Arks
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Y'all have been very patient has I've poked my inexperienced nose in here the last couple of weeks. I think it's time for me to run my business plan by the experts for some input.
I'm in an Arkansas town of about 8,000, the largest town in a county of about 20,000. The only accommodations in town are one large chain hotel and a couple of small local (not chain) motels. No B&B in the county.
I have a good, well-paying job which I'll keep. I can afford to do this project even if it nets little or no income (though of course I'd like it to be a success). So I don't have to rely on this business for my income or even to make payments on the loan to do it. I'm just doing it because I want to, and because I want my town to have such a facility as this to offer our tiny but growing stream of tourists. That being said, I fully intend to promote it, run it well, and make a success of it.
I'm in the process of buying one of the oldest (1880) commercial buildings right in the heart of downtown. I plan to restore the 2-story front facade to its 1880 appearance and turn the place into a guest house, meaning the guests are left alone in the place at night, with access to their room and all the public areas.
Below are some ideas for what I want. I'm putting them together to show the architect next Friday, so I thought it would be good to run them by you first.
Ground floor plans:
The back of the building is currently a small grassy area surrounded by other buildings on all sides, except for one small area that gives access to the street on the side of the building. I'm wanting to turn this space into a courtyard with a guest BBQ grill.
I don't yet know the state laws on any of this (I'm going to a 3-day seminar in July, here in the state). But if law allows, I plan to limit guests to people age 10 and up. No pets. I'm planning to charge fairly high fees for this area, like $145 to $165/night. We're about equal distance from Memphis, Little Rock, and St. Louis so that's where I'll promote the place.
Here's a big thing. I'm planning to include breakfast in the room charge, but I'm not planning to prepare it on-site. There's an "upscale cafe" a block way that serves everything from cereal to Eggs Benedict for breakfast, great lunch and dinner menus. So I'm planning to give guests a daily breakfast voucher to use there. The voucher will be enough to get anything up to the level of 2 eggs, hashbrowns, biscuit, choice of meat, and drink. if they want something more expensive like the Eggs Benedict they can pay the difference.
I'm also going to offer "room service" where if the guest pays the cafe's delivery fee the cafe will bring the food over to the guest house, where folks can eat in the guest house dining area or carry the tray up to their room to eat. Of course they could also order this way for other times of day, paying the full charge for lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. themselves. Cleaning staff will handle returning dirty trays of dishes to the cafe later.
You input is most welcome! Thanks a million!
I'm in an Arkansas town of about 8,000, the largest town in a county of about 20,000. The only accommodations in town are one large chain hotel and a couple of small local (not chain) motels. No B&B in the county.
I have a good, well-paying job which I'll keep. I can afford to do this project even if it nets little or no income (though of course I'd like it to be a success). So I don't have to rely on this business for my income or even to make payments on the loan to do it. I'm just doing it because I want to, and because I want my town to have such a facility as this to offer our tiny but growing stream of tourists. That being said, I fully intend to promote it, run it well, and make a success of it.
I'm in the process of buying one of the oldest (1880) commercial buildings right in the heart of downtown. I plan to restore the 2-story front facade to its 1880 appearance and turn the place into a guest house, meaning the guests are left alone in the place at night, with access to their room and all the public areas.
Below are some ideas for what I want. I'm putting them together to show the architect next Friday, so I thought it would be good to run them by you first.
Ground floor plans:
- A small (15 ft. x 30 ft.) convenience store (the downtown area has none at present though there are about 20 downtown apartments and about 100 people living downtown). Store will be manned 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The store will open both onto the front sidewalk and also into the guest house lobby. The person manning the store will also check guests in and out, answer questions, solve problems, etc. The doorway between the guesthouse lobby and the store will be closed at night of course. Late arrivers will get a code to open the keypad locked front door and check themselves in. I'll hire cleaning staff separate from the store staff.
- A half-bath (toilet and lavatory).
- Small closet for 1st floor cleaning supplies and equipment.
- Space near the front entry for a stuffed love seat and a couple of comfortable chairs where people can wait for others in their group before going out on the town.
- Enough space for small tables and chairs so everybody in the house can eat at the same time, if necessary. This area will also have enough counter/storage space for a coffee maker, sugar, creamer, cups, saucers, etc.
- A guest lounge (bar) with 3 or 4 comfortable armchairs, coffee table, a couple of bar stools, wet bar, variety of wine and cocktail glasses, blender, ice maker (to serve the whole house) and flat screen TV. I'm picturing an Irish pub feel to the room. We won't sell alcohol. Guests have to bring their own, but I'll have everything else they need to have a nice lounge.
- A guest kitchen with range, oven, refrigerator, microwave, so guests who want to do some of their own cooking can do so. I'll add a dining table there if there's room.
- One handicapped-accessible guest room will be on the ground floor.
- A sitting/reading area near the top of the stairs.
- A dry sauna large enough to hold 7 to 8 people, with an adjacent shower.
- Laundry/storage room with enough space for 2 or 3 roll-away beds.
- 4 or 5 guest rooms, depending on what the architect comes up with.
- Closet space comparable to a standard hotel room.
- Bathroom with shower, lavatory and toilet.
- A king size bed, or two double or queen size beds.
- Night stand on each side of the bed(s).
- Small chest of drawers.
- Room to open an collapsible luggage rack.
- A couple of comfortable chairs. A coffee table or end table.
- Flat screen TV that can be seen from both the bed and the sitting area.
- A small desk and chair.
- A professional-grade Jacuzzi large enough for two people. (I got all this from suggestions on this forum.) These must have access panels to get inside for repairs. Floors must be made capable of holding the weight. Get models with built-in cleaning system that flushes bleach through tubes for cleaning. A hand sprayer can also help make them easier to clean.
The back of the building is currently a small grassy area surrounded by other buildings on all sides, except for one small area that gives access to the street on the side of the building. I'm wanting to turn this space into a courtyard with a guest BBQ grill.
I don't yet know the state laws on any of this (I'm going to a 3-day seminar in July, here in the state). But if law allows, I plan to limit guests to people age 10 and up. No pets. I'm planning to charge fairly high fees for this area, like $145 to $165/night. We're about equal distance from Memphis, Little Rock, and St. Louis so that's where I'll promote the place.
Here's a big thing. I'm planning to include breakfast in the room charge, but I'm not planning to prepare it on-site. There's an "upscale cafe" a block way that serves everything from cereal to Eggs Benedict for breakfast, great lunch and dinner menus. So I'm planning to give guests a daily breakfast voucher to use there. The voucher will be enough to get anything up to the level of 2 eggs, hashbrowns, biscuit, choice of meat, and drink. if they want something more expensive like the Eggs Benedict they can pay the difference.
I'm also going to offer "room service" where if the guest pays the cafe's delivery fee the cafe will bring the food over to the guest house, where folks can eat in the guest house dining area or carry the tray up to their room to eat. Of course they could also order this way for other times of day, paying the full charge for lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. themselves. Cleaning staff will handle returning dirty trays of dishes to the cafe later.
You input is most welcome! Thanks a million!