Bed and Breakfast for Sale

Are you tired of your job? Tired of seeing the same people every day? Tired of the corporate world? If so, chances are you have thought about chucking it all and opening a bed and breakfast somewhere.

It sounds like a great plan, but make sure you really know what you’re getting into before you call the phone number below the “Bed and Breakfast for sale” sign.

A Bed and Breakfast for Sale sign could mean many things. Maybe the family that started the B & B is just tired of doing it. Maybe there has been a death in the family, a divorce, or a new child that takes up more time. Maybe they just got tired of the food and laundry and less than polite guests and threw the Bed and Breakfast for sale sign in the front yard. Whatever their reason, make sure you know it clearly before signing anything.

Unlike starting a new B & B, a Bed and Breakfast for sale means that it has been there before. It is something that people have visited, and may even have a reputation of its own. It is already designed to be a B & B. There are a proper number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and a kitchen with seating capacity. This takes a lot of the work out of your dream to operate a Bed and Breakfast! Some of the hardest work has already been done!

So, why is the owner selling? If there is a personal reason that led to the Bed and Breakfast for sale sign, then consider the purchase. If the price is right and you and your spouse feel good about it, go for it. But, what if the “Bed and Breakfast for sale” sign is the result of a lack of interest? Unless you are a marketing genius, and even if you are, you cannot make people come to your B & B.

Case in point: I am from a small town in Northern Indiana. There is really nothing noteworthy about my hometown that would draw outsiders in, unless they are visiting family or moving to the area. However, someone decided to try their hand at a Bed and Breakfast. With no reason for people to visit my little town, they soon found themselves without business and with a large, empty home with too many bathrooms for 3 people. I can still see the “Bed and Breakfast for sale” sign in the front yard. Someone did buy it, but they quickly converted the Bed and Breakfast back to a regular home. No matter how great the acreage and how nice the site, if people do not have a reason to visit the area, they won’t.

Buying a bed and breakfast is a big decision. No matter how great the deal looks on the “Bed and Breakfast for sale” sign, make sure you know why they’re selling and what their experiences were before you hand over any cash. You could be trading the stress of corporate life with the stress of B & B life without even knowing it!

	Emily Burson is a 2001 graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She has worked as a copywriter, is an avid scrapbooker, and loves to travel. She's been to Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Honduras, as well as many U.S. states.
If you would like to contact her about her writing, craft ideas, or book reviews, email her at erburson@ gmail.com. Also, read her personal thoughts on God, faith, life, culture, and more.