Bushnell & Bushnell Blog » Aspiring Innkeepers

Inn-cluding Your Passion

Scott — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:27:46 +0000

I have the opportunity to see a lot of inns in Maryland. I am the (friendly) inspector for the Maryland Bed & Breakfast Association (MBBA). The Association strengthens its commitment to the full guest experience by ensuring that certain standards (usually focused on housekeeping and safety), are met by ALL of its members.

On my visit to the other side of the Chesapeake (I live on the Eastern Shore), I visited Butterfly Fields, a remote inn, serene and away from the noise of the highway. Dan and Lynda Ells have built (literally…by hand) their inn around their hobbies and interests. With their commitment to a life of self-sufficiency, the inn is energy efficient, with incredible insulation and solar features (Dan’s expertise). Lynda is a massage therapist and, together, they have built and operate “Goose at the Door Pottery”, a shop where they hand throw gifts and keepsakes for use and sale in the inn.

Guests are invited to the workshop (which, literally, has chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys just outside the door!) to enjoy the crafts, perhaps take a class at the wheel, and have a story and a keepsake to take back home with them. What a great addition to the total guest experience!

And what a great way to put your non-innkeeping skills to good use at the inn. Scott

Viable Inn vs. Lifestyle Inn…a tough question

Scott — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:48:12 +0000

Is a VIABLE Inn or a LIFESTYLE Inn Best for you?

As an aspiring innkeeper, one of the more difficult decisions to be made is viability vs. lifestyle. A viable inn, usually an inn with 8 or 9 guest rooms or more, is one that has enough cash flow to pay not only the operating expenses, but the debt service (mortgage) as well. A lifestyle inn is usually a smaller inn, perhaps even very busy and popular, but does not have enough cash flow to pay the mortgage.

One Choice is Not BETTER than the other! They BOTH can offer the Rewards of Inn Ownership!

The BIG QUESTION becomes “Do You Need to Make Money?”

If the answer is YES, then viability of an inn becomes a priority for your search and part of your inn profile.

If the answer is NO, then a lifestyle inn may be just the ticket…the joys of inn ownership at a smaller inn.

Financial considerations for a lifestyle inn include the size of the down payment and whether there is outside resources to help pay the bills. A smaller inn typically does not require much staffing which helps keep expenses down, and, if someone is working outside of the inn, the need to pay for health insurance and other corporate benefits may not pose a expense burden. And the rewards can be very satisfying! The inn may even make enough to pay the usual household bills (utilities, phone, food, insurance, etc.) and ease the pain of the mortgage.

A good example of a lifestyle inn is The Limestone Inn, currently for sale at $595,000.

Located in State College, PA., only 4 miles from Penn State, the inn enjoys the privacy of being out in the country, but close enough to corporate businesses and the campus to do a strong business. But the inn only has 5 rooms which limits its ability to make enough to pay the full mortgage. But with over $50,000 of revenue for each of the last 3 years, the inn can easily pay its bills with a good size chunk of cash flow left over to take a dent out of the mortgage payment…an ideal lifestyle inn in a great marketing area.

An example of an affordable viable inn is Grape Arbor B & B located in North East, PA. This inn, currently for sale for only $845,000, with 8 rooms, all with private baths, with its 33% occupancy, is large enough to be able to pay the bills AND the mortgage. It is ideally located in the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail region within easy reach of the Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh marketing areas. Compared with The Limestone Inn, the additional 3 rooms helps bring in the extra revenue to be viable.

Both of these inns offer the rewarding experience of inn ownership. Both are not necessarily huge inns, and may be managed by a single person, with perhaps some part-time staff help, or by a couple. Size of the inn is typically the primary determining factor when considering viability vs. a lifestyle inn, and, when coupled with the marketing location and potential to attract guests to the area attractions, either inn can offer the enjoyable experience of owning your own B & B. Scott

Location, Location, Location…the 3 Ingredients to a Successful Inn

Scott — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:49:11 +0000

When you ask a realtor what the 3 most important factors are when buying a house, the whimsical, but meaningful, response is “Location, Location, Location”. The intent, obviously, of repeating the same word 3 times implies that Location is the ONLY factor when buying a home.

But when searching for an inn, or developing or strengthening an inn’s

marketing plan, the repetition has 3 distinct implications:

Location #1: Think of the inn’s macro-location first. Is the inn located within easy reach (2-3 hours) of major metropolitan areas? Having major population meccas from which to attract guests is a major asset of any inn. A great example includes Pheasant Field B & Bin Carlisle, PA. Within 3 hours of the inn includes such metro-megacenters as the NYC metro area, Philly, Baltimore, DC,, Pittsburgh, and only a few miles away, the capital of PA, Harrisburg. That’s gotta be about 16 bazillion potential “one-tankers” (guests that only want to spend one tank of gas for their mini-vacation).

For aspiring innkeepers, keeping Location #1 in mind when building a profile will ensure an advantage from the get-go. For a current innkeeper, analyzing Location #1 in your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is an important step to strengthening your marketing plan.

Location # 2 is the immediate region around the inn. What will bring the 16 bazillion people to your area? It is NOT just to visit you, as much as we innkeepers would like to believe! Having a variety of area attractions that appeal to multiple interests, great restaurants, and soft adventures will offer a one-stop shopping itinerary for any guest looking to get away. Take the Pennsbury Inn, for example, in Chadds Ford, PA. Within a few short miles of the inn is something for everyone: Longwood Gardens and its world-reknown topiary gardens, Winterthur (the DuPont country house) for the antiquers and hortoculturists, Simon Pearce glassworks, the River Museum and its Andrew Wyeth Gallery, the Brandywine Revolutionary War battlefield for history buffs, and, of course, the Wine Trail and great restaurants of the region.

This vast array of attractions appeals to most any interest…with plenty to do for any visitor to the region. For the aspiring innkeeper, what will bring guests to the area around YOUR future inn? For the current innkeeper, which of these attractions can I package with, and build relationships with, to capitalize on THEIR popularity?

Location # 3 is an easy one, and the one most innkeepers, aspiring and current, focus. This is the inn itself, its curb appeal, and the attractiveness of the surrounding neighborhood. When a guest rounds the corner and sees the inn for the first time, we hope their eyes widen and they mutter the “ooooooh!” that we work so hard to achieve. Many inns know how to achieve this look. The example here, Brampton Bed & Breakfast Inn near Chestertown, MD., is noteworthy for its curb appeal.

For the aspiring innkeeper, does your candidate inn have curb appeal, or can you give it great curb appeal? Is it in an attractive and safe-looking neighborhood? For the current innkeeper, taking a look from the road to ensure a great first impression should be a part of every capital expenditure plan.

Three separate interpretations for the same word…Location. But each having distinct meaning

to ensure the success of an inn.

Consultant’s Advice: Aspiring innkeepers, ensure the profile of your candidate inn has ALL 3 location criteria met. For current innkeepers, look at all three definitions, assess and take advantage of the strengths of your location, and develop plans to strengthen those weaknesses or take actions for those opportunities that your location offers.

What are the strengths and weaknesses with YOUR location, location, location?