With all the buzz around the serviced accommodation industry at the moment, with owners setting up whole properties available to rent, is there still room in the market for a traditional Bed & Breakfast!? We think so, and here is why.
The word that springs to mind when we think of a traditional bed and breakfast is Luxury. Comfort. Stress Free. Okay, so that was 4 words! All of these of course should and can apply to a whole holiday cottage, but the beauty of a Bed & Breakfast is it gives a hotel style experience with the addition of home comforts. Holiday Cottages are fantastic for those who want to cook for themselves, have a home away from home experience and generally make use of a whole property that isn’t theirs for a stay. But not everybody wants that!
The benefit of a traditional B&B is in the name – bed and breakfast! Often people who are looking to only stay for one night in an area don’t need or want a whole property, especially if they want to enjoy the best of the area and be out exploring rather than stuck inside. A beautiful soft and sumptuous bed at the end of a long day of exploring is often exactly all that is needed. When they wake up in the morning? A hearty breakfast of course! The bed and the breakfast combined can make for a really easy, relaxed stay for guests without worrying about buying in groceries, cooking, washing up and generally keeping a whole property in check through the duration of a stay.
On the flip side, there is often an issue with the traditional B&B; they are too traditional. We often speak to owners who have run B&Bs for years before the birth of sites like AirBNB, and they have struggled to keep up with what seems like the continual opening of new properties to rent in their areas, and the marketing needed to keep up with this. One of our favourite jobs to do is to help and give guidance to owners like these, and really help bring their businesses back to life by taking all of the tech and admin off their hands and allowing them to get on with what they enjoy – hosting in their home!
So, is a traditional B&B worth the time anymore!? B&Bs can often seem a bit old fashioned in this day an age, but we believe differently. We believe that with a striking, exciting and comfortable design to the rooms (we would definitely recommend on theming each room but more of that in a later Journal post!), an excellent marketing management plan, and the ability to cook the perfect fried egg in the morning, the more traditional B&B model can be a success and can generate a good income for its hosts.