Running a guesthouse or B&B can be both a pleasure and a challenge. You’re always on the go; you have rooms to clean, breakfast to make, and people to check in and out. You have to advertise yourself, get in enough food, and sort out any admin duties. Yet you also know that you’re helping people to have a wonderful experience whilst they’re away from home, and your services are something they are likely to remember even months down the line.
But if you live in an area that is surrounded by other guesthouses, how can you set yourself apart? After all, you put in enough work, so isn’t it only fair that you’re rewarded for it? Here are a few tips you might find helpful:
Get a rating or recognition
People may be more likely to pick your guesthouse if they can easily find out about your rating. Join the Visit England scheme, which assesses over 20,000 businesses each year to provide quality ratings. Some places might be eligible for the hotel category though. Once you receive your rating you will be able to display this on marketing material, as well as outside of your property.
Be a source of information
When people are staying in a new area, they often require a bit of help when it comes to picking activities and days out. As a local, use your knowledge to help guests come up with fun-filled schedules, and make a few phone calls to organise things on their behalf. By being a great source of information, your guests may recommend you to other people who are due to visit the area.
Make people comfortable when they stay
Your bedrooms should be your pride and joy; this is what people are spending their cash on. Keep them clean, modern, light and fresh by using the right furniture and decoration. It’s a good idea to look forluxury wholesale bedding for guesthouses as you’ll have a nice theme running through all of the rooms. Another point to consider is the bathroom, so make sure people have enough soft, clean towels to use. Providing some lovely toiletries is also a nice touch.
Cater for special diets
Finally, there are some B&Bs that draw in plenty of positive reviews purely because of the breakfasts that are provided. Many people suffer from allergies and intolerance to certain foods, so why not think about how you can adapt your own menu to cater for this? One of the biggest changes in the industry is the acceptance of making certain items “gluten-free”; even the large pizza chains are now re-creating recipes due to the number of people who cannot have this protein. Make sure you shout about the special food you offer and you might find that you’ll start to attract a completely new market to your accommodation.
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