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Old 10-15-2012, 03:31 PM
 
1,229 posts, read 1,145,004 times
Reputation: 667

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I have always wanted to buy a B&B in Eureka Springs and not try to get rich but make a few bucks to live on and keep the property up. Does anyone know if this would be possible or are B&Bs so expensive you can never make a good return on your money? What is the percentage of occupancy? I know this is more specific than someone who stays there for a week will know but I am hoping that a RE agent may read this post and have some good suggestions or better yet a B&B owner who may have some good insight. Thanks
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Old 10-16-2012, 05:36 AM
 
602 posts, read 1,512,489 times
Reputation: 306
Please do your homework before making the leap. Owning and operating a B&B is a FULL time job--24 hours a day.

For the past 8 years I've been in the vacation rental business. Perhaps two of those eight years did I ever come close to the "mythical" break even (in VR biz, 13 weeks is considered the minimum; one week for every mortgage pmt plus an extra payment for taxes, etc). Of course, I never went into the VR biz to "make money". This is our second home and the thought of renting it out when we weren't there to cover some of the expenses was attractive. This summer we decided to stop renting.

Here are some things to consider:

Rental Season-For Eureka, the season is probably April-October. You'll pick up some guests from November-March but with our crazy weather, you never know what you're going to get.

I perceive the B&B biz to be more of a weekend rental vs. weekly. That gives you roughly 28 weekends (April-Oct) or 56-84 nights depending if you do a 2 or 3 nt minimum. At a $100/night, you'd gross $5,600-$8,400---not much

Finding your niche and building your guest list is crucial. This takes some time if you're starting fresh. If you find an existing B&B, you might be able to negotiate for the guest list.

Expenses--These will ALWAYS be higher than you want them to be. Property tax, sales and accommodation taxes, utilities, insurance, start-up costs, replacement costs, maintenance, marketing/advertising....the list goes on.

I can't stress enough how important it is to do your homework. Read books on B&B's; join forums (there are several great vacation rental forums out there); ask questions; know what your objective is--are you looking for a long-term investment or something to make "quick/easy" money.

A final suggestion, consider working in the hospitality business first. Perhaps there is a hotel where you live now that you could do part-time work for. You may find that dealing with the with guests is not for you.
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Old 10-20-2012, 02:33 PM
 
Location: The middle of nowhere Arkansas
3,325 posts, read 3,164,195 times
Reputation: 1015
You should also consider local politics in eureka springs as well. My parents had a friend years ago that build a b&b then ran afoul of the local politicians, seems he was a known conservative. It took forever to get the license needed to open for business.
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Old 10-21-2012, 01:08 PM
 
1 posts, read 961 times
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Dutchman--who was the conservative, the politician, or your parent's friend??
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