The Joys Of Running A Good Bed & Breakfast

Imagine that wonderful smell of a cooked breakfast wafting out of the kitchen - greeting your guests as they come down the stairs and head off to the Breakfast room where they are then greeted by a typical cooked English breakfast of Sausages, Eggs, Bacon, Fried Tomatoes, Beans & a Fried slice, Tea or Coffee, Toast & Marmalade.

I remember back in the early 80's, getting my first house. It was a 3 bedroom terraced house in Edmonton, London. UK. There were 2 rooms downstairs, apart from the kitchen. One of these rooms made an ideal Breakfast room and the other one made an ideal Bedroom. This actually gave me 4 bedrooms, including my own.

At the time, money was very tight as I was trying to get another business off the ground. I really needed some extra income.

It was then that I decided to turn my house into a bed & breakfast, based on my very limited knowledge of actually running one, as I had indeed been staying in one for a few months prior to buying this house.

My previous landlady had a bunch of regular people who would mainly, work down in London for 5 days and go home to wherever they lived at the weekend. They would then return again on Monday. This was pretty good as far as my landlady was concerned, as her house was her own at the weekends.

My landlady's name was Eileen, and she was a woman in her late 40's, early 50's. Her husband had passed away recently, and this for her was an ideal way of earning some extra money to pay the mortgage & bills. I had many an interesting conversation with various guests of hers over breakfast.

So, I decided to do the same. I advertised in the local news agent's window and before long people were ringing me to have a look at the rooms.

Now I'm no domestic GODDESS.. I can tell you! - Mainly because I am a MAN. But even I can change a few sheets and cook a few eggs for breakfast. Eggs were often on the menu, as my limited cooking abilities amounted to basic Fry Ups, amongst other things such as Cornflakes, toast etc.

Now, this is going back a bit now but I seem to remember that this fairly small amount of work required to run a B&B from home, netted me a lot more than my mortgage, and my other living expenses combined. Mainly because you can charge higher rates for Bed & Breakfast than say, having an ordinary lodger.

I would go out in the day, concentrating on my business and come home in the evening. The limited house contents I had, were always still right where I left them - and in the three years or so that I did this, I don't think anything ever got stolen. Maybe the odd toilet roll or towel may have gone missing. But it was worth it for the money you can make from running your own B&B.

Now, I always like to mention any downside to any tips that I mention. You possibly might get some people ringing up for a room late at night. It's best to always advertise your mobile phone number, instead of your home number. You don't really want strangers having your home number, and also with a mobile, it's more convenient for you - plus, you can always switch off your mobile phone at night if you want to.

Having strangers in your house will involve some risk. With a lodger you may have more access to information about that person than with someone staying for a few nights B&B. However, I did ask each guest for a reference, or some form of identification. Of course people are not always who they say they are.

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