Originally written by Alice Douglas on Small Business
13 tips on running a B&B
In 2004 I opened a B&B in a converted church in Snowdonia. I was a single parent with two children under five. I was apprehensive at the prospect of welcoming strangers into my house and kept imagining one might be an axe murderer. However, I soon realized the best part of running a B&B is all the wonderful people you get to meet. Guests are rarely savage keyboard warriors out to immortalise you with a damning review, but on the contrary are mostly extremely forgiving of the odd mishap. I’ve had my fair share, like an escaped hamster paying a midnight visit in one of the four poster rooms, and other mundane but unavoidable dramas like boiler issues or hot tub breakdowns, but guests on the whole are very tolerant.
They are also in residence when good and bad life events happen to you, such as your child’s birthday celebrations or that sudden phone call when in the blink of an eye a loved one is lost. When that happened, a guest took over the breakfast service and persuaded me to go to London straightaway while they stayed to