If you have a large property in a desirable area, then you have options. You may not even be near a town, but simply being around natural beauty is enough to turn your property into a financial asset, all without even needing to move. How?
You add a bed and breakfast.
Bed and breakfasts are great ways to take advantage of tourists in your area, or even tempt tourists to your area and bring in much-needed cash. You’ll meet new people, bring in money, and fully enjoy living at home.
Interested? Before you get ahead of yourself, read through this guide so you know just how to start a bed and breakfast on your property:
Identify Where Your Bed and Breakfast Will Be
· Use Your Own Home
The first option is to segment your home. You can close off most of the main floor (minus the lobby and a sitting or dining room) and live downstairs while the guests stay upstairs, for example. If you live alone, you could convert the basement into a single apartment for yourself, then rent out the rest of your home. There are a lot of different ways you can segment the home you have to operate a bed and breakfast out of it.
· Build a Home
You could also build a for-purpose bed-and-breakfast. Amish-built pole barns are lovely and cost-effective to build, allowing you to add a small row of hotel rooms with their own en-suites with ease. This way, you can keep your home yours and open up your property as a countryside retreat. You could even split your property, offering both a bed and breakfast and a campsite to attract families, couples, and even retreats.
Your Bed and Breakfast Business Plan
Before you start renovating or building, however, you will need to check you can even start and operate a bed and breakfast in your area. To do this, you’ll first need to:
- Create a business plan that outlines start-up costs, daily rates, market interest, and more. The more research you do ahead of time, the better prepared you’ll be when it comes to securing loans or even opening and operating your business.
- Get zoning approval so you can legally operate as a commercial lodging.
- Start a Limited Liability Company to protect your personal assets.
Building or Converting Your Bed and Breakfast
Once you have the paperwork in order, it’s time to build or renovate your space into a bed and breakfast. If possible, get in touch with a local safety inspection specialist who can give you a list of the essentials you will need to meet local fire, health, and building codes in advance (which will save you on costs later). Once you have the space and it passes safety inspections, you can then get insurance.
Opening and Managing Your Bed and Breakfast
If you’ve never operated a hotel before, it’s important to hire someone who can show you the ropes and onboard you. You’ll also want to work with a local marketing specialist. They can help you set up your social media, make essential connections with local businesses, your town’s tourist agency, and more. The goal is to find the specialists you can rely on at the start so that you can build a thriving business with full support.
