If you have ever been to a cozy little bed & breakfast in a sleepy town somewhere, then you know how comfortable and relaxing these places can be. With the service that only a small business can provide, a bed & breakfast is a great alternative the wholesale hotel chains that can leave you feeling more like a piece of livestock than any so-called "Valued Guest". So if you have fallen in love with the bed & breakfast world and want to open one of your very own, here is what you need to do.

Essential Equipment

First and foremost, you need a house to start a bed and breakfast business. Depending on location, this can run you upwards of $500,000 but some nice properties are still available for $200,000 and up. Now some may need some work and you can save on the overall cost by buying a property in need of some TLC. You will also need many of the same implements that a standard hotel would such as: bed linen, towels, toiletries, and things along this line and keep plenty on hand so you do not run out. If you are planning on serving meals in your bed & breakfast, then you will also need multiple setting dishware and all the trimmings. Don't forget the cleaning supplies, either! And now, the big ticket items: furnishings! So, were we to assume that your home cost $200,000 and did not require substantial improvements and that you could secure financing with 10% down, a modestly (but tastefully) furnished bed & breakfast would cost you anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. Now if you were thinking of converting your existing home into a bed & breakfast, those costs would naturally be significantly less. In either case, don't forget to include credit card billing equipment and a computer for reservations and bookkeeping purposes.

Essential Skill/Experience

If you can be polite and courteous to people and keep a well-maintained household, then you are halfway there! You will need to prepare a menu and be able to cook those dishes well, so some culinary skills are definitely needed. Plus, as this is a business, general bookkeeping, marketing, and computer skills will all be needed to make your bed & breakfast a success. Now you can outsource any of these functions and hire help, but be sure to understand that every person you bring aboard is eating into your potential profits.

Charges and Earnings

So how much can you expect to make from your bed & breakfast business? Well, this depends on your location and the demand for such services, the competition, and of course, how many units you have available to rent out. During peak vacation times for your area, a room can command $150-250 dollars with off season prices being around half that. You want to make sure that you research the area you plan to locate your bed & breakfast business and check into how long the peak season is and what kind of competition you will face before trying to estimate annual revenues.

Marketing

You will obviously be marketing to vacationers so advertising in travel guides is a great start. Creating a website is a great idea as well because almost everyone uses the Internet in some way to help plan a vacation. You also may want to develop a network with local merchants and help advertise their businesses in return for them doing the same for you. Finally, developing some sort of niche for your bed & breakfast will definitely help with marketing efforts. For instance, what can guests expect in the way of entertainment while staying at your establishment? Do you plan on serving a special dish that will keep them coming back for more? Basically, what is it that separates your bed & breakfast from the others that guests can choose from. Center your marketing on that niche and you should be successful in bringing guests to your door!