Can you help us with new b&b

[kattekitt]

Hello Lovely Mumsnetters,

We are looking at making a rather big change to our lives. We live in a lovely market town which is a very popular tourist destination.

The opportunity has come up for us to be able to rent out a room in our home. It will have its own bathroom with bath & shower.

What do you want from a good home stay? Also how much would you be happy to pay for it per night?
There is a shortage of accommodation in the area.
What are the things that you'd find really useful in your room?
Should we offer it just to adults or add some bunk beds or camp beds so children can stay too?

Any help is most gratefully received

Black out curtains, a mini fridge with small water bottles, fresh milk, kettle and teabags and instant coffee, mirror near plug sockets.

Bathroom - bath towels, hand towels, 2 bath mats, nice toiletries plus cotton pads, bin.

Impossible to say how much without knowing the area and the going rate. Is it the kind of place people would stay for a week or just a night/weekend? What type of amenities - coastal? Hillwalking? That will influence what is most useful/attractive for guests. Eg space to rinse/wash/dry wet gear, beach kit available to borrow, etc.

I'd be looking for as standard:
Clean fresh neutral decor or occasionally something quirky and characterful, but the latter can be very difficult to pull off and often just guarantees dust.
Pristine bedding, preferably cotton and non-allergenic.
2 good sized towels each plus a hand towel and bath mat, soap /shower gel.
No pets in the house.
Well-ventilated, easy to adjust if needed
Large bed (king size +) if I'm booking as a couple
Bedside lamps, decent hairdryer, plug points, good wifi.
No scatter cushions on the bed!

Tea and coffee making facilities in the room or access to kitchen for this, ditto fridge/washing up facilities.

Clear info re what is included and what is not.
Parking space/permit/ info on how to get from nearest station eg is there a taxi rank/local taxi company?
Facility to leave luggage on arrival before check-in/after check-out before departure.

Any relevant local info especially if not accessible to non-locals (roadworks/closures/festivals or events)

Yes to fresh milk! I'd prefer non dairy but my partner would prefer dairy, so maybe available on request?

No thanks to small water bottles (single use plastic)

I want to be honest . Personally I wouldn't pick a place that only had 1 room for rental , it would feel as if I were staying in someone's house, rather than a business.
If we've ever stayed in one , it was in a larger property where the hosts had separate accommodation within the house.
They have a sitting room and a separate dining / breakfast room.

Are you a super social person who likes interacting with people?

I Airbnb'd 2 spare rooms when I was living in a large flat. Guests had their own bathrooms and living room but we had to share a kitchen.

After a year it became unbearable. Young girls that would laugh in a high pitched tone. People cooking their dinner at 11pm. Others cooking 3/4 meals from scratch a day. Had this complete tw*t that told me that me getting up early and making the floorboards creak was going to set off his epilepsy and give him a fit which could be life threatening. I told him he needed to leave because I would not be in a position where I could not move around my own home and would not want to put him at a risk of death - apparently I discriminated against him!! He was an absolute fanny!

I wouldn't go back to it but I'm incredibly unsociable.

If I were you, given you say there's room for bunk beds, I'd put it a little kitchenette and keep them away as much as possible!

We stayed in a B&B recently with very nice people, in a nice location but lots of niggles....
It desperately needed black out curtains.
Needed a local guide/recommendations.
For some reason theyd put a tiny, tiny shallow sink in ensuite... Couldn't fill up kettle in it. Couldn't wash face as glass shelf to low above it.
Shower was positioned that no one over 5ft 7 could wask hair without stooping.

If can fit a king size bed and bunk beds do so. Good if space below bed/s to slide suitcases under. Enough space to put items in bathroom and things put in bedroom.
High shelf for any medicines if family room.
Agree on little fridge, real milk, bottled water, kettle etc.
Table by bed can put glasses/phone on.
Enough plug sockets can charge phones.Internet access...
A little soap for sink and body wash for shower.
Bin and spare bin liners. Explanation on bin colour!
Would you provide breakfast? I'd get them to book breakfast time and what want night before so can be ready for them and covid secure.

Good lighting. Far too many hotels and B and Bs put low wattage bulbs in their light fittings. I don't want "atmosphere", I just want to be able to see what I am doing.

We stayed in a B&B for the first time recently and have vowed never to again. To be totally fair to them it was cheap (£80 a night including breakfast) and we are quite fussy but so many things put us off -

Walls were paper thin. I spent all night listening to the kids above us jump off the beds and the man in the room next door coughing.
Bed was two singles pushed together with just a sheet covering the gap
Shower was tiny. I’m a size 8 and kept knocking the door open with my bum
Water pressure was terrible. Took ages to wash my hair
Absolutely tiny TV which was obviously just there so they could say they had a TV. Impossible to actually watch
Only one toilet roll and they weren’t cleaning rooms because of covid. They had a door hanger which you used to tick anything you needed. However, I ticked toilet roll at 11am and when we got back at 10pm there was none meaning we had to go out and buy some
Lovely people, very chatty but almost too much

These are all fabulous thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Any further ideas are also very welcome.

To answer a few questions

I'm a very social creature, worked in the hospitality industry previously so hope it won't get too much. I'm a natural host and enjoy looking after others.

We're in a market town, lots of country walking etc

Lots to do so would probably expect guests to stay for a night or two and adventure locally.

We do have pets and will be clear about that to any guests beforehand. But they are not allowed upstairs

The guest room will be the only upstairs room in use when people stay so hoping it will feel private enough for them.

Would bath robes be a nice thing to do?

I don't think you are a b&b with a single room, more just a room for rent which is going to limit what you can charge, especially as you sound like a busy household. AirBnB would be perfect for you.

How would you cope with a late check-in (say after 11pm?)

Can you do a cooked breakfast if you have kids to do school run with?

Would you want contractors staying?

Lots of big stuff to think about.

Also would a glass bottle of water be ok? If we got a couple of nice ones and put them through the dishwasher each time?

Also hot drinks what would be nice to have? Thinking a nespresso machine and kettle. Was also going to make shortbread or chocolate chip cookies. Should we provide mugs or cups and saucers?

I'll make a black out blind and also black out curtains.

Fridge with milk and maybe a small bottle of beer or wine?

Great tip about the sockets too.

I think we will stay in it first to make sure it all works.

Would Alexa controlled lighting be a step too far? We agree that good lighting is needed

I think we'd prefer couples or families to contractors. I don't think we have many stay in the area but I wouldn't rule them out either.

We are lucky that one of us is a night owl and the other a morning lark, so late check in is no problem. The only downside will be the night owl will have to do the school run once in a while, so the other can see to breakfast. Although we were thinking about offering a self service breakfast keeping it simple with cereal, toast, fruit and yogurt.

Homemade biscuits is a lovely touch!
I like a comfy bed (and I know that's always subjective but no saggy old mattresses and springs poking you in the ribs!), hypo-allergenic pillows and duvet.
Good sized bath towels. I think bath robes is OTT in a B&B.
No single use plastic.
Black out curtains / blinds.
Not fussed about Alexa type gadgets.
Decent sized mugs for tea & coffee.

Depending on Room size I would offer adults but with some pop up beds for kids / other adults. We went here
The little touches like a full selection of Wetsuits, surfboards and all the beach crap you need was all ready waiting in the shed
shorebreakcornwall.co.uk
If you are not near the beach supply something people might need, walking stuff, Picnic bash
ket etc?
Video of how clean it is would be good too, its often worth paying for professional photos too.