Holden House 1902 Bed & Breakfast Inn

Sallie & Welling Clark are the owner - innkeepers of Holden House Bed & Breakfast Inn located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have been operating their award-winning bed and breakfast inn since 1986 and have been instructing approved B&B seminars since 1989.

Aspiring Innkeeper seminars are sponsored by Pikes Peak Community College. The 4 hour overview seminars include a 150+ page take-home workbook. Private consultations are also offered on a per hour basis or with a workbook/consultation package. Visit "Starting Your Own Bed & Breakfast Inn" for more information.

THE REALITY OF STARTING A BED & BREAKFAST

For aspiring innkeepers, the dream of owning and operating their own bed & breakfast inn is a primary focus. For innkeeper/consultants, helping that dream to become a reality is a profession. Many innkeepers and former innkeepers have turned to consulting in an effort to increase research information and professional attitudes for would-be bed & breakfast operators. Inn consultants have created a profession within a profession. Many innkeepers have written books on the subject and the availability of information has increased tremendously in recent years.

For Welling and I, owning and operating Holden House Bed & Breakfast Inn, located in Colorado Springs, has become the reality of a rewarding career combined with hard work and dedication. That's the reason we started teaching others and providing consulting services about the business side of innkeeping. Many people wake up one day and think, "Let's open a bed & breakfast! It will be fun to entertain guests in our home. We can cook, and clean...we can do that!", but many times they don't take into account the business side of innkeeping. While they have enjoyed staying at B&Bs and have experienced the relaxing side of the inn environment, they haven't seen the inside view of this people intensive industry, the mound of office paperwork, the constant interruptions during the day, and the piles of laundry waiting to be finished.

There are many issues to consider when deciding whether the B&B business is for you. The bed & breakfast industry is a very personal one... personal because innkeeper hosts spend a lot of time with their guests and must be very involved with every facet of daily business operations. This deserves careful consideration. As our fellow innkeepers already know, the daily routine of an innkeeper combines early rising, cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, banking, bookkeeping, advertising & marketing, check-ins, reservations, management, and more! Trading the office’s 8 hour, 5 day a week job for a bed & breakfast can seem like a great alternative, until the realization becomes a 7 day a week occupation with 12-18 hour workdays and an office you can't leave behind. But, it does have its up side, too. Meeting friends from all over the country is like being an armchair traveler. Acting as a "goodwill ambassador" by helping guests with travel and activity plans can be very rewarding. Showcasing the home you have worked so hard to restore is a great personal benefit. The freedom of owning your own business also gives you the pleasure of not answering to anyone but yourself and your guests.

As inn consultants, we feel there is a great responsibility toward aspiring innkeepers. Organizational skills and information services are required attributes for consultants. There is an ethical necessity to provide professional services to the industry. With the increase of professionalism in the B&B business, inn consultants must also present a professional attitude. Inn consultants should have experience based on number of years in operation, have organizational skills, and have an extensive background with industry resources. A point to remember, no one can be an expert at everything.

Aspiring innkeepers should ask questions when choosing a consultant:

• What is your experience within the B&B industry?
• How long have you been in the B&B business?
• How long have you been teaching seminars/consulting?
• What are your specific strengths in inn consulting?
• How long did you research before opening your B&B?
• Do you attend continuing education conferences & seminars?

• How long have you been in real estate?
• How many B&B’s have you sold?
• How many B&B’s have you stayed in?
• Have you ever operated a B&B?
• What is your experience within the B&B industry and what experience do you have with zoning and planning regulations?

We feel it is important for aspiring innkeepers to get a "jump start" on their future by doing their research first. This will allow them to make an informed decision regarding property, set-up, financing, operations, and marketing. In an area with little or no B&Bs, you can be automatically known as the "educational B&B expert" if you have planned properly. One of the most difficult things today about starting a bed & breakfast inn is working with local officials. Most officials and neighborhood residents do not understand the business well enough to know the positive effects of B&Bs on a neighborhood. You may have to become "the" B&B educator if you are breaking new ground. In 1986 when we opened Holden House, there were just three professional B&B's in the Colorado Springs area. Now the Pikes Peak Region boasts nearly 40, and the western states continue to see a large increase in the number of new B&Bs.

When we started researching the B&B industry in 1982, there was very little information available about starting a bed & breakfast. Since that time, great strides have been made. Today's wealth of nationwide seminars and information provides the prospective innkeeper with the opportunity to learn from the experience of others. Potential innkeepers who "do their homework" have found it much easier to start and operate successful bed & breakfasts. The recent increased availability of start-up information and continuing education for innkeepers will have a positive effect on the industry in years to come. Working in a bed & breakfast as an apprentice can offer a reality view into daily inn operations and provide a stable research background. Financial institutions will question would-be innkeepers as to what they know about running a bed and breakfast and what research they’ve performed. It gives you credibility when putting together a business plan and asking for financial assistance, if you can provide a solid research background.

Our consulting business was developed when we began receiving many "How do I...?" phone calls and walk-ins, inquiring about the business side of innkeeping. We felt that the time spent with these individuals was taking away from our necessary inn operations. The seminar, "Starting Your Own Bed & Breakfast Inn", was developed in 1989 by demand for this service. Aspiring innkeepers are curious about the industry and are most times unsure whether they really want to open a B&B. We give them a basic overview and provide practical information on setting up, operating, marketing, and planning. An average of one or two students in a class of 12 will go on to start their own bed & breakfast. While the seminars are sponsored by the local community college, instructing at the bed & breakfast provides our students with a chance to experience the inn atmosphere up-close. We have also coordinated aspiring workshops in conjunction with Colorado B&B conferences. Additional consulting is offered on an hourly basis for those requesting individual attention & specific needs.

Existing inns and bed & breakfast associations should be used as research and education resources. We recommend that aspiring innkeepers stay at B&B inns whenever they travel, offer to pay the innkeepers to set aside time for consulting, and gain information on inn operations by critically viewing each property as to their personal likes and dislikes of features. State and local organizations create an invaluable support system regarding networking, sharing common issues, education and quality assurance. Attending state association conferences will offer a wealth of information to would-be innkeepers. When Welling and I saw the need for bed & breakfast networking in 1987, we founded Colorado's B&B association, "Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers of Colorado". Since that time, the association’s annual Colorado conference has become a great educational tool for both aspiring and current innkeepers. In addition, the educational benefits of association membership is an important one. Most associations have implemented affiliate or associate memberships so aspiring innkeepers can join, even if they don’t yet own a B&B inn. This should be a consideration if contemplating a move to a particular state. It will keep you in the mainstream of that state’s B&B information network.

We love our innkeeping careers and are happy that we took the time to research our dream before starting out. It is extremely important for the aspiring innkeeper to consider in advance what it takes to run a successful B&B. Asking some well placed questions and doing some research will put aspiring innkeepers on the track to being great future innkeepers or just great inngoers, depending on the final decision. Are you ready to start your own bed & breakfast inn? Come and discover the inns and outs!

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