Customer Reviews

How to Start and Operate Your Own Bed-and-Breakfast: Down-To-Earth Advice from an Award-Winning B&B Owner

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This book goes room by room into decorating, supplies needed, rules, safety, and the likes which really helps when you are running a B&B. IT failed to really go into depth about the business aspects which I thought was a shame. This book is great if you are already running a B&B or want to decorate your house like one, but I would suggest buying several other B&B books to help give the complete picture. It also include recipies which was an added bonus. A good book for the right need.

This book is a good introduction to the Bed & Breakfast business; I'm glad I read it first. It contains useful information and the tone is pleasant and light. But it is just a little dated (almost 10 years old), and you need to read several more books to get all the information you need (such as The Complete Idiot's Guide. . .)

The tone of this book is as lovely as I'm sure the author/innkeeper is. She's experienced at her business and her craft of teaching the art of owning a Bed and Breakfast.

This is one of many books you should purchase/read if you are interested in this field. Look for others (So-You Want to Be an Innkeeper: The Definitive Guide to Operating a Successful Bed-And-Breakfast or Country Inn, for example) for more hard-core business advice, and I'm Living Your Dream Life: The Story of a Northwoods Resort Owner, for true a taste of owner experience in the business

If you've just been bitten with the idea of starting a B & B as I have, this is a good book to start with. Lot's of info, with just enough detail to keep it from being a text book. I'm looking ahead to about 10 years before I go this route in my retirement, and this is a book I will always keep handy. It answered questions I didn't even know I had at this stage and kept my feet on the ground without bursting my bubble as some other books did.

While this title is a little out of date (published in 1994), its essence is still accurate. From the beginning of time, a successful innkeeper has to provide certain services in order to create a successful, growing business.

Martha Murphy tells the budding host the essentials of hospitality, starting with your attitude, the house you're using, the beds and their care, bathrooms, meals, how to handle guests, marketing and the importance of record keeping. There are also plenty of stories about good guests and how to keep the "bad" ones from coming back (tell 'em you're already fully booked the next time they call).

What is missing is modern information about marketing through the internet, which was in its infancy in 1994. Other than that, the information is priceless and timeless.

The book also makes it pretty clear that hosting a B&B is WORK. You're not going to get rich by simply changing the sheets and hanging out a sign.

A little over a year ago my husband and I decided to sell our house of 22 years where we had 1 occassional guest room and buy a larger home in our city to plan for our retirement career. I purchased Martha's book and have used it as my B & B Bible ever since. I also have a couple of other B & B start-up books but Martha's book provided the easiest reading and most down to earth advice. Plus it was written from experience not just from a consultants viewpoint. Martha has lived the experience of starting a bed and breakfast. I am happy to say that our new "Guest House" has opened as of October 15, 1999 and we are glad we made the decision to embark on this new adventure.

By the way I also have her B & B cookbook and use it on almost a daily basis.

This book was very informative and a fast read. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the B&B business.