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MARCH 2003 |
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Investment? The good news is that a farm B&B does not require a major investment to get started. There need not be new construction, but guest rooms must be neat and clean. Nearly everyone surveyed told us that new mattresses and bed linens are a must. So are clean, comfortable rooms, newly papered or painted, and tastefully furnished with basic furniture, often antiques. Bedrooms must be set apart exclusively for guests and be free of anyone else’s personal effects. Don’t make the big mistake of putting guests in a family member’s bedroom that contains that person’s old socks and toothbrush. A private bath is important to an increasing number
of guests, and some will not book rooms without it. However, many
farm B&Bs get by quite nicely with shared baths. Even a shared
bath is private when the other room is not occupied. Big Breakfast A big country breakfast and a friendly host who genuinely enjoys spending time with his or her guests round out the basic requirements. Of course, a farm vacation would not be complete if guests did not get to see the working part of the farm, especially the animals. On some farms, guests are invited to help with chores, but don’t expect too many of them to get up for the morning milking. Other than those basics, your guests will require a
pleasant sitting room (your own living room?), and a dining room or
kitchen table. On most farms, guests share the family’s living
areas, though some with large older farm homes are able to provide
comfortable lounge areas for guests while keeping the family living
area private. How Much Work? The work required to keep a farm B&B going involves making a big, special, never-to-be-forgotten breakfast, visiting with guests, and cleaning rooms. A typical host will be in the kitchen preparing breakfast by 6 a.m., serving breakfast at 8 or 9 a.m., talking with guests until at least 10 a.m., and cleaning up until noon...if there are no surprises, which there will be. Part-time hired help is common, especially at B&Bs with three or more rooms, which may all be filled at the same time. A farm B&B can be as basic as one or two guest bedrooms or as elaborate as cabins or a bunkhouse complete with whirlpool, rec room, and TV. Swimming pools, nearby lake swimming, and trail rides also make for a complete vacation package and may encourage guests to book longer stays. Geographic location can be a major success factor. Farms
in or near established tourist destinations generally book more guests
than those in non-tourist areas. But the more activities a farm or
ranch has to offer guests, the more likely it will attract non-farm
families, even if it isn’t next door to Disney World. Getting The Word Out And finally, there is the all-important business aspect of marketing. Membership in a local or state B&B association is recommended. A web site and a brochure are also necessary tools for getting the word out about your farm. As the years go by, return guests and word-of-mouth often become the best publicity. On the following pages farm B&B owners relate their own experiences. Several found the B&B business worked so well it continued as their retirement income.
To make a B&B in their home in 1997, they first painted, papered, and decorated the guest rooms, and bought antique furniture and new mattresses. “You have to have a good mattress,” Lori said. “That’s important to the guests. I didn’t want people to think they’re just staying in Johnny’s old room.” Business was slow at first, but has grown steadily through the years. They have learned where to advertise, and the word-of-mouth business has grown as guests have gone back home and told their friends. Rates range from $85 a night for a couple in a single room to $150 for a family in the suite with a kitchen. Lori said they took in about $17,000 in 2002. Guests are invited to help with farm chores, though few of them make it out to the barn for the morning milking. Most, however, will at least stick their heads into the barn during afternoon chores. Those willing to pitch in can bottle feed calves, grain heifers, feed the pig, or take the farm’s mascot, a pet goat, for a walk. In the six years they have taken in guests, Lori said they have never really had a bad experience. She suggests farmers who go into the B&B business, “Have patience. It (building up the business) isn’t going to happen overnight.” “At first I was a little concerned about having strangers in the house,” Bebo said, “but now I don’t even think twice about it. We’re not entertaining them. We have work in the barn, and they come out and find that entertaining.” July through mid-October is the busiest time of the year at this B&B. Once the fall colored leaf show has ended Lori said there is a slump until Christmas when the skiers and snowmobilers show up. But when the snows melt there is another slow time in spring. Lori does all the cooking and cleaning herself, and said she enjoys the slow times just to be able to catch her breath. 1-888-383-1185 emergo@together.net
The area offers excellent fishing and hiking as well as golf. If guests want to spend a few days doing real ranch work, that can be arranged at the McGarvas’ former ranch, which is now operated by Duane’s brother. Public lands offer endless opportunities for trail rides and guests may bring their own horses. Snow sports are popular in winter. Since the house was already new, their expense to open a B&B involved only new linens and some lovely older furniture for the guest rooms. For about $75 a night, guests get a “really good bed, lots of hot water, a big breakfast, and the most beautiful scenery in the world,” Dixie said. There aren’t many restaurants in this rural area, but the inn provides evening meals at a modest price by prior arrangement. Pack lunches are also available. “This is our home, just the way we live in it,” Dixie said. “My husband was skittish at first about having strangers in our home, but now we actually enjoy it. It’s gravy for us because it cost us so little to do it.” “Our season is whenever we are at home. We do make some money on this, but cabins would be better,” Dixie said. “Two rooms is not enough to make a living.” 530-233-4934 millcreeklodge.com
Last summer the Tindalls retired. The cows and most of the land were sold. But the old house is still a B&B, and the land around it is still being farmed by a neighbor. Guests are invited to visit nearby dairy farms, including an Amish farm. The Tindalls opened their home as a B&B with just two rooms, which were full all summer the first year. “We did not go to a lot of expense,” said Labertha. “We got one room ready for guests each year. We just painted and stenciled.” They now have four rooms, one with a loft for children. Two of the rooms have private baths. “This is not fancy. It’s our home, and guests see it just as we live in it,” Labertha said. “But I do go all out for breakfast.” The breakfast is served at 8:30 a.m. on work days and 8 a.m. on Sundays, after which guests are invited to join the Tindalls at church. The big farm breakfast includes coffee, juice, and milk, along with fruit, and up to three of Labertha’s homemade breads. Next comes scrambled eggs, ham, fried potatoes, and French toast, a quiche and Amish pancakes (puff pastry), or maybe a corn beef brunch. After breakfast, Labertha spends time with her guests before cleaning rooms, changing sheets, cleaning floors and dusting. She does the work with the part-time help of an Amish girl. Guests used to be invited to go out to the barn, and about half of them did. Many guests now spend their daytime at historic sites and tourist attractions a short drive away. The farm is located about a half hour from major Pennsylvania Dutch tourist attractions and just over an hour from Baltimore, Philadelphia, or the Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield. In addition to tourists who often return, Labertha has found a niche with individuals who are long-term temporary workers at a not-too-distant military base or a nearby nuclear power plant. She has had very few bad experiences in the 19 years the B&B has operated. One pleasant surprise was a family that showed up with 12 adopted children, 18 months to 13 years old. They required all her rooms, and the children were all well-behaved and well-mannered. She advises other farm families considering a move into the B&B business to be sure they would enjoy taking time with people. She also said it helps if there is something unique about the farm, a point of interest that catches their attention, which in her case is the farm's history and its proximity to so many tourist sites. “It’s a lot of fun. I enjoy meeting people. They bring the world to us,” she said. “I don’t make a lot at this, but it is extra income and has helped through the years.” 717-548-3100 pleasantgrovefarm.com
Then they expanded the business by moving a craft barn onto the farm and renovating it to have three suites downstairs and a meeting room on the second floor. Each room has a private bath. The barn-like building is 28 by 40 feet with an eight-foot wide deck on three sides. An outdoor hot tub is just off the deck. The cost of moving and renovating the barn turned out to be double the amount they had estimated. Even with the added expense Dixie said, “It supports itself, I think, but if you had to get all your living from a B&B you would have to have more rooms and you’d be more like a hotel. It’s more a cottage industry than a stand-alone business.” Children are welcome at this B&B, but pets must be confined in a crate or kept in the owner’s vehicle. “I don’t think it’s been disruptive (to farm work and family life),” she said, “because there’s always lots of people around here, and we get up early, so to get breakfast early is not too disruptive.” She acknowledges that if the children had not been grown and gone from the home when they started the B&B, there certainly would have been conflicting needs in the morning. This farm B&B rented over 300 rooms in 2001 and over 400 the year before that. When motels in the area are full they refer guests to the B&B. Dixie said her rates “reflect that I need to have some profit. If you compare the rate here with the better hotels in town, they’re favorable here.” Dixie reports that the most frequent comment from guests is about the friendliness of the host, followed by the breakfasts and the quiet. She notes, too, that other farmers who have stayed there tell them they are more at home at a farm B&B than a motel.
But Mother Nature threw a wrench into their plans. One year after
the cabins were completed, they were destroyed in a huge flood. The
Wanners are only now starting to draw an income from their investment.
All guest facilities at the ranch are handicap-accessible. Each cabin is equipped with a refrigerator, hot plate, and outdoor grill. Most guests, however, prefer to eat meals prepared by Lois in the lodge. The Wanners have a state-licensed commercial kitchen that is inspected every year. “We’re much more than a bed and breakfast,” Ron said, “because we encourage guests to get involved in the work we do. Many of our guests are amazed at the work that goes into beef before it gets to the grocery shelf. They see, too, how we are stewards of the land.” Routine ranch work often doubles as recreation for guests. Trail rides on horseback are used to check cattle on pasture or fix fences. The high point each year on this ranch is the annual branding of
new calves. Neighbors join the Wanners and their guests to make a
memorable day of branding, castrating, and vaccinating nearly 400
calves. Halfway through at about 10 a.m., Lois serves a brunch of juice, eggs, sourdough biscuits, and homemade doughnuts. When all 400 calves have been branded in the afternoon, a big meal of chili or roast beef sandwiches is served and the real socializing begins. “The western heritage is all about people working together,” Lois explained. Even though horses have always been a big part of their life, Ron and his daughter, Rebecca, attended a guiding school and became certified guides. They stocked the ranch with comfortable saddles and a string of gentle horses for guests, a sizable investment in both time and money. Ron and Lois promote their business at national sports shows during January and February each year. A stay at their ranch may include horseback riding, hiking, fishing, and canoeing. The ranch hosts about 50 to 60 guests each summer for vacations that last from two to six days each. Ron has twice made the trip to an international travel show in Oslo, Norway to promote the ranch vacation. He says it has been worth the effort because so many people “are fascinated with cowboys and the western way of life.” 701-983-4290 kniferiverranch.com |
