Hi.
A year ago, we were you! And we had all kinds of ideas about how it would be...and whaddya know, it ain't like we thought it would be. At all!
We live nearly three hours from our inn. ! ! I have a job that I love (which comes with a salary we need of course) near our home. My husband's full-time gig is the inn. He's at the inn from thurs noon to monday noon. I go up late thursday nights and telecommute on fridays, and then go home sunday afternoons. We live in an exceptionally crappy trailer (!) while there. This situation is probably the way it's gonna be for awhile. And you know what? It's fine. Really, it's fine!
There are reasons why it's working for us.
The inn we bought was not owner-occupied previously. So, we inherited front desk, cleaning, and maintenance staff. We've kept the cleaning staff pretty much the same (we have 11 rooms). The rest of the staff work far less now than they did previously, since the mister and I actually enjoy the running-of-the-inn part when we're there.
Our inn never had overnight staff, really - and had a system for late check-ins that still works. So that's been a help for us (even though we sometimes hang out in the lodge area til late guests arrive, we don't actually have to do so).
Nor is our inn a bed and breakfast. The previous owners offered (and we continued) a voucher system for breakfast for people who want it. We really don't emphasize it, and we don't hear complaints about it. No, it's not for everyone but we no longer bill ourself as a b and b - just as an inn.
So - these things all help in us not being there all the time.
BUT the fact is - we are 150% THERE when we're there and that has been absolutely critical to our success and sort of overwhelming - we thought we would be there maybe every other weekend, or would just have more flexibility. As everyone has said, that's just not so. Our days are cuckoo banana nuts. It never ends. We have had ONE day off together in our first year.
We drive a lot. My kindle reads books to me while I drive - i didn't even have a car before we bought the place!
What I'm trying to say, though, is that we did it. We've done a year bi-located, not being on-site, coming home for a few days then there for a few days - and, it's worked. Our reviews are great. We're happy. We're doing what we set out to do, and really having fun doing it. I can't say that we'll say the same thing in a year or in five or ten years...but for now, it's working.
Will your plan work? I don't know (<--understatement of the year). But I do know that there's a lot of ways people do this thing and while it for sure won't work out the way you have planned...that doesn't mean it won't work out!