Hospitality Property School

In today’s episode, I’m going to continue giving you the guideline you need to write a bed and breakfast business plan for your property’s growth and development. In episode #310, I shared the first three sections you need to follow when writing a Bed and Breakfast Business Plan. In today’s episode, I will share the last six sections. This guideline is to be used as an example. Customize it to fit...

A bed and breakfast business plan is an all-embracing road map for your small business's growth and development. I’m going to give you the guideline you need to write yours. Why create a bed and breakfast business plan Every new company should really think about writing a business plan and this is especially true for bed and breakfasts. If you want to take out a loan to start your business or rais...

Welcome to the 10th anniversary of Keystone Hospitality Property Development and the 300th episode of the Hospitality Property School and for all of you here with me now, your timing is impeccable. We are celebrating and if you stay until the end, I’ll tell you how you’re going to benefit. If you are new to us, let me give you an idea of what Keystone HPD and the Hospitality Property School are al...

I’m often asked, “What are the benefits of owning a bed and breakfast?”. Stay with me and I’ll share 17 benefits you need to know. A bed and breakfast is a short-term lodging that offers guests the opportunity to enjoy a home-like setting with a morning breakfast included. This type of business is normally private family homes, most of which also have their hosts residing on site. Most properties...

What does it take to start a bed and breakfast and do you have the necessary traits to be successful? In this episode, I’ll look at what you need to succeed. Today's episode is going to be the first in a series over the next few weeks about starting a bed and breakfast. Most people associate a bed and breakfast with a gentle host or hostess serving guests coffee while they chat about the nearby na...

Today we have a special treat for you, a great interview with Travis Talbot, a food & beverage specialist, and his right hand Jess Frate. You don’t want to miss this! Travis has been on the hospitality industry front lines for decades and crafted a lifestyle allowing him to be the boots on the ground. He observes things others don’t see, connects concepts people don’t think about, and understands...

It is always exciting to start new things that provide income and you can enjoy doing. If you are ready to meet new people and learn new things starting a vacation rental business can be a way to go and this episode will show you how. Today’s episode is going to be a little different. It is a guest post written by Courtney Rosenfeld of Gig Spark. "Courtney started Gig Spark to be a resource and th...

Some people preferred to buy an existing bed & breakfast so they could open immediately, others wanted to design their own from scratch. What’s the best way to go? I’ll discuss the pros & cons. Whether it is better to buy an existing bed & breakfast or start new is a question I’m often asked. “What are the pros and cons of buying an established B&B versus setting one up from scratch?” In this epis...

For many hospitality properties, room service sales have been a lucrative revenue stream for decades but recent events and competition have cut those profits dramatically. Here are some facts you need to know. The development of room service sales Room service has been a key feature of high-end service since the Waldorf Astoria, in New York, first opened its doors in 1931. Giving guests the opport...

It’s important for customers to like your website design because getting eyes on your site is the best way to start your guest’s journey, the longer they stay, the higher the chance they will book. Here’s what you need to do. Website Design Introduction The last couple of years has made a clean sweep of the past decades of hospitality property strategies. As of today, almost all of the experience...

Booking a hotel, resort, inn or bed and breakfast has become a more manageable process with the introduction of the online reservation system but do you know what you need? In this episode, I’ll explain how to pick the best system for your property. Online reservation systems are designed to simplify the process of booking rooms and have made it more convenient for the traveller. This technology i...

How do you get found online and get more direct bookings? By using the right content management system. In this episode, I’ll tell you what to look for. What is a Content Management System (CMS)? A content management system (CMS) is a software package that allows the creation, organization, and editing of content for websites. A CMS can be as simple as a blog, or it can be a complex system with ma...

The goal of a hospitality property pricing strategy is to maximize revenue while minimizing vacancy rates. In this episode, I talk about why this is important. The Basic Principles of Room Prices We live in a world where travellers have to make decisions, and the decision of what hospitality property to stay at is no exception. With so many choices available, it can be difficult to stand out from...

Our interview this month is going to be with RealTime Reservation founder, Shawn Tarter. RealTime Reservation is a centralized inventory management system that automatically promotes and sells experiences, activities, amenities, etc. from pre-arrival to check-out all in real-time in hospitality properties of all sizes. Continue watching to find out more about RealTime Reservation… ⇒ TO READ OR LIS...

Hospitality properties of the future have to be green. Establishments across the world that have seen the light are reaping the benefits so I’ll show you how to make your property eco-friendly. According to recent reports, 70% of global travellers say they would be more likely to book accommodation knowing it was eco-friendly, whether they were looking for a sustainable stay or not. Investing in r...

If you have not done so yet, it is imperative that you are finding ways to improve your hospitality property’s operational performance. Here are 7 ways to improve operations. There is always room for improvement in various aspects of a business, whether it is making the right decisions, optimizing work processes, providing higher quality service, or aligning departments and objectives. The key to...

By ignoring new technologies, hotels, resorts, inns, bed and breakfasts etc. risk being left behind at a time when standards are increasing dramatically. A major example of technology becoming standardized in hospitality properties is free Wi-Fi. Just a few years ago, Wi-Fi at properties was considered a unique selling point, but today it’s considered a basic requirement for guests. Booking rooms...

Pre-COVID-19, travel commonly meant visitors coming from far-away places. 2020 changed all that. Today, your focus should be on how to attract local guests. COVID-19 has meant that we either don’t travel or if we do, it’s local. International travel is a thing of the past with no signs of things changing soon. In the past many property owners and managers did not concentrate on their own backyards...

A successful manager requires a perfect mixture of skilful hospitality & tight organizational skills, never settling for less than A +. I’m going to share 18 qualities of a top hotel manager. In any hospitality property, first impressions are everything. The way your staff greets and attends to guests can make or break the image of your property. And that goes for a small B & B or inn to a thousan...

Operating a hospitality property is a never-ending journey that requires your constant and continuous attention. I am going to highlight 10 productivity traits that waste time and ways to correct them. Just like guest services and your colleagues, your productivity will never be perfect, but you can always benefit from taking a breath and determining what is working, what is not and how to improve...

As a hotel-resort-bed & breakfast etc. owner/manager, your goals are to operate at a profit and keep your guests and employees happy and safe. To achieve the last goal, it is imperative to boost security at your hospitality property. Trying to make sure your guests have an enjoyable and worry-free stay at your property comes with its own share of challenges. From making sure it’s safe from viruses...

Uniforms Are an Important Aspect of Branding We will be talking uniforms with Jim Snediker of Stock Mfg. Our interview this month is going to be with Jim Snediker, co-founder and CEO of Stock Mfg, a company that creates custom uniform programs for some of the greatest establishments, restaurants and hotels in the world. Continue watching or reading and I’ll share 17 more amenity ideas… ⇒ TO READ O...

No two hospitality property guests are identical. Each will arrive with their own opinions, expectations, & hopes. Due to these differences, you need the right amenities to cater to their unique needs. Here are 30 amenity ideas. The last thing you want to do is inadvertently alienate a guest, no matter what type of property you have. What better way is there to draw the right kind of guests to you...

While the relaxing of restrictions in some regions of the world has been a good thing for cash-strapped property owners, an alarming and unprecedented drop in guest satisfaction has emerged. What caused this guest satisfaction crunch? I’ll tell you. Why has guest satisfaction dropped? Even though demand levels have returned to near pre-pandemic levels, the travel purpose, trip locations and segmen...

The Great Resignation. The Big Quit. Whatever you want to call it, it’s here, it’s real and the hospitality industry has been hit harder than just about any other industry. I’m going to share 6 strategies for dealing with labour shortages. When it comes to a turnover crisis, one would be hard-pressed to find a sector in more trouble than the hospitality industry. With COVID-19 as the spur, and oth...