Odds of Hanging On
The odds of running a successful B&B can zip up and down. When the economy's bumping and people have beaucoup extra cash on hand, a stay at a nice inn in the country sounds like a great weekend. When everybody's scrambling to make ends meet, though, dropping a couple hundred bucks seems like a serious waste.
B&B owners often have to have a second job or some kind of nest egg to lean on when business drops. It's definitely a good idea to have something like this when an inn is first starting out. It takes a while to build up a reputation.
People are hesitant to stay at a place that doesn't already have a ton of reviews. And really, can you blame them? We've all seen enough horror movies to know that staying in an old house with a total stranger can go ten kinds of wrong.
This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but the best way to make sure that your B&B hangs on is to run the best B&B you know how to run. Be friendly and accommodating to even the nastiest of guests.
All it takes is one bad online review to start steering guests the other way. Always, always make sure the food is great and the place is clean. If you become known as that place with cheap instant coffee and bathrooms full of roaches, you won't hang on for long.