All Courses

Setting up, Running and Marketing a Successful B & B

2 days

This 2 day course covers all you need to know to Set Up, Run and Market a Successful B&B.

The cost is £250 for 2 days. We ask for a deposit of £80 to secure one place on the course. Please note that this is non refundable if you need to cancel, though we may be able to move your booking to a future course if there are spaces available.

Run in small groups of 6 people, allowing you the opportunity to ask lots of questions and to network with other potential B&B owners. Tea, coffee, mineral water, biscuits and cake are provided throughout the day, along with a light lunch.

The course is held at Hopton House B&B near Ludlow in Shropshire from 10.00-16.30 on each day.

Accommodation is not included in the price but may be available at Hopton House if you book early enough. Otherwise we will give you details of other B&Bs locally.

and includes:

A workbook containing all the information covered on the course
A copy of the VisitBritain Guest Accommodation Guidelines and the National Accessibility Scheme Guidelines
A copy of the Safer Food Better Business manual
Details of the Green Tourism Business Scheme
Examples of documentation needed to set up, run and market your B&B e.g. business plans and guest registration forms
A light lunch on both days
Tea, Coffee, Water, Biscuits, Cake and Fruit served throughout the day

If you are planning to set up a B&B with a spouse, partner or friend I recommend that they also attend the course.

Setting Up Your B&B

Researching your B&B and Analysing your Market

How to research your market
Understanding what information you need and how it will affect the type of B&B you run
Getting the right location for your B&B
Using surveys to identify your market’s needs
Who to go to for information and help locally

Quality Ratings

Understanding Quality Standards and making sure you get the star rating and awards you want

Finance

Examples of financial projection and business plans
Setting your price
Keeping Financial records
Where to go for funding
Working out how much you might expect to earn
Will it pay?

Goal Setting and Action Planning

How to set goals and plan for success
Goal and Action Plan templates

Legal Requirements

An overview of the legal requirements
Planning Permission
Disability Discrimination Act and Accessibility
Fire Regulations
Health and Safety
Food Hygiene
The Pink Booklet

Getting your house ready

House Layout
Sound Proofing
Decoration
Furniture
B&B Extras
Security

Marketing Your B&B

An Overview of Marketing

The differences between Advertising, Marketing and PR
Identifying your niche market
Writing good copy and the importance of photos
How much to spend on marketing

The Internet Part 1

The importance of the internet in running a B&B
Designing a website
Getting a website
Accessible websites
Online directories
Pay Per click
EBAY

Printed Guidebooks and Brochures

What guidebooks are out there?
How to design your leaflets and business cards
How to use your leaflets

Repeat Bookings and other Promotional ideas

How to get your guests back and recommending you
Other innovative and Promotional Ideas
Using the Press

Running your B&B

This course is written from my perspective of running a gold award 4 star B&B. The Gold Award reflects the very high standards of customer service that I give.

Taking Bookings

How to take a booking
How to deal with guests if you’re full
Example of guest registration forms
Taking deposits
House Rules

Preparing and Cleaning the Rooms

How to make up the rooms
How added extras can reap benefits without costing a lot
Cleaning and housework

Greeting the Guests and saying Good Bye

How to greet guests and what to do and say on arrival
Example of guest registration forms and other documents
Enhancing the guest experience
Ways of getting them to come back!
Dealing with complaints
The Bill
Dealing with checkout and payment

Serving the Breakfast and Evening Meals

What to serve for breakfast
Preparing the guests breakfast
Getting the timings right
The pros and cons of serving an evening meal
Tips on evening meals

Staying Sane as a B&B Owner!

Why it’s important to look after yourself
Tricks to staying sane!

If you book online via paypal the price you are quoted on the next screen will be for the deposit of £80. The balance of £170.00 is payable on the day of the course and can be paid by credit/debit card or cash/cheque.

Please note that accommodation is not included in the cost of the course but may be avaailable at Hopton House if you book early enough.

Availability and Booking »

Marketing your B & B

1 day

This course is aimed at both prospective and existing B&B owners who want to increase the number of guests who stay at their bed and breakfast.

The way in which businesses need to market themselves has changed dramatically over the last few years. The change is particularly noticeable in the tourism industry. It is no longer the case of getting your business into a few tourism guides or putting leaflets in the visitor information centre.

So how do you market your B&B successfully?

This one day course covers everything you need to know:

How to work out who your customers are
Produce a plan of action that will get results and more customers
How to write great copy and take good photos
Commissioning and designing a website that will get your more guests
Promoting your website
Managing customer review sites
How to produce and use offline marketing material such as postcards and leaflets
Creating and maintaining customer relationships
Getting customers to come back and recommend you

The cost of the course is £130 and does not include accommodation. A non refundable deposit of £40 is payable on booking. The balance to be paid on the day of the course by cash or debit/credit card.

Availability and Booking »

How To Set Up A Successful B&B

1 day

This highly enjoyable course, as recommended by Country Living Magazine in June 2008, is an opportunity for you to learn all you need to know to set up your B&B successfully, potentially saving you lots of money by learning which pitfalls to avoid along the way. Included in the course;

Skills and Experience Needed - what skills you need and how you go about filling the gaps
Planning and Research - how to ensure your B&B is right for you and your area and how to identify your target market
Legal Requirements - the really important key requirements and where to go for more information
Finances - how much will it all cost and how much money will you make
Quality Standards - those all important stars and awards and how to go about getting the rating you want
Accessibility - the benefits of promoting your business to the disabled market and how to get assessed
House Layout - ensuring you get the right house layout for the best B&B business
Green Tourism- the benefits of running an environmentally sound business
Marketing - an overview of how to attract guests to your B&B

Run in small groups of 6 people, allowing you the opportunity to ask lots of questions and to network with other potential B&B owners. Tea, coffee, mineral water, biscuits and cake are provided throughout the day, along with a light lunch.

The course is held at Hopton House B&B near Ludlow in Shropshire from 10.00-17.30.

Accommodation is not included in the price but may be available at Hopton House if you book early enough. Otherwise we will give you details of other B&Bs locally.

The cost of the course is £125.00 per person. We ask for a deposit of £40 to secure a place on the course. Please note this is non refundable if you cancel.

CHECK AVAILABILITY & BOOK ONLINE NOW or, if you prefer to pay over the phone or by electronic banking, call Karen on 01547 530885

If you planning to set up a B&B with someone else than I recommend that they also attend the course.