Wow! You guys are awesome! What fast and detailed responses. I am currently in need of a career change. However, I am gainfully employeed and do have plenty of time to make a switch. I need to be prepared in no more than 10 years. (I can retire then but if I could make a change sooner, I'd LOVE that.) Plenty of time to go back to school or work in this field to gain real knowledge and accumulate cash. There are 2 B&B in my town I was thinking of asking of doing an internship. Joey- I am thinking of owning and operating, so I geuss Innkeeper. What is the difference between income and revenue? (can we really live on this) Madeline, you asked why I'm drawn to this profession. I have been searching what I want to do instead of my current career, which if very depressing. I deal with the 'sludge of society'. I think (hope) people who travel are very different than the people I currently deal with. -however if they are not, I'll deal with them on a shorter term basis. It also combines all of my loves, decorating, gardening, cooking, entertaining, cleaning (granted bottom of the list, but I can do it). I'd love to do weddings. (I have some experience.... loved it!) There is also some potential health problems for my husband, and I want to be able to be close to him. He is a very talented artist and would be able to provide the social media, web design, photography, art and book-keeping. I would do all the physical labor.
Like I say, I've got time to plan and I'm just beginning this thought process, but I'm really excited about it and I keep thinking of all these ideas. Thanks for helping me sort out these thoughts..
Doing innkeeping went on my possibilities list soon after I started staying in them, in early 1980's Britain. The home based aspect of the business appealed. And as a tourist, what a great way to get a local person's viewpoint on actually living in the area that a visitor will only experience for a day or two.
Flash forward 20 years later to working for a company that just ditched their defined benefit retirement plan. As a 40 something, it was time to alter the long range plan. Married now, we knew we wanted to 'retire' to a rural area. If you can locate in a destination area, you will be a leg up. We did not. We did know that given our budget, that a reasonable goal would be to make the future B&B pay its own way. Our goal is to have the business pay the operation costs: water, sewer, electric....,also the taxes and the insurance costs for the home and business. We've been in it for four years now, and are nearly there.
We spent several years of enjoyable road trips looking for a property we could afford, that could be re-habbed for B&B. Once we found it, the road trips ended and the work began. In 1999, we found a distressed property on the water, with a dock, in a historic district, with off street parking, in an area with no zoning restrictions. The house (and another next door) was subject to flooding and little had been done to it since it was constructed in the 1890s. We had construction and remodel experience from earlier domiciles, so were able to assess that yes, we could rehab this. But my husband has experience with heavy construction, plumbing, wiring, understands building construction methods and terminology, and has become a pretty good finish carpenter. We also live in an area blessed with a building inspection deparment that is helpful.
The house could not be financed with a conventional loan. But we had built a relationship with a loan officer at a small commercial bank who could make some loans by his own authority.
Timing was on our side. During our years of do it yourself rehab, property prices were also rising. As we made improvements, we could borrow against the value we had built up. We paid as we went as much as possible. When we were finished, we were left with $100,000.00 in debt. We have since paid that off.
We have a two room B&B, with another room that magically appears when needed. This past year we added a vacation rental apartment next door (no waiting up. no making breakfast). It's all very small scale. But it works. I have to stress that we have another business and that I still work part time (now at a place that I love)
So that's what it can be like on the lower end of the scale. We've not yet had a problem guest. I spent enough early years in public contact service employment that I can honestly say I enjoy the service aspect of this business. Yes you do all the skivvy work. But you do it at home. You get to actually live in the place where others visit.
Best wishes to you.
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