The BnB Host: how to set up your dream BnB - Part 1

INTRODUCTION

My dream of owning a guesthouse became a reality after a kind of epiphany moment; why not turn our biggest asset, namely the property where hubby Arthur and I live, to better use; and so Lily's Cottage was born.

This was Mom Lily's home for eight years, but she moved up to our house in her late twilight years.

I absolutely was not ready to sit around doing nothing post retirement! My son gave us the best advice by urging us to list our Lily’s Cottage on Airbnb, and what started as just a little Airbnb has now turned into a full-time business.

I do the admin and marketing, but as we are now listed on over eight online booking sites, keeping our booking calendar up to date became a bit of a nightmare with late night online bookings, so now we have a company called Nightsbridge to handle that part of the business plus we make use of their payment system.

Arthur does the maintenance, shuttle service and guest relations; he still does the odd bit of civil engineering consulting, but Lily’s Cottage has kept him too busy up till now to pursue that seriously.

I have since learnt a whole lot about setting up a guesthouse, the hard way; by getting advice from tourism bodies, googling, know-how books, googling again, checking out online booking sites, other guesthouse websites and speaking to a guesthouse owner as well.

My advice is, do not be afraid to ask questions, the tourism bodies are very welcoming and supportive.

Hosting has been the most rewarding job we both have ever done, as we’re meeting wonderful people from all over the world; hearing happy but also sad stories. Some have become dear friends!

Need I say, you should have a natural love of people in order to be successful in the hospitality industry and enjoy it at the same time!

We did not expect to be busy as we live in a suburb approximately 15km from the beaches, which is Durban’s main attraction.

However, we soon realised that the demand for short term accommodation was big; our guests range from holiday makers, sportsmen, conference goers, business guests and those visiting family for happy or sad occasions. Some stay longer; a young contract teacher stayed in our studio unit Lily’s Loft for three months, other business guests up to two months, a young Swedish couple and their gorgeous toddlers also stayed two months.

We hear horrific stories in the hospitality industry of guests who trash premises, some who bilk, fraudsters who come with sad stories & gain the kind host’s confidence, only to rip them off in a big way!

Further, I do believe the way you treat others is what comes back to you and thankfully we have only had amazing guests to date.

VIABILITY & DEMAND FOR SHORT TERM ACCOMMODATION

• Firstly, find out whether your new venture would be viable, by checking out the number of guesthouses and other Airbnb establishments nearby. Meet with them and get their opinion on demand in the area; vital to network once you're established as you can refer guests to each other when you're full. This helped us tremendously in the beginning.

Your local authority will also be able to guide you in this respect. Make use of google maps or your local authority’s GIS Department.

• Do you live near major tourist attractions, hospitals, sports stadia, learning institutions, business districts or industrial nodes? This will also determine the category of guests you are likely to attract, which will also assist greatly with planning décor and facilities.

LEGALITIES

• GUESTHOUSE NAME / REGISTRATION

Decide on a name and reserve it with the correct authority. Next step is to register a company or run your small business as a Sole Proprietor. Research what would be best for you.

• TAXMAN

Keep books in order, keep record of all expenses for running your own home, as the guesthouse is part of your property, one can claim a percentage of expenses.

VAT Registration optional if income does not exceed a certain amount, but remember you can claim VAT back if you’re registered.

• LOCAL AUTHORITY/ TOURISM BODIES

This part is vitally important; I had a call this week from a tearful local Airbnb Superhost who was visited by our local authority who are doing checks on 'illegal businesses'. She's been presented with a rates penalties bill and was threatened with a hefty fine should she continue without registering. So PLEASE save yourself a lot of heartache and check your local authority requirements to run a bed & breakfast or guesthouse from your home, as you may just be prosecuted!

I will briefly outline what we had to do here in Durban, quite a tedious process, but the rewards have made it all worth it, and at least guests can rest assured their interests have been well taken care of when they book at a registered Kwazulu Natal establishment.

The process may be simpler in your area?

• The first step was doing an application with Ethekwini Municipality for Special Consent to run a BnB/Guesthouse from our residence.

• We had to provide drawings depicting the exact location on the property of our guesthouse, as well as the number of parking bays. This had to be signed by neighbours all around us who had to agree that they had no objection.

• We further had to motivate the viability of having a guesthouse in the area.

• Once we obtained the Special Consent from the Town Planning Department, we could go ahead and apply for a business license.

• To obtain this, Fire & Health Departments inspected the premises, ensuring fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, emergency lighting, basic first aid kits, pool fencing, pest control & signage were all in place. We also had to apply for public liability insurance.

• Registration with a local tourism organisation was the next step, before applying with our provincial tourism authority, Dept. of Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, who oversees all tourism ventures in the province.

• Durban Tourism under the auspices of Ethekwini Municipality do annual inspections and provide a Quality Assurance Certificate if their standards are met.

Parts 2, 3 & 4 will cover:

• Facilities – take a hard look at your property as a whole.

• Marketing – the most important facet of your guesthouse, thanks to the World Wide Web we have many resources today.

• Reservations – where will they come from, plus looking at Tariffs, Terms & Conditions, Payment Methods etc

• Insurance - specifically for guesthouses

• Guest Resources – Tourism brochures, Information Files etc

• Guest preparation – handy check list

• Administration – can be a headache, but keep it simple and up to date!

Original Content by @lizelle

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