How to Start & Run a B&B BandBED2eBook-1 | Page 76

And of course, it is not just daytime, but night-time too. Yes you may be in, but you
may well be in bed. Being woken up at 1:45 am by the doorbell as your guests return
from a wedding reception will not make you want to repeat the experience.
So all in all, you will probably conclude (as we did) that you should give each guest two
keys – their room key, and a key to the front door.
If this idea fills you with horror, then it has been worth buying this book! At least it’s
better to confront the “key issue” now and work out how to address it, than to come up
against the problem by trial and error later. If the idea of giving strangers a key to your
home is anathema to you, then you should probably reconsider the whole idea of
running a B&B; again, better to have got there for the price of a book than to have
started a business before falling at the first post!
There is not much more to add on “front door” keys, except that a high-tech (and
expensive) alternative exists to the old-fashioned key: a push-button keypad. However,
(a) unless you change the combination every day, you are in a worse situation from a
security point of view, and (b) older, short-sighted or tipsy guests – and probably most
others too – will forget the combination or enter the wrong one, so you will get that
1:45am doorbell and that angry guest waiting on your doorstep anyway.
Our experience has convinced us that the best policy is to give guests a set of two keys –
bedroom and front door – to keep with them during their stay. It is vitally important,
then, to:
Use good sized, sturdy key rings with clearly labelled tabs
ALWAYS remember to get the keys back in your hands as each guest checks out – most
will never remember that the keys are in their pocket until they are 85 miles up the
motorway or, if they are flying abroad the next morning, as they rummage for Euros in
a Viennese coffee shop two days later
ALWAYS make up at least three sets of keys for every room: one for the guest, one as
your “master” set for checking and servicing the rooms, and one as a spare in case (it
will happen occasionally, believe us) you forget to ask for the keys and a guest goes off
with them.
You should also find a good local locksmith who can cut new keys at short notice, and
who can change your front door lock if a set is lost completely or if you are worried that
a key may have fallen into the wrong hands.
Making Bookings
One absolute fundamental in running a hospitality business is the crucial importance of
the efficiency of your booking process. This includes responding to enquiries, checking
availability, accepting or rejecting bookings, offering alternatives, handling deposits,
and – last but certainly not least – recording your bookings fully and accurately.
All this may seem obvious – and most is basically common sense – but it is surprisingly
easy to forget one vital thing, and the results can potentially be very serious in cost,
inconvenience and customer goodwill. So it is worth going through each element of the
booking process.
How to Start & Run a B&B
www.howtorunabandb.com