Our future B & B - should we lease it out or have it managed ...

[Breakfast Diva]

i did not mean to rant or whine about my situation. i won't edit it right now because it swiss cheeses the thread as swirt says ....
just, if you end up hiring innkeeper(s), put everything in writing so that there is not misunderstanding
i do wish you all the best, really!.

SS, you're not ranting or whining. I think your story is very important for other folks to hear. In an industry that specializes in personal interaction and the "touchy feely" aspect of life, I think we need to hear how we need to all realize that we must get everything in writing and make things very clear to protect all involved.

 

[gillumhouse]

Welcome. I am Podunk. I live in a Small city (pop 2300) so do not show up on most maps and the people in this little city did not know we were a tourist destination until I told them we were.
I have 3 rooms. Is it profitable - hell no! Does it pay for the house? It did before I created the private bath thus acquiring a honking loan payment and was even then breaking about even until this year. I have never taken a salary. Do I think my place has potential? YES!! If my DH understood business and was not - as my daughter put it - holding me back, I think this place could make money. The next owners have a better chance of it since I have made most of the upgrades to the building, including the owners quarters so they can concentrate on the marketing aspect and maybe do events that I could not. When I sell my asking price will make some say the old "what is wrong with it" that is said about rooms rates that are too low. The answer is nothing is wrong with it - I just want it to be affordable enough the next owner will not be saddled with a honking mortgage payment so they can take what I started and make it better. Rather than make a profit on this place, I will not even break even on what I invested in it but my city NEEDS a B & B and my city government knows it!
This does not answer your question other than to say a small inn can make a profit if things fall into place the right way. I just happen to be one of those people who not matter what they do, the light bulb is going to burn out - at least on a financial level. Other than that, I am the richest person I know.

 

[Paisley]

Just wanted to say "thanks" to all of you who took the time to offer your time and insight regarding my question. My husband and I continue to discuss all of the possiblities but are quite seriously taking all of your comments and advice into consideration as we do. We feel blessed to have you at our fingertips!

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Best of luck on your decision! Sometimes you just have to seize the opportunity when it happens. When we were planning on buying a B&B we had prepared ourselves to seriously start looking after a year of making our lifechange decision. Well, we found our place in 1 week without trying. We knew it was just the kind of place we wanted to live and work, so we took the plunge early and figured "what was ment to be, was ment to be". It threw us into chaos for a few months and surprised most of our family and friends, but we went for it and all worked out wonderfully.
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. Go with what your gut tells you. Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you.

 

[wendydk]

Here's one question...if you want to take advantage of the situation AND can do it financially, why wouldn't you do it now? Now is the best time (maybe ever) to buy a B&B, from a real-estate market standpoint.

 

[JBloggs]

Here's one question...if you want to take advantage of the situation AND can do it financially, why wouldn't you do it now? Now is the best time (maybe ever) to buy a B&B, from a real-estate market standpoint..

Here's one question...if you want to take advantage of the situation AND can do it financially, why wouldn't you do it now? Now is the best time (maybe ever) to buy a B&B, from a real-estate market standpoint.

TRUE! I forgot about that...duh It is a buyer's market!! Jump on it if you are able. I have a one track mind lately...sleep work sleep work

 

[bbinnsitters]

I can give you examples of several places that are owned by one person and operated by another - it does work! Contact me off forum if interested. I also know of some people that are trying to find permanent Innkeeper work if you decide to go ahead with this adventure. It is the time to buy!

 

[birdwatcher]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck.

 

[Don Draper]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck..

Birdwatcher, your honesty in this post is very poignant...please know you have someone pulling for you to make it. I think we all have felt the pinch in one way or another this past year. I really hope there's a way for you to keep your place going. Don't look back with any regrets, whatever decisions you made got you to where you are and maybe you are meant to be there and just need to find some creative solutions to keep doing what you love.

 

[EmptyNest]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck..

Podunk and "destination" place..is confusing me. What makes your town a destination..without naming particular names that is. Are there other lodging accommodations near you that you are competing with so to speak.
I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck..

Podunk and "destination" place..is confusing me. What makes your town a destination..without naming particular names that is. Are there other lodging accommodations near you that you are competing with so to speak.
I hope it all works out for you.
.

I'm in "Podunk" and a destination place. For me, the entire coastline is the destination place. I'm not in a town and the ones we have around here are VERY small.

 

[Samster]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck..

Good luck to you, Birdwatcher! I hope that it works out for you somehow. I have a friend with a beautiful place that's been really hit by this recession too. The travelers are just not there and she's near a very large city. They are going in a different direction now by trying to focus on weddings and other events. It's so hard when you've poured your heart and soul into the place, not to mention your financial resources and back breaking hard work. Sometimes it just doesn't work out no matter how hard you do your research either. Hang in there.

 

[EmptyNest]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck..

Podunk and "destination" place..is confusing me. What makes your town a destination..without naming particular names that is. Are there other lodging accommodations near you that you are competing with so to speak.
I hope it all works out for you.
.

I'm in "Podunk" and a destination place. For me, the entire coastline is the destination place. I'm not in a town and the ones we have around here are VERY small.
.

Well, our town is about 12,000 so I guess we could be a Podunk too..but I never considered it that...but we ARE a destination. Tourism is fast becoming our # 1 employer.

 

[egoodell]

Birdwatcher...
Some ideas -

[SIZE= small]You could get some exposure too for free by registering your business with Google. If you google Bed and breakfast, winona, WV the list that comes up are all "near Winona" so I assume if you registered you would come up alone, or at least ahead of the list "near Winona" . This is great because if you have reviews they put them up there in your listing. [/SIZE]
Riki

 

[wendydk]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck..

Birdwatcher...here is some free advice. Since you have chosen not to be anonymous, I assume you don't mind the rest of us checking out your website.
From what I can see, your website has had nothing done in the way of SEO and does not rank well. I did a search for "Winona, WV B&B", "New River Gorge lodging" and "New River Gorge B&B" and did not see your website on page one of any of the three top search engines. Being the only Inn in town, there is no excuse for you not be be there.
When I did find you on google page two, this is what I saw:
Garvey House Bed & Breakfast: Home
Garvey House Bed & Breakfast Inn 100 Main Street Winona, WV 25942. Tel (304) 574-3235 or 1-866-889-7664 (Toll Free) E-mail -- About Us.
garveyhouse.net/ - Cached - Similar
Absolutely nothing there to tell me anything about your site or your place, making it easy to pass it by. I also see that your "Accomodations" page shows no photos or descriptions of your rooms. I found those on the "Rates & Policies" page. If I were looking, I would gone from the home page to the accommodations page. Not seeing anything about your rooms, I would have sign off and moved on as a potential guest. Perhaps you could start by combining those two pages. Your room photos and rates should be on a "Rooms" or "accommodations" page.
Perhaps if you put just a little money into a new website, or at least into some basic optimization, business would pick up for you. If your site is not completely optimized and performing, you can't say you've done everything. I don't mean to offend, just an observation. You don't have to spend much, if any, money to get your site performing for you. In fact, if you do your own site (and you're interested), contact me off forum, and I will give you some more ideas. If you don't do your own site, fire your webmaster and get a new one.
I know that everyone on this forum wants you to succeed. These are also things you will need to know something about if you decide to close and seek innkeeping employment, so there's no getting away from it.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

My two cents is that we bought the B & B without really thinking it through. Its in Podunk and in a small town with absolutely nothing...but its a diamond in the rough..it truly is. We where limited with cash right from the start and lets just say we "put all our eggs in one basket" we are now contemplating closing down just to save the place and since we love our professions are seeking employment doing the same because we want to keep this place. Its got no zoning problems and its a residential loan. Its actually a "destination" place and we know that if we just had thought it through a little more we probably could make a pretty good living running the Inn with the revenue it needs to sustain itself. At this point we are holding on by a thread-but how many innkeepers have not done everything to just stay afloat?
So to answer questions, yea I think that hiring someone to run your Inn is not unquestionable, and yes it will have to include a salary, but most of us that want to take care of an Inn do so because we love the job.
Good Luck..

Podunk and "destination" place..is confusing me. What makes your town a destination..without naming particular names that is. Are there other lodging accommodations near you that you are competing with so to speak.
I hope it all works out for you.
.

I'm in "Podunk" and a destination place. For me, the entire coastline is the destination place. I'm not in a town and the ones we have around here are VERY small.
.

Well, our town is about 12,000 so I guess we could be a Podunk too..but I never considered it that...but we ARE a destination. Tourism is fast becoming our # 1 employer.
.

12,000? That's huge! our county seat which is the largest town has less than 5,000 people. That makes all the little towns in the county "Podunk" yet we get the tourists passing through and hopefully staying.

 

[birdwatcher]

Thank you for all the advise, I didnt really ever intended to be annonymous...yes i know that my website presence is not where it should be, my webmaster to put it lightly sucks and has been doing nothing for me, yes, I could fire him but the problem is that I don't have even a small amount to have my website put into the right order. Its one more thing that keeps me up at night among so many others. We are a destination place because of the close proximity to the New River Gorge and if I had the revnue that I need to make all these changes I would gladly do it.
Sometimes facing the truth is just not all its cracked out to be. We did ok last year, this year however we are tredding water literaly...borowing capital is out of the question our credit is atrocious and this leaves us with alot of heartache and contemplation about this wonderful place. Pictures just do not give this place credit its almost like looking at a picture and trying to imagine what it looks like and then getting there and being totaly amazed.
Thanks all of you for your advise, if anyone here would like to help me with as little $$ as possible I am willing to learn to improve my website right now I am pretty much stuck.