advice needed for cottage

[sandynn]

We have done the bed and breakfast for nine years now. We have a darling house next door that we have rented out for 12 years. We just had a renter move out and we have fixed it up so nice that we really don't want to rent it to anyone full time. We would like to use it as add on of the bed and breakfast. We would be renting it as a whole house. I am pondering what to charge for night for the week or the month. What kind of policies would you do. I love this house it was built in the 1900 and it a perfect fit for an annex. Just wondering if anyone else does this.
Thanks

 

[Morticia]

If I had to clean a whole house, I'd only do rentals by the week or month. But that's just me. It's a lot of cleaning for one night, especially if you get a lot of one nighters.
If by the month, make sure you're not getting into a different territory of 'long term' renting which requires leases and involves a lot more work and headaches if someone doesn't leave.

 

[JBloggs]

Could you promote it as a sort of retreat place as well? Scrapbookers, ladies retreats etc.

 

[Joey Camb]

What is popular in this country is self catering usually the bookings are for a week. You can do as an add on that you do their shopping prior to arrival ie they send you a list by email that you pop in the fridge. The rest of the time they fend for themselves.

 

[user 26]

sounds nice! because of the cleaning .. and possible total house use even in a short stay, i'd say weekends MINIMUM and ideally rent by the week. i would take a look on vrbo and home away to see what rents are charged.
one caution with cottages ... there are some who rent them out with cleaning optional. in other words, renter pays a cleaning fee in addition to rent or is to clean the place before they go. of cottage owners i know who rent them out, i rarely (i'd like to say never) saw a cottage cleaned by the folks leaving who left it clean enough for the next occupants. this was not a money saver or labor saver for the owners. so i wouldn't even offer that option and would build the cleaning fee into the rent. some take a cleaning deposit 'just in case' but trying to chase down the last renter for cleaning money is no fun, nor is arguing with them that the place was not left guest ready.
another thing about cleaning. since you are right there, will you be going in from time to time? if i were you, i'd say basic housekeeping is included ... especially with week and month long rental. that way, when housekeeping is done a few times a week, you (or housekeeper as your eyes) are able to check that the property is being respected and not damaged or misused without saying this to the tenant. this is more for an owner who does not live right there.
grilling rules, trash rules, fire rules, smoking rules, candle rules .... depending on your situation.
the last cottage i rented, i paid a damage deposit that was refunded after the owner checked the property.

 

[Morticia]

sounds nice! because of the cleaning .. and possible total house use even in a short stay, i'd say weekends MINIMUM and ideally rent by the week. i would take a look on vrbo and home away to see what rents are charged.
one caution with cottages ... there are some who rent them out with cleaning optional. in other words, renter pays a cleaning fee in addition to rent or is to clean the place before they go. of cottage owners i know who rent them out, i rarely (i'd like to say never) saw a cottage cleaned by the folks leaving who left it clean enough for the next occupants. this was not a money saver or labor saver for the owners. so i wouldn't even offer that option and would build the cleaning fee into the rent. some take a cleaning deposit 'just in case' but trying to chase down the last renter for cleaning money is no fun, nor is arguing with them that the place was not left guest ready.
another thing about cleaning. since you are right there, will you be going in from time to time? if i were you, i'd say basic housekeeping is included ... especially with week and month long rental. that way, when housekeeping is done a few times a week, you (or housekeeper as your eyes) are able to check that the property is being respected and not damaged or misused without saying this to the tenant. this is more for an owner who does not live right there.
grilling rules, trash rules, fire rules, smoking rules, candle rules .... depending on your situation.
the last cottage i rented, i paid a damage deposit that was refunded after the owner checked the property..

If that one (from where? New Zealand or Australia? found it-NSW) shows up here again she can give some good advice, too. She's always having issues with guests not leaving things the right way, fires, bothering the animals and all that.

 

[JBloggs]

sounds nice! because of the cleaning .. and possible total house use even in a short stay, i'd say weekends MINIMUM and ideally rent by the week. i would take a look on vrbo and home away to see what rents are charged.
one caution with cottages ... there are some who rent them out with cleaning optional. in other words, renter pays a cleaning fee in addition to rent or is to clean the place before they go. of cottage owners i know who rent them out, i rarely (i'd like to say never) saw a cottage cleaned by the folks leaving who left it clean enough for the next occupants. this was not a money saver or labor saver for the owners. so i wouldn't even offer that option and would build the cleaning fee into the rent. some take a cleaning deposit 'just in case' but trying to chase down the last renter for cleaning money is no fun, nor is arguing with them that the place was not left guest ready.
another thing about cleaning. since you are right there, will you be going in from time to time? if i were you, i'd say basic housekeeping is included ... especially with week and month long rental. that way, when housekeeping is done a few times a week, you (or housekeeper as your eyes) are able to check that the property is being respected and not damaged or misused without saying this to the tenant. this is more for an owner who does not live right there.
grilling rules, trash rules, fire rules, smoking rules, candle rules .... depending on your situation.
the last cottage i rented, i paid a damage deposit that was refunded after the owner checked the property..

If that one (from where? New Zealand or Australia? found it-NSW) shows up here again she can give some good advice, too. She's always having issues with guests not leaving things the right way, fires, bothering the animals and all that.
.

If that one (from where? New Zealand or Australia? found it-NSW) shows up here again she can give some good advice, too. She's always having issues with guests not leaving things the right way, fires, bothering the animals and all that.

Blue Mountains of New South Wales (Australia).
I think any time people are left to their own devices "here the key, see you next week" you are asking for trouble.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

How big is this cottage? We have a cottage on our property that is rented as a guest room. We deliver breakfast to their door and have the same cleaning regs as the rest of our rooms, but the minimum night stay is longer. Our cottage is only about 800 sq feet, but it does contain everything a regular house has.
I know a b&b that owns a house next door to them and they market it on their b&b website, but they call it a vacation rental. You'll have to check with your local regulations to see if you need a separate license for a vacation rental. We are able to rent ours for only about 10% more than our large suites. It just depends on your particular house and what the market will bear.
I know another b&b with a cottage a couple of houses away from them and to be able to rent it as part of their b&b, they provide the guests with eggs, bacon, bread, etc so they guest can cook their own breakfast.

 

[EmptyNest]

Samster had a house next door to her B & B that she ran right along with the B & B...so hopefully she will chime in. How many bedrooms are there? Do they have private bathrooms?? Whole house rental is ok..but set some minimums....do you get any requests for whole house rental? Is it practical to do there? How is zoning going to be affected if you change things up from a long term rental to short term???
My friends have cottages on their properties that they just rent out on a night to night basis with 2 night min. They deliver a breakfast basket to the cottage each day....so it is part of the B & B.

 

[hawley]

In our city, if rental is more than 30 days, then they fall under different rental rights.

 

[Samster]

Our second house was totally part of our B&B, with 3 rooms. But, I sometimes did longer guest stays for our University or other business associates at deeply discounted rates for 4+ days. You have to decide what $$ figure is worth it to you to garner this business. This was a very, very good facet of my business and they were some of my best guests.
Since it's a whole house rental, you can provide fewer services - go to weekly or twice weekly housekeeping for longer stays, no breakfast included - to offset your lower price.
Anything here that is 11 days or longer is not considered "transient" housing & isn't subject to taxes after the 11th day. I would do a check-out & check-in to work around that in my guest management software since rarely would a stay be that much longer.
You're experienced....I don't need to advise you to have a good set of policies in place. Good luck!

 

[birdwatcher]

We had a seperate guest house at our B & B and we did rent it as a whole. We had families rent it for weekends and sometimes a week-I would not go longer than at a 2 week stay then it gets complicated as someone has mentioned.
When we rented the whole guest house to a group it was great cause it was self contained although we did include breakfast as well you don't have to if you rent it as a whole to a group or family. We had a special price if it the whole house was taken and we had a two to three night minimum, we would not ever do a one night for the whole house. Yes, its more work but I really didn't mind since when they checked out the whole house was empty and I didn't have to worry about any guests walking around while I turned rooms.
It also depends on what your town has to offer and if you will allow families to rent the place.

 

[Hangfive]

Here's some ideas:
Have a set cleaning fee no mater how many nights are rented. Make sure that your cover your costs, a house is a lot more to clean than a room.
Take a damage deposit. All the vacation rentals and condos do it and so can you. Protect your investment.
How many rooms does the house have? You can lock off additional rooms. Have a set price per night, week or what ever for the house with 1 room, 2 rooms, etc. If a room is locked off then you don't need to clean it...and if your guest break into a locked off room then charge them for it's use. Also remember, the more people in the place the greater the chance of damage.
For separate cottages or houses unless you have room in your dining room and can handle the extra work then I prefer giving them a separate breakfast...you can stock the place with breakfast items and let em do it on their own. The way I see it, your guests are booking the separate house for the privacy not the B&B experience.