Bed and Breakfast Legal Requirements
A B&B company usually has a location. Therefore, the growth potential of a bed and breakfast is usually limited by the number of rooms in the building. Most have at least four or five rooms for guests, and some have a dozen or more. Regulations for bed and breakfast businesses are usually enforced locally. This means that licenses must be acquired in the county, city, village or municipality of the business owner. Typically, licensing requirements depend on the size of the bed and breakfast, as well as the type of fire and health inspections that will likely need to be done regularly. A fire risk assessment is another legal task of B&B that must be carried out when establishing a B&B – which came into force in 2006 through the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Ordinance of 2005. This allows you to identify hazards that could cause a fire, such as overloaded heating products and extension tendons, and determine what steps you need to take to reduce the risk of fire. In case your B&B employs more than five people, you will need to note the results of the assessment and keep them for your records. Many B&B businesses are run by a person or couple. Some bed and breakfasts hire one or two employees.
However, even the big ones keep a fairly small staff. Anyone who likes to host other people can be well suited to owning a B&B business, as guests come to B&Bs for a level of hospitality that hotels and motels don`t offer. Business owners should enjoy talking to people, preparing meals, and making sure customers feel comfortable. The profitability of a bed and breakfast company depends on the number of rooms it owns, the amount it charges per night and its occupancy rate. The overall profit potential is very different. Setting up a B&B is an exciting adventure that can be a rewarding task for those who are willing to work. From choosing the color palette and décor of the rooms to creating a marketing plan for your B&B, there are a lot of interesting things to think about. Similarly, if not more importantly, are the various B&B legal issues that come with opening your own B&B. In order not to fall on the wrong side of the law, we have compiled a list of some of the most important legal issues that are worth considering before opening your business B&B. As the name suggests, breakfast is often the only meal served by B&Bs. Nevertheless, as a hostel owner, you should always make sure that you comply with food safety legislation. The first step you need to take is to register with your local environmental health officer, who will visit your property to make an assessment.
To run a bed and breakfast business, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of occupancy (CO). A CO confirms that all building codes, zoning laws and state regulations have been complied with. The main clientele of a bed and breakfast is made up of travelers, so marketing efforts should focus on where vacationers are looking for information about accommodation. At the very least, a business should have a website and social media pages. Being listed on B&B websites and offering reservations on websites with hotel deals can help attract guests. Much of the work involved in running a bed and breakfast business revolves around customer care. Daily tasks include greeting arriving guests, preparing breakfast in the morning, checking out guests, and cleaning rooms after departure. While someone should always be on call and available, lunch and late evening hours usually require little work. Read our guide to hiring B&Bs to learn more about the different roles a bed and breakfast usually fulfills, how much you need to budget for employee salaries, and how to build your team exactly the way you want. A B&B company offers travelers an alternative to hotels and motels by combining rooms with a hearty breakfast. Most B&Bs also promise a more unique and intimate environment than other accommodation options.
Certain state permits and licenses may be required to operate a bed and breakfast. For more information about licensing requirements in your state, see the Small Business Administration Reference Guide to State Licenses and Permits. Rates for a room in a bed and breakfast vary a bit, with most charging between $75 and $400 per night. Location, equipment and season influence these prices. Business owners should look for current prices at different times of the year in the area where they plan to start a B&B to see how much they can charge. A successful B&B business owner should know how to decorate rooms so that they are welcoming and be able to prepare a good breakfast. Business owners who don`t have an eye for interior design should seek help from a friend or family member. (Saying thank you to a friend with a free night costs much less than hiring an interior designer.) For example, let`s say a bed and breakfast has five rooms with an average price of $125 per night.
If all rooms were booked every night of the year, the bed and breakfast would have an annual income of $228,125. Business owners should have a flexible schedule so that they can meet with customers during the day and deal with any issues that arise at night. In addition, they should plan to work at all times when the bed and breakfast is open, which is the case for a typical B&B every day. They don`t usually close for holidays because they`re busy commute times, but some B&B owners take several weeks, sometimes even a month or more, off during the low season. Owners can get online breakfast recipe ideas from sites like Pinterest and food blogs. Homeowners who don`t know how to cook at all can learn by checking out well-known cookbooks like The Joy of Cooking. For more practical help, owners can sign up for local cooking classes or hire a local chef as a consultant for a day. The most important current expenses for a bed and breakfast business include mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and home repairs. Other expenses include utilities, kitchen utensils and royalties. While these B&B legal issues may seem like uncomfortable obstacles to actual guest hosting, many of them only need to be done once or revisited from time to time. And while they may seem like headaches now, you`ll experience a lot more frustration when you get into trouble because you don`t.
Plus, there are several B&B legal issues that ensure your property is safe in the worst-case scenario – and you can`t dispute that! A few successful B&Bs are expanding with the purchase of a second property nearby where guests can stay. However, this is relatively unusual. It`s also difficult to plan because you have no control over when nearby buildings are for sale. A bed and breakfast makes money by charging guests for their accommodation, which includes breakfast. Guests can be charged per night, week or month. An ideal customer is someone who travels a lot, usually for fun, and has disposable income. Vacationers are more in favor of the intimate setting of a bed and breakfast than business travelers. People need a reasonable amount of free income to be able to afford the prices of a bed and breakfast, which are often higher than in a comparable hotel or motel. BedandBreakfast.com maintains a list of established guest rooms for sale. Inventory obviously changes, but there are regular outlets for between $200,000 and $5 million.
Some of the factors that affect the price are the condition of the building, the size of the property, the location of the property and how the business is established. Most entrepreneurs have to take out a mortgage to pay for a property. A bed and breakfast can increase its profitability by offering special packages for guests and opening its meals to the community. Some customers will be willing to pay a little more for birthday, honeymoon or vacation packages. In addition, the ability for people who are not guests to dine in your B&B provides an additional source of income and can allow a bed and breakfast to use its kitchen and dining options to offer lunch and dinner. However, only a few guest rooms are booked every night of the year. About Travel reports that the average B&B has an occupancy rate of just over 50%. With an occupancy rate of 50%, the bed and breakfast in this example could expect an annual income closer to $114,063. Business owners who buy a property that is not yet a bed and breakfast must furnish and decorate it. Other start-up costs (which are low compared to other expenses) include licenses, insurance, and breakfast accessories.