innkeepers quarters

[OnTheShore]

There are many different types of lodging establishments, with a number of different types represented here on this forum.
For example, we offer stand-alone cottages that each include a complete kitchen of their own, so they are traditionally know as "housekeeping cottages" in our state (sometimes called "self-catering" in other parts of the world). So we don't do the food bit, nor are our guests actually staying with us in our house. Our cottages are of varying sizes and styles, ranging from a studio on the waterfront to a historic 5-bedroom farmhouse that dates back to ~1780.
As managers, we live in a separate house on the property (during the season; we are closed for the winter half of the year and only visit the property periodically then, living and working elsewhere). This house was built in 1870. We do have one room in our house that is the designated public office, but it can be isolated from the rest of the house (the tricky bit is that the entry door to our personal kitchen looks like the obvious entry to what people think is the office, even though it is clearly marked "private," so we need to work on better signage to direct people around to the other side of the house where the public office is located -- where the view is, which is why we have the public office there, because when people come around the house and see the view they say "oh wow!" and are totally hooked!
Attached to the main house is an addition built in 1970 containing an apartment which is where the owner stays when he and his wife come to stay. The apartment and our house are separated by an accordion door (in other words, not very much), but that's OK because we are all family.
We have a dog and a cat. The cat roams the property but generally stays out of the cottages (unless we are in one of them, in which case she wants to be in it too). The dog is very shy and spends most of his time upstairs in our house, although sometimes a guest has a friendly dog who wants our dog to come out to play, and that works out great.
For us right now, we haven't left the rat race yet -- we are juggling multiple jobs (geographically separated, too)! My primary job is a great job and it pays pretty well, but this here is a labor of love. At some point, our family circumstances may allow us to consider giving up my primary job, moving here full-time and dedicating ourselves fully to the businesses we have here (the cottages, weddings, boat rentals, pottery, and what ever else we can do to make ends meet, because the life here is great but the pay not so much).

 

[happykeeper]

thank you beach house!
my fiancee and i are in the early stages of trying to get into the B&B business. i work in a factory and she works in banking. we both hate the industries in which we work because our talents are wasted in these jobs and we dont enjoy the rat race lifestyle. our personalities are not meant to live and work in the corporate world. we are looking to eventually open up a b&B in the lower peninsula of michigan where we can live as our own bosses and run our own company. in no way do we think running a b &B will be easy but we know that we hate working in fast paced factory and banking. we are looking to live comfortably and understand that we will in no way become rich doing this. we just want out of corporate america as much as we can be. we were wondering about the living quarters since we have pets that i highly doubt guests will love as much as we do, so we want to keep them away from the actual b&B. living offsite would not be ideal but we were wondering if it was even an option..

This reminds me one time of a minister who told another interested in the trade, "do everything you can to avoid becoming a minister. If it still is the thing to do, then consider it." I think the point was, there are a lot of things the minister does besides just giving the sermon and shaking hands. From handling deaths to broken marriages and a ton of unexpected hours...
I do not think hating your jobs is a good reason to open a B&B. From being on this forum, you cannot imagine the myriad of things that owners deal with. And you may find yourself making a lot less money.
I owned a small construction company for a few years. Frankly, workers often make more money, more reliably than the owner. Fulltime workers usually do their 50-60 hours a week. Business owners often do 80-100 hours a week. And they get to pay self-employment tax to boot. And most businesses fail.
For most people, I would say a reasonably paying job beats starting a business 6 ways to Sunday. If not, watch some episodes of "Tabitha takes over" (salons), "Restaurant Impossible", "Hotel Impossible" or other shows where someone comes in trying to fix a near failed business. The depth of emotions, financial problems and many other things is what you may find yourself in.
In other words, you have a good chance to go from the frying pan into the fire.
.

UNDERSEA...why did you comment like this? You did not answer the question...but started on a rant...that most do not want to hear.
.

Because it is true, albeit not popular
.

Not and not not, I think

 

[Iris]

There are many different types of lodging establishments, with a number of different types represented here on this forum.
For example, we offer stand-alone cottages that each include a complete kitchen of their own, so they are traditionally know as "housekeeping cottages" in our state (sometimes called "self-catering" in other parts of the world). So we don't do the food bit, nor are our guests actually staying with us in our house. Our cottages are of varying sizes and styles, ranging from a studio on the waterfront to a historic 5-bedroom farmhouse that dates back to ~1780.
As managers, we live in a separate house on the property (during the season; we are closed for the winter half of the year and only visit the property periodically then, living and working elsewhere). This house was built in 1870. We do have one room in our house that is the designated public office, but it can be isolated from the rest of the house (the tricky bit is that the entry door to our personal kitchen looks like the obvious entry to what people think is the office, even though it is clearly marked "private," so we need to work on better signage to direct people around to the other side of the house where the public office is located -- where the view is, which is why we have the public office there, because when people come around the house and see the view they say "oh wow!" and are totally hooked!
Attached to the main house is an addition built in 1970 containing an apartment which is where the owner stays when he and his wife come to stay. The apartment and our house are separated by an accordion door (in other words, not very much), but that's OK because we are all family.
We have a dog and a cat. The cat roams the property but generally stays out of the cottages (unless we are in one of them, in which case she wants to be in it too). The dog is very shy and spends most of his time upstairs in our house, although sometimes a guest has a friendly dog who wants our dog to come out to play, and that works out great.
For us right now, we haven't left the rat race yet -- we are juggling multiple jobs (geographically separated, too)! My primary job is a great job and it pays pretty well, but this here is a labor of love. At some point, our family circumstances may allow us to consider giving up my primary job, moving here full-time and dedicating ourselves fully to the businesses we have here (the cottages, weddings, boat rentals, pottery, and what ever else we can do to make ends meet, because the life here is great but the pay not so much)..

There are many different types of lodging establishments, with a number of different types represented here on this forum.
For example, we offer stand-alone cottages that each include a complete kitchen of their own, so they are traditionally know as "housekeeping cottages" in our state (sometimes called "self-catering" in other parts of the world). So we don't do the food bit, nor are our guests actually staying with us in our house. Our cottages are of varying sizes and styles, ranging from a studio on the waterfront to a historic 5-bedroom farmhouse that dates back to ~1780.
As managers, we live in a separate house on the property (during the season; we are closed for the winter half of the year and only visit the property periodically then, living and working elsewhere). This house was built in 1870. We do have one room in our house that is the designated public office, but it can be isolated from the rest of the house (the tricky bit is that the entry door to our personal kitchen looks like the obvious entry to what people think is the office, even though it is clearly marked "private," so we need to work on better signage to direct people around to the other side of the house where the public office is located -- where the view is, which is why we have the public office there, because when people come around the house and see the view they say "oh wow!" and are totally hooked!
Attached to the main house is an addition built in 1970 containing an apartment which is where the owner stays when he and his wife come to stay. The apartment and our house are separated by an accordion door (in other words, not very much), but that's OK because we are all family.
We have a dog and a cat. The cat roams the property but generally stays out of the cottages (unless we are in one of them, in which case she wants to be in it too). The dog is very shy and spends most of his time upstairs in our house, although sometimes a guest has a friendly dog who wants our dog to come out to play, and that works out great.
For us right now, we haven't left the rat race yet -- we are juggling multiple jobs (geographically separated, too)! My primary job is a great job and it pays pretty well, but this here is a labor of love. At some point, our family circumstances may allow us to consider giving up my primary job, moving here full-time and dedicating ourselves fully to the businesses we have here (the cottages, weddings, boat rentals, pottery, and what ever else we can do to make ends meet, because the life here is great but the pay not so much).

Welcome Mich. We are also locate on the Lake Michigan side of Michigan's lower peninsula. If you like being around people, you will love your new life. We are USCoast Guard/banker ourselves. You trade money for quality of life. Good luck to you. Keep us posted.
Harborfields, we seem to live parallel lives in many regards. I constantly have people coming into my, often messy, kitchen, even though the door to the office is clearly marked. ugh.

 

[undersea]

sorry if this has been asked before. i searched and didnt see a topic relating to it. is it mandatory for an innkeeper to reside IN the bed and breakfast? is it acceptable for an innkeeper to live in a separate building on the property or, in special cases, live off site completely?

Note that if the bed and breakfast is not owner occupied (USA), you are subject to the federal ADA requirements; and for older buildings, these can be expensive and onerous. Owner occupied B&Bs with 5 guest rooms or fewer are exempt. Your state/county/city might impose even stricter ADA requirements.
I am not sure how this applies to owners on site, but not in the same building. I suspect if you do not live in the building, you are subject. Maybe someone has more insight to that...

 

[OnTheShore]

sorry if this has been asked before. i searched and didnt see a topic relating to it. is it mandatory for an innkeeper to reside IN the bed and breakfast? is it acceptable for an innkeeper to live in a separate building on the property or, in special cases, live off site completely?

Note that if the bed and breakfast is not owner occupied (USA), you are subject to the federal ADA requirements; and for older buildings, these can be expensive and onerous. Owner occupied B&Bs with 5 guest rooms or fewer are exempt. Your state/county/city might impose even stricter ADA requirements.
I am not sure how this applies to owners on site, but not in the same building. I suspect if you do not live in the building, you are subject. Maybe someone has more insight to that....

In our state at least, existing businesses that are not in conformance with new regulations are usually "grandfathered," (typically unless we carry out a major renovation or expansion, which would then likely be subject to the new regulation). Not sure how a transfer of ownership impacts the grandfathering (depends on the particular regulation and the jurisdiction, I would guess). In the case of the ADA, we must make "reasonable" accommodations where we can, but as a grandfathered business we are not required to be in full compliance, unless we make major renovations, in which case those renovations need to give consideration to the ADA. But again, there is a standard of reasonableness that applies.
Note that your insurance company may have as much or more to say about compliance with codes and regulations as the local government agencies. In our case, we had to upgrade some deck railings and electrical wiring to current code, not because we were required to by the regulators, but by our insurance company.

 

[ChrisandShelley]

MichDream2017, good luck! We are two weeks into our innkeeping experience. We have a dog that we keep in our on-site innkeepers quarters. He occasionally wanders out into the dining room and further if he finds the door left open. We keep him trimmed short so he doesn't shed. There is a B&B down the street that let their dogs go all over the place, interact with guests and such. They are very popular and guests love the dogs.
As far as living on site, check with the insurance company you will be using. I don't know the details, but I think they might require a sprinkler system if there isn't an innkeeper on site over night while guests are present. Or something like that.
Plus I think you probably want to live there. To me, it is part of the whole experience. It's convenient too.
Good luck with the venture!
C

 

[campcomfort]

I'm new to the forum but I have been an innkeeper for 7 years. We have a modern B&B where each room has it's own entrance and even 1 stand alone cabin. We have a house on the property and advertise ourselves as a non-hosted B&B. We explain to our guests (via email) that we do not have a front desk. We do set up a small breakfast in our common building (we call it the Social Hall) each morning and we take several strolls around the property throughout the day and visit with guests. Our guests have our phone number and can call us at any time if they need something. Our guests don't seem to mind at all. We host mostly couples looking for privacy and quiet.

 

[JBloggs]

I'm new to the forum but I have been an innkeeper for 7 years. We have a modern B&B where each room has it's own entrance and even 1 stand alone cabin. We have a house on the property and advertise ourselves as a non-hosted B&B. We explain to our guests (via email) that we do not have a front desk. We do set up a small breakfast in our common building (we call it the Social Hall) each morning and we take several strolls around the property throughout the day and visit with guests. Our guests have our phone number and can call us at any time if they need something. Our guests don't seem to mind at all. We host mostly couples looking for privacy and quiet..

I'm new to the forum but I have been an innkeeper for 7 years. We have a modern B&B where each room has it's own entrance and even 1 stand alone cabin. We have a house on the property and advertise ourselves as a non-hosted B&B. We explain to our guests (via email) that we do not have a front desk. We do set up a small breakfast in our common building (we call it the Social Hall) each morning and we take several strolls around the property throughout the day and visit with guests. Our guests have our phone number and can call us at any time if they need something. Our guests don't seem to mind at all. We host mostly couples looking for privacy and quiet.

I am following you on FB. Love your style. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Donald Draper]

I'm new to the forum but I have been an innkeeper for 7 years. We have a modern B&B where each room has it's own entrance and even 1 stand alone cabin. We have a house on the property and advertise ourselves as a non-hosted B&B. We explain to our guests (via email) that we do not have a front desk. We do set up a small breakfast in our common building (we call it the Social Hall) each morning and we take several strolls around the property throughout the day and visit with guests. Our guests have our phone number and can call us at any time if they need something. Our guests don't seem to mind at all. We host mostly couples looking for privacy and quiet..

This sounds like my cup of tea both as a guest and as an innkeeper! Welcome

 

[happykeeper]

I'm new to the forum but I have been an innkeeper for 7 years. We have a modern B&B where each room has it's own entrance and even 1 stand alone cabin. We have a house on the property and advertise ourselves as a non-hosted B&B. We explain to our guests (via email) that we do not have a front desk. We do set up a small breakfast in our common building (we call it the Social Hall) each morning and we take several strolls around the property throughout the day and visit with guests. Our guests have our phone number and can call us at any time if they need something. Our guests don't seem to mind at all. We host mostly couples looking for privacy and quiet..

Welcome. It sounds a lot like what we might do when we sell our current inn.

 

[Tom]

You have to check your own state and local regulations. No one here can give you that answer. It all depends on your location..

The shortest and most specific advice yet. Talk to your authority having jurisdiction.