t. It’s all up to you and how fancy you wish to be.

Pricing shouldn’t be too difficult. Simply look around your community for other bed and breakfasts and find out what they charge for various room sizes and amenities. Price yours accordingly.

If you have any special amenities be sure to charge accordingly for those as well. Example: a room with a jacuzzi tub will rent for more than a regular room without a jacuzzi tub. Rooms that don’t have a bathroom attached but share a bathroom will be less expensive than other rooms with bathrooms attached.

You’ll need to include breakfast with your room rental. You may wish to have it a continental style where the guests serve themselves, or you may be willing to do it more restaurant style and serve a full course breakfast. Homemade treats are nice such as muffins or breads.

Some bed and breakfasts also serve a dinner meal as well. It’s up to you but make sure to have the proper licensing for the meals you’ll be serving. You’ll be inspected by the health department and many require a commercial style kitchen for these services so be sure to check ahead of time.

If you live near a ski resort, golf course, amusement park etc. you could run a package deal where you work together with the ski resort, golf course etc. and give reduced price tickets in exchange for people renting rooms from you. Ask around at your local Chamber of Commerce to find out what other vacation packages are being offered in your community.

Some offer an afternoon tea with iced or hot tea served between three and four or four and five. This is a nice touch if you have the time. A small plate of cookies goes well with this afternoon treat.

Now that you know what you’ll be doing, you’ll want to find out your local ordinances on running your new business. You’ll want to plan your room decor and secure all the licensing and insurance required. Enjoy your guests.