ARE YOU ABOUT TO MOVE TO YOUR DREAM LOCATION WHERE YOU WILL BE SETTING UP A NEW B&B BUSINESS?

Are you about to renovate or restore a run- down property to turn in to a successful B&B?

If you have recently begun your life change or are about to take the plunge, the producers of channel Five’s popular TV series ‘Build a New Life in the Country’ would like to hear from you.

Previous programmes have featured Victorian terrace conversions, chapel restorations and even a crumbling old palace conversion. If you do make it onto the show, not only will you have the opportunity to benefit from publicity, plus you’ll be guided every step of the way and provided with seasoned advice and vital moral support as you work towards achieving your new lifestyle.

If you would be interested in appearing on series 4, please email the producers on: build@shinelimited.com

Welcome to the March 2008 Issue of our Running a B&B Newsletter

In this Edition:

  • So What Do B&B Owners Get Fired Up About?
  • Exciting TV Opportunity
  • Latest Course Dates
  • Running a B&B – Will You Make Any Money?
  • Interior Design for your B&B
  • My Latest Radio Interview
  • Gadget of the Month

So What Do B&B Owners Get Fired Up About?

I’ve been escaping the builders and getting out and about to various networking meetings this month. I chair our local Farm Holiday Group and one topic that is getting raised and discussed at every meeting is the Fire Risk Assessment. Before October 2006 if you ran a B&B and only took 6 guests or less you didn’t need to do anything officially to comply with fire regulations, whilst larger businesses needed to have a Fire Certificate and have regular inspections.

Now every B&B, even those with just one room, have to do a fire risk assessment. This has been in place for 18 months now so why are B&B owners in my area only just starting to get concerned about it? In Shropshire the fire service are starting to get out and about and inspect properties, so people are just beginning to realise the implications of the new laws. The recommendations of the fire service will vary from property to property. But generally the sorts of changes people are being asked to make are to install mains linked smoke alarms, fire doors and emergency lighting systems. Smaller ( but just as crucial ) changes include ensuring that bedroom and main exit doors can be locked from the outside with a key but opened from the inside without needing a key

These are just examples of some of the changes required. If you are setting up a new B&B from scratch, or buying an existing one it’s essential that you budget upfront for any changes that need to made to make sure you  comply with the latest fire legislation. Read the Fire Risk Assessment document and create your plan. It can be purchased or downloaded here. I would also strongly recommend you contact your local fire safety officer and see if they will come out and see you to ensure you don’t miss anything.

Exciting TV Opportunity

I’ve been contacted by the producer of Channel 5’s “Build a New Life in the Country” programme. She is looking for someone who is just about to start setting up a country B&B to appear in an episode of the programme. They have featured a B&B before which benefited significantly from the publicity. Check out my website for more information and contact details.

Latest Course Dates

The next  Are You Ready To Run a B&B one day course will be held on Monday 28th April 2008. The course costs £125 per person with discounts for 2 or more people booking.

The next 2 day course Setting Up, Running and Marketing a B&B is on Monday 12th May and Tuesday 13th May 2008. Costs are £250 per person with discounts for 2 or more bookings..

I’m really pleased that both courses will be held at Hopton House again. Past course attendees have always appreciated the opportunity to see the B&B and experience the day to day running. You can even help me cook breakfast if you like!

You can book online for both courses with your credit or debit card using paypal or, if you prefer, you can ring me direct to pay over the phone by card or by electronic bank transfer. For both courses the costs include lunch, light refreshments and all course material but not accommodation or evening meals. Accommodation is still available at Hopton House. Book Soon!

Running a B&B – Will You Make Any Money

“Can we expect to make a decent living from a B&B” is the question that I am most often asked on courses and by subscribers to my newsletters. On both courses we cover the financial requirements and look at how to work out how much you can expect to make from a B&B. Unfortunately there isn’t a simple yes or no answer. It is dependant on lots of different variables such as location, occupancy, size, style and quality of your business. I’ve written 2 new articles for the website which go into it all in a bit more detail.

Interior Design for your B&B

I have enough walls in place on our new extension to start thinking about how it will be decorated. Unfortunately I have been having a real dilemma about colours and style. I think modern country goes best with the style of our B&B but it’s a difficult look to get right without making it look old fashioned and chintzy. So I decided to get some professional help in and contacted the Laura Ashley Design Service. It’s just £100 for 2 rooms and for that they come and spend 2-4 hours with you and produce a mood board for each room. They also offer interest free credit and ( at the moment ) a discount on what you buy. It’s worth considering if, like me, you’re not a design expert and need to get the look right. I’ve ended up with a colour and design for The Barn that I would never have considered by myself so I’m really pleased.

My Latest Radio Interview

If you live in and around Portsmouth you might have caught my interview on Charlie Crocker’s show on Radio Solent yesterday ( Friday 7th March ) at 13.00. They were doing an item on what it takes to run a B&B. You can listen again here.

Gadget of the Month

Some people are put out, when they finally leave home, to find that they are replaced in their parent’s affectations by a new furry four legged sibling. My parents have gone a step further by getting a robotic vacuum cleaner. Whenever I ring they discuss how iRoomba is doing. They even bought it over the last time they came for Sunday lunch so I could witness their new pet in action. This little robot works best on short pile carpets and hard floors. You set it off and it wanders round and round by itself picking up dust and dirt. It even has sensors so you can keep it out of certain rooms and stop it falling downstairs. I really don’t enjoy vacuuming so I was very pleased when my parents rang to say they’d ordered me one. I can set it off at night to sweep the kitchen floor ready for breakfast and have it doing downstairs whilst I clean the bedrooms. You can buy iRoomba at Lakeland.

Now I just need them to start selling iScooba – sold in the states and designed to automatically wash hard floors – and I shall be a very happy landlady indeed!

See you next month and in the meantime Happy B&Bing

Karen

www.bedandbreakfastacademy.co.uk