Country Inns and Bed and Breakfasts have become increasingly popular over the last few years. A prosperous country inn has no limit to what the income potential can be. However, it all depends on many variables. For one, where will you run your inn? Will this be a new property purchase or transforming a property you own outright. Income potential may be more if using a property already owned. This is because expense cost can be substantially less converting the property into a country inn vs. worrying about a mortgage and everything that comes along with a new mortgage. Talk to other innkeepers and bed and breakfast owners in the area to see what it took for them to get where they are and what is their income potential.
What can affect income potential?
If you are thinking of running a country inn or bed and breakfast, don’t expect to make a substantial income the first year. As with any business it takes time to become established, but income potential can be significant. But WHAT is the income potential and what will it take to get there? That is what many country inn owners think about before diving into this business. Below are a few topics to consider when thinking about income potential.
Running a country inn or bed and breakfast is split into two expense categories:
You have fixed expenses that will not change whether you have guests or not. These costs are mortgage, taxes, utilities, advertising, etc.
Variable expenses are those costs that can change depending on how many guests you serve. These costs range from food, wine, coffee, linens, cleaning services, etc.
What will you charge per room? The price you charge is dependent on different factors such as the location of the venue. Type of room, amenities offered, shared or private bath, type, and quality of the mattress. Also, what are other local bed and breakfast/country inns charging? You don’t want to charge too low where expenses will not be covered. However, do not charge too much where guests will not stay.
Yearly Income Potential: Where can you go ?
Having a smaller bed and breakfast or country inn may be the way to go when first starting in the business. This will be an opportune time to see if you have what it takes to run a successful country inn. If you are successful in the first couple of years, you get an idea of income potential. Here is an example of what yearly income potential (before expenses) can be for a 5-room bed and breakfast at $125 p/night could be:
- 5 rooms @ $125 p/night booked to capacity equals $625 a night made
- 5 rooms booked 7 nights a week = 35 room nights $125 x 35 = $4375 a week made
- 35 room nights per week. 4 weeks in a month = 140 room nights per month 140 rooms x $125 = $17,500 per month made
- 140 rooms nights a month x 12 months in a year = 1680 nights a year x $125 = $210,000 made a year can be your income potential!
If you think about this, $210,000 is quite a bit of money for an income potential especially if you already own the property. Of course, expenses will come out of the bottom line. However, if you choose the right location, armed with information and tools to be successful, and keep costs low while still having a quality venue income potential can be great!