Open Your Own Bed & Breakfast, 4th Edition

by Barbara Notarius; Gail Sforza Brewer

• ISBN13: 9780471189329
• ISBN10: 0471189324
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Experience the joy-and profits-that come from managing your own bed and breakfast! Whether you already know the magic that comes with owning a B&B or you are at the planning stage, the fourth edition of Open Your Own Bed & Breakfast-now updated with everything you need to know about online marketing-guides you through this special world. Barbara Notarius, one of America's most widely recognized and respected B&B experts, shows you how to make your dream a reality. Some of the essential information provided in this book includes: * Your responsibilities-and those of your guests * Financial considerations * Advertising, the Internet, and working with a reservation service * Evaluating your home's assets and liabilities * Conforming to the ADA * Legal, tax, and insurance issues, including recent changes in the tax code * Interviews with successful hosts * Lists of B&B associations, guidebooks, and B&B reservation services This new edition is an informative update of every aspect you need to know in order to run your B&B smoothly and successfully. Combining a meticulous business approach with a sincere appreciation for the pleasure that comes with running a B&B, Open Your Own Bed & Breakfast is an invaluable resource.

Author Biography

Barbara Notarius is a lecturer and consultant on operating a BandB. She is founder and publicity director of Bed and Breakfast Reservations Worldwide, the only nonprofit trade association in the BandB industry. In addition, she runs her own BandB, the Alexander Hamilton House, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York Gail Sforza Brewer is a professional writer and lecturer

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction: America Is Waking Up to Bed and Breakfast	1	(8)
Bed and Breakfast Defined: Basic Principles	9	(16)
Is Bed and Breakfast for You?	25	(18)
Evaluating Your Home's Assets and Liabilities	43	(17)
Financial Considerations	60	(21)
Starting Up	81	(35)
Public Relations and Advertising	116	(40)
The Internet	156	(22)
Working with a Reservation Service	178	(21)
Operating Smoothly: For Hosts Who Market Themselves	199	(26)
Increasing Profitability	225	(13)
Specialty Bed and Breakfasts	238	(4)
Construction	242	(5)
Best Breakfasts	247	(24)
Interviews with Successful Hosts	271	(12)
Appendix A: Bed and Breakfast Reservation Services	283	(6)
Appendix B: Publications	289	(4)
Appendix C: State Bed and Breakfast Associations	293	(6)
Appendix D: Sources	299	(4)
Appendix E: Online Directories	303	(12)
Appendix F Reservation Software	315	(2)
Index	317