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Debbie
Ward has spent more than 15 years
as a journalist, several as Features
Editor of Travel Trade Gazette.
She now works freelance.
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To B&B
or Not to B&B
Surrey Life - February 2008
If the return to work last month filled you with wistful dreams
of a retirement spent running a B&B then take heart, it
may be possible sooner than you think, and you may not need
that country cottage with roses round the door to make it happen.
DEBBIE WARD finds out that Surrey B&B businesses don't necessarily
fit the common stereotype.
Most Surrey business owners can only dream of getting Hollywood
exposure but that's just what happened to the proprietors of
Shere bed and breakfast Rookery Nook.
They opened their doors to guests two years ago when, by happy
coincidence, the film The Holiday starring Kate Winslet, Jude
Law and Cameron Diaz was being shot in the village. Not only
did they end up with some of the crew as their first clients
but their home made it onto the silver screen.
"They
pumped fake snow around the village, some down on our roof.
Our house was in the beginning of the film when one of the characters
drives into Shere and into the square, " explains Rookery Nook
owner Chris Capstick.
Though he personally thinks the movie was "terrible" he says
the B&B business he runs with his wife Jill has benefited
from its starring role. "We have a lot of people come to stay
because of the film. They go to the White Horse pub to have
a meal because they want to sit where Jude Law sat."
It was the good looks of both Shere and their 1485 built home
that convinced Chris and Jill to open a bed and breakfast. To
many this kind of picturesque tourist ideal is synonymous with
B&B but surprisingly, if you are thinking of opening your
home to guests, an urban location can be more desirable.
Pam Foden quality manager, marketing and communications for
Visit Britain, who helps advise accommodation owners on grading,
says: "In Surrey you have big business demand in areas like
Guildford. If people live close to a conurbation like that they
may do much better than people who are looking at setting up
a B&B in a nice pretty village who might do well only from
tourism.
"Where there are big companies with a big
workforce is good. People coming to install computers, people
coming for interviews, quite often these are the sort of people
who stay in B&Bs. Be by an established big firm, with an
office block, if you want to make a lot of money... and
if you are in the Gatwick area you are going to have very high
occupancy rates."
Nicky Anstey of Anstey's B&B, Elstead and Georgina Ede of
Nightless Copse B&B in Capel near Dorking both host tourists
but say most of their clients aren't on holiday.
Georgina explains: "My guests are predominantly business people
who are working in the area - reps covering a patch who come
every couple of months or people on longer contracts. I also
get people visiting relatives, going to weddings and christenings."
Nicky adds: "I get people doing training and going to the research
parks at Guildford or Aldershot."
What also challenges the B&B stereotype is that neither
Chris, Nicky nor Georgina are near retirement age and all run
their accommodation business around other commitments. Chris
is a freelance photographer, Nicky a nutritionist and practitioner
of holistic treatments such as reiki and Georgina has two young
children.
"I was nervous about trying it to start with;
I thought people might get the wrong idea, me doing massage
and running a B&B" says Nicky "but luckily no one's been
dodgy like that!"
She finds her dual jobs even complement each other "I've got
some ladies who come once a year for a pamper weekend and I
give them healthy food, they relax and I look after them all
and it works really well," she says. "My two websites are linked
and you obviously have people who are staying who want a treatment
as well."
Nicky started running her B&B when she was just 29: "I did
my nutrition degree and I wanted to work at home and then I
panicked and thought 'what else can I do from home?' "
Unlike Nicky, Georgina planned her B&B business well in
advance when she and her husband were renovating two cottages
to turn them into one new home. "We thought one day we'd have
a family and I could do B&B and not have to go out to work,"
she explains. They created two en suite bedrooms with their
future guests in mind.
"The beauty of it for me is
because I am around in the day I can go to sports days and harvest
festivals and all those things parents get invited to," says
Georgina. "If you've got flexibility in your work or you work
from home I'd definitely recommend it."
Pam says even people who go out to work full time manage to
run B&Bs. Some take bookings for weekends only, while a
teacher is among those she's known manage to offer daily B&B
by arranging for guests to check out before she left for work
each day.
"You just have to be very organised, control
your bookings and be quite firm and cross certain times out
of your booking diary," Pam explains.
"You just think,
'I need to leave early that day, if I take anyone the night
before I have to get them an early breakfast,' so you tell them
that when they phone up."
She adds. "It doesn't have to be a life changing thing. Some
people start while they are working and go into it more seriously
when they are retired. It can be very flexible."
As for the qualities needed to be a B&B owner Pam stresses
that as well as natural sociability, you need to have very high
standards of cleanliness. She points out: "It's one thing if
you go into your own shower and find a hair, because it's one
of yours; if it's someone else's it is not so good."
With the London Olympics on the horizon and Surrey in the catchment
area for some of the huge volume of extra visitors it could
be a very good time to consider B&B.
Shere accommodation owners however are unlikely to have to wait
that long for their next boost. Film crews are becoming a fairly
regular feature with a BBC TV drama about the life of Mary Whitehouse
the most recent production to be shot in the village. Rookery's
Nook's Chris says: "Our guests couldn't believe it when Julie
Walters cycled past the window while they were having their
breakfast."
Legal requirements for setting
up a B&B
You must:
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Check with your local authority what planning and building
permission you might need.
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Undertake a fire risk assessment of your premises. (For
more information download the Fire Safety Risk Assessment
Sleeping Accommodation Guide from www.communities.gov.uk/fire.)
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Make reasonable adjustments to enable your business
to accommodate disabled guests.
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For full advice on the legal aspects of setting up and
running a B&B call 0870 606 7204 for a copy of Visit
Britain's Pink Booklet. |
Tips
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Consider your location. Big towns with a high workforce
and locations near to Gatwick or to major sporting venues
like Wimbledon, Twickenham and Epsom are likely winners.
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Check if and when other B&Bs in your area are full
to see how viable another may be.
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Find out the planning regulations and fire safety requirements
that would affect you and weigh up any costs these might
incur.
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Be aware that en suite facilities are expected these
days in all but the cheapest B&Bs
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Remember, B&Bs are not expected to function round-the-clock
like hotels. You can set the days you open and check in
and check out times to suit you.
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Work out if you'll need any help - Georgina has someone
take her children to school while she handles guests'
breakfasts.
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Consider what local attractions like a stately home,
good fishing, walking, etc may help draw leisure visitors
- Chris and Jill recommend horse and bike riding routes
they use themselves.
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Get assessed for a star rating from Visit Britain or
the AA to get a guidebook placing and give potential guests
confidence in you. |
Further information
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| Visit Britain |
020 8846 9000
www.visitbritain.co.uk
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| Tourism South East |
023 8062 5620
www.visitsoutheastengland.com
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Click here
to read the article on the Surrey
Life Website |
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