DON’ TS
DON’ T start in this business at all if you hate dealing with people, can’ t cope with early starts or if you are lazy, impatient or have a quick temper. Running a B & B is not as back-breaking as trawler fishing or coal mining, but it can involve hard work at unsociable hours, and often requires diplomatic charm in the face of extreme provocation.
DON’ T let your negative feelings show, however annoying your guests are( and some will be, believe us). An off-hand word or irritated expression from you can spoil your customer’ s stay and undo all your planning and hard work.
DON’ T cut corners on things your typical guest regards as important and / or are highly visible: bulk-buying of loo paper is sensible, but serving your guests instant coffee or cheap and nasty sausages at breakfast is a cut too far.( A good sausage will be long remembered! Think of the cost difference as marketing money well spent.)
DON’ T tell your guests how hard you are working or how difficult your day has been – they are paying to relax and enjoy themselves away from domestic tedium, and feeling that they are adding to your burden won’ t help.
DON’ T let the audience see behind the set: keep the piles of dirty laundry, stacks of unwashed dishes and your stocks of spare loo paper hidden in your“ private” areas, leaving the“ public areas” uncluttered, attractive and welcoming.
DON’ T re-creosote the shed, strip paint off the dresser, burn rubbish in the garden or cook fish or curry as guests arrive. Smell is a powerful sense, hard-wired in the brain to emotional response – try creating evocative aromas with flowers, beeswax polish, pot pourri, coffee or baking bread. It will make a difference to your guests’ reactions.
DON’ T buy duvets with buttons rather than poppers – you’ ll see why when you have to change several beds in a hurry, every day. Think about the time everything takes.( While we’ re about it, don’ t buy just one pair of matching linen sets for a twin room, as you only want to change one bed after a single-occupancy booking. Sometimes it’ s all the smallest tips like these you’ ll be glad you bought this book for.)
DON’ T fall into the trap of competing on price alone. Hotels with dozens of rooms have to fill them in low season somehow, but with only a few rooms you need good revenue per booking. And if you care for your home, you will not want to fill it with people whose only criterion is cheapness. Life is too short!
DON’ T accept“ provisional bookings” – be clear that a booking is either confirmed( by a deposit) or may be booked by someone else. And enquiries are coming in every day!
DON’ T forget to plan your own holidays well ahead – block them out in your reservations book, or you will find you can never get away. You are running a B & B to enhance your quality of life, not to erode it!
© David & Louise Weston, 2010 How to Start & Run a B & B www. howtorunabandb. com