Ever dreamed of running a bed and breakfast? The idea is heavily romanticized, especially when it comes to New England. Folks often have the idea that they will wile away their days sharing wine, cheese, and interesting stories with folks from all over the world. And while that is certainly part of the equation, the reality of innkeeping has a lot of other moving parts.
Just last weekend we were proud to host one of the B&B Team’s “Better Way to Learn Innkeeping™” seminars (http://bbteam.com/seminars/). The seminars provide an immersive experience for aspiring innkeepers, covering everything from acquiring the right property to the ins and outs of zoning restrictions. The goal of each seminar is to help attendees determine if running a bed and breakfast is truly the right fit from both a business standpoint as well as a matter of lifestyle. B&B Team founding partner Peter Scherman and partners and former innkeepers, Janet and Rick Wolf guided the seminar.
Some of the topics discussed during the seminar included:
- - Innkeeping 101 – industry overview
- - Building the profile of your inn – make it right for you
- - Due diligence – know before you buy
- - Finding and acquiring the inn – the process
- - Inn financing – what you need to know
- - Inn valuation – is the price right?
- - Business planning – your road map to success in starting a bed and breakfast
- - Marketing – blogging, social media, websites, print, networking
- - Operations – a day in the life of an Innkeeper
We had a wonderful time hosting the attendees and it was very interesting to hear about all of their hopes and inspirations. From the conversations we had it seemed like everyone who attended was leaving with a deeper understanding of the many intricacies and nuances involved in running an inn. One of the attendees was kind enough to share this feedback:
“Mary Ann and I had a great weekend with you. The seminar was informative and helped Mary Ann and I tremendously. The Band B team provides a unique understanding of the entire business from acquisition, operation and disposition. I have never been able to determine which leg of a three legged stool is the most important. Accounting & Legal, Marketing, and Operations must all be attended to or a business will be face down on the ground and this weekend addressed them all.
A great big thanks to all the Inns that brought us in for a tour and shared their knowledge and experience. They are “Inspiring Innkeepers for Aspiring Innkeepers.”
If you are inspired by the idea of owning your own inn then we highly recommend you attend some sort of innkeeping information session and also work with a knowledgeable inn broker. It is important to dream, but it is equally important to have a solid foundation upon which you can start to build those dreams.
