How to make money running your own Bed & Breakfast from home.
Imagine that wonderful smell of a cooked breakfast floating out of the kitchen – greeting your guests as they descend the stairs and make their way to the breakfast room where they are then greeted by a typical English breakfast made up sausage, eggs, bacon and fried tomatoes. , Beans and fried slices, tea or coffee, toast and marmalade …
Aah .. The joys of running a good old traditional Bed & Breakfast… ..
I remember in the early 80’s getting my first home. It was a 3 bedroom townhouse in Edmonton, London. UNITED KINGDOM. There were 2 bedrooms downstairs apart from the kitchen. One of these rooms was an ideal breakfast room and the other a perfect bedroom. This actually gave me 4 rooms, including mine.
Money was very tight back then as I was trying to start another business. I really needed the extra income.
It was then that I decided to turn my house into a bed & breakfast, based on my very limited knowledge of running one, as I had indeed stayed in one for a few months before purchasing this House.
My previous owner had a bunch of ordinary people who mostly worked in London for 5 days and returned home to where they lived on weekends. They would then come back on Monday. It was pretty good for my landlady, because her house was hers on the weekends.
My landlady’s name was Eileen, and she was a woman in her 40s, early 50s. Her husband had recently passed away, and it was a perfect way for her to earn some extra money to pay the mortgage and the bills. I had many interesting conversations with various guests during breakfast.
So, I decided to do the same. I advertised in the window of the local newsagent and soon after, people called me to view the rooms.
Now I am not a domestic goddess … I can tell you that! – Mainly because I’m a MAN. But even I can change a few sheets and cook a few eggs for breakfast. Eggs were often on the menu, as my limited cooking skills equated to basic Fry Ups, such as cornflakes, toast, etc. etc.
Now it’s been going back a bit now, but I seem to remember that this fairly small amount of work involved in running a home-from-home has earned me a lot more than my mortgage and other living expenses combined. Mainly because you can charge higher rates for the Bed & Breakfast than, say, having a regular tenant.
I would go out during the day, concentrate on my business, and come home at night. The limited contents of my house were still where I left them – and in the almost three years that I’ve done this, I don’t think anything has ever been stolen. Perhaps the odd roll of toilet paper or the towel may have disappeared. But it was worth it for the money you can earn by running your own B&B.
Now I always like to mention the cons, the tips I mention. You might be able to get people to call for a room late at night. It is best to always advertise your mobile phone number instead of your home number. You don’t really want strangers to have your home number, and also with a mobile, it’s more convenient for you. Moreover, you can always turn off your mobile phone at night if you want.
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Having strangers in your home will involve risks. With a tenant, you may have more access to information about that person than with someone staying a few nights in a B&B. However, I asked each guest for a reference or some form of identification. Of course, people are not always who they say they are.
All in all it was a pleasant enough experience – you have some really nice people who just want to have a B&B for a few nights a week and are willing to pay you a lot for this establishment. Also check your local council bylaws to find out where you stand with this business, as well as how you fare with things like municipal tax (UK), health and safety, etc. about UK Council tax, it may affect your rights.
You might of course want to rent only one room. In the UK, just outside London, £ 40-45 a night in B&B is not unreasonable. Obviously if someone stays 3 or 4 days give them a discount. Your job is simply to provide breakfast and board.Change their bedding every night and clean their room.
You can also provide them with a TV in their bedroom or let them share your living room.
To be honest, I never had a problem. I billed people up front so they couldn’t jump without paying. I kept my bedroom locked and locked the living / dining room when not in use. Obviously, don’t leave any value around.
If a B&B is not for you. Why not just have a tenant? Here in the UK you are allowed to have a tenant who pays up to £ 80 per week without paying income tax. This works out to £ 4000 per year without tax.
Food for thought? – Here is some more information on running your own B & B in ANY country
Hope you enjoyed this money by making tip. If so, please share it with other people, or why not comment?
Thank you