swirt
Forum founder. Former Owner.
- Joined
- May 17, 2008
- Messages
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I think a lot of innkeepers are cautious about highly recommending a 20-something couple start a B&B. It is not that it can't be done. You have more energy than older people have so it is not that you don't have the stamina. It has more to do with what you are willing to give up at 20.
Are you willing to give up your privacy? : Consider the last emotional disagreement you had with your wife, now imagine there were 10 people staying in your B&B at the time you were having it. Remember the last time you smirked at each other then chased each other off to the bedroom... now imagine that playing out again with 10 other people in your house who all seem to need something from you .... only you don't know when they need it, when they will arrive, when they will call because they are lost... Remember the last time someone in you or your spouses family was sick or passed away and you either needed to run out to help them or wanted to curl up in a ball and sob for a few hours.... but you can't because there are 10 strangers in your house who need something from you.
Are you willing to give up key points in your children's lives (sporting events, performances, family gatherings....) because your free time is not your own? (it gets swallowed up by waiting for things to happen in guest time.) You want to take your 2 year old to the zoo, because it is Sunday and it is the first sunny day you've had in 2 weeks, but instead of getting everything ready and jumping in the car, you are pacing back and forth waiting for two of your rooms to check out. Your 2 year old doesn't want to wait.. can't wait...he's 2 afterall. So you spend an hour or more pacing until the last guest checks out..then you race out the door to the car, and you get to the zoo with less than an hour to see it all. Your child's time with you will get nibbled away at like this for as long as you run your B&B. You'll try to put them first, but you just can't. You'll have to choose the guests over them most of the time because the one thing you must provide for the sake of your kids is income. When your kids are really excited and want to jump up and down to tell you something that is just the coolest news ever, you'll have to say, "sssshhhhh keep it down, there are guests in the house."
Are you willing to give up financial security? Your house is supposed to have 10 people in it because you've got 5 rooms, but you only have 2 people in it, and they are whining about wanting a discount because they had to drive in the rain and when they got out of the car they saw a snake sunning itself in your driveway. (people whine about crazy stuff)
Living where you work can put a lot of extra stress on a relationship, as can working with your spouse, as can having guests constantly in your house. Lets not forget the kids...
My point is not to scare you. The examples I have given are not the worst that have happened. They are just things that routinely happen. They are simply the inside innkeeper point of view that most B&B guests never imagine. They are things that couples are more likely to endure in their 50's than those in their 20's.
Are you willing to give up your privacy? : Consider the last emotional disagreement you had with your wife, now imagine there were 10 people staying in your B&B at the time you were having it. Remember the last time you smirked at each other then chased each other off to the bedroom... now imagine that playing out again with 10 other people in your house who all seem to need something from you .... only you don't know when they need it, when they will arrive, when they will call because they are lost... Remember the last time someone in you or your spouses family was sick or passed away and you either needed to run out to help them or wanted to curl up in a ball and sob for a few hours.... but you can't because there are 10 strangers in your house who need something from you.
Are you willing to give up key points in your children's lives (sporting events, performances, family gatherings....) because your free time is not your own? (it gets swallowed up by waiting for things to happen in guest time.) You want to take your 2 year old to the zoo, because it is Sunday and it is the first sunny day you've had in 2 weeks, but instead of getting everything ready and jumping in the car, you are pacing back and forth waiting for two of your rooms to check out. Your 2 year old doesn't want to wait.. can't wait...he's 2 afterall. So you spend an hour or more pacing until the last guest checks out..then you race out the door to the car, and you get to the zoo with less than an hour to see it all. Your child's time with you will get nibbled away at like this for as long as you run your B&B. You'll try to put them first, but you just can't. You'll have to choose the guests over them most of the time because the one thing you must provide for the sake of your kids is income. When your kids are really excited and want to jump up and down to tell you something that is just the coolest news ever, you'll have to say, "sssshhhhh keep it down, there are guests in the house."
Are you willing to give up financial security? Your house is supposed to have 10 people in it because you've got 5 rooms, but you only have 2 people in it, and they are whining about wanting a discount because they had to drive in the rain and when they got out of the car they saw a snake sunning itself in your driveway. (people whine about crazy stuff)
Living where you work can put a lot of extra stress on a relationship, as can working with your spouse, as can having guests constantly in your house. Lets not forget the kids...
My point is not to scare you. The examples I have given are not the worst that have happened. They are just things that routinely happen. They are simply the inside innkeeper point of view that most B&B guests never imagine. They are things that couples are more likely to endure in their 50's than those in their 20's.
