Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 29, 1990 TAG: 9007260580
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA A. SAMUELS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
After a couple of years spent dreaming of running a bed-and-breakfast inn, and months researching and visiting houses throughout Virginia, the Bestpitches settled on the Mary Bladon House in Southwest Roanoke. They moved from Richmond to the house in April.
Business has been great so far - in fact, the day after the Bestpitches moved in, they had a full house of guests.
They are among a growing number of people lured to the "B&B" business. Renting out a few rooms to overnight guests is, for some, a perfect way to earn money while working in the home.
"The industry, as a whole, is growing by leaps and bounds," said Mary Lynn Tucker, president of the Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia, an organization of more than 70 B&Bs. Tucker owns The Manor at Taylor's Store, an inn near Smith Mountain Lake.
Sarah Sonke of Midlothian, president of the American Bed and Breakfast Association, said she receives 50 to 100 letters a week from people interested in starting bed and breakfasts. Her organization has more than 1,000 members.
B&Bs are usually private homes with rooms open to guests. They are divided into two main types: "homestays," which are private residences each with one to three rooms open for guests, and inns, with four or more guest rooms.
Usually, a B&B must have 10 or more rooms and a dining room for its owners to be able to earn their living exclusively from the operation, Tucker said. Four rooms are the average. Tucker also recommends that any prospective innkeeper have banked enough money to wait two or three years for the operation to become profitable.
The advantage that B&Bs have over chain hotels is personalized service in a home atmosphere. The owner shares the living room, provides friendly conversation and serves a home-cooked breakfast, all for a price comparable to rates charged by national chain hotels.
B&Bs are often associated with romantic visions of catering to genteel travelers, but the realities of running a small business are much different.
Contacting a state or national organization of B&Bs is a good way to save yourself a lot of money and a lot of headaches, Tucker said. These organizations help influence legislation for B&Bs, which are traditionally hard to regulate because they're neither a hotel nor a restaurant. The organization also provides advertising for its members.
Location of a B&B also is important. "You want something to attract people," said Beth-Boyd Denson Parrish, one of the owners of Lone Oaks Bed and Breakfast in southwest Roanoke County.
Of course, it helps if the cooking is an attraction, but the Mary Bladon House, for example, also offers quick access to downtown Roanoke. Lone Oaks, also close to downtown, has extra space for parties or corporate meetings. The Manor at Taylor's Store is five minutes from Smith Mountain Lake and has six ponds that guests can use for swimming and canoeing.
A house in the middle of the country might be beautiful, but if no one can find it it won't be successful, according to the innkeepers.
Operators need to review any stipulations they put on their guests. If breakfast will be served only from 8 to 9 a.m., honeymoon couples who want to sleep late are eliminated, for example. Conversely, if breakfast is served from 10 to 11 a.m, business travelers with morning appointments might not find a B&B a convenient place to stay.
When the new owners of the Mary Bladon House prohibited smoking in the rooms, they knew they would lose some guests. However, compared to the difficulty of removing the odor of smoke from the linens and upholstered furniture, they thought is was worth it. But any policy makes a statement about "who I want and who I don't want," Bill Bestpitch said.
Innkeepers need to be professional in terms of licensing, zoning and other requirements. This bit of advice is true for any small business, but especially so of B&Bs, because they can affect an entire neighborhood with their activities.
Neighbors can be vocal opponents, as Robert Earles of Moneta has found out. Earles wanted to convert his six-room home into a B&B. The plan scored well by the Bedford County Land Use Guidance System, and was approved by the county's staff. But his neighbors, claiming a B&B would ruin the subdivision where they lived, opposed it so fiercely that the plans were scrapped.
That case is unusual. However, Janet Scheid, a planner with Roanoke County, said possible disruption to neighbors and an increase in traffic are problems B&B owners may face.
"When you live in a subdivision, you don't expect a business to be going next to you," Scheid said. Creating ill will by not being honest with the plans at the beginning is unprofessional.
Finally, a B&B operator has to live with people and not be put off by the demands of having guests in the home. Is cooking a full breakfast a problem, or cleaning up after other people? A B&B "requires a whole lot of yourself," Parrish said.
And in this business, "word of mouth counts for a heck of a lot," Bill Bestpitch said. One bad breakfast can have long-term effects.
But for most, the benefits outweigh the work. With the different people coming to the inn, it's like "traveling the world without leaving your home," Tucker said.
by CNB