The Innkeeper Lifestyle: Owner Workload, Staffing and Transition
Many people who dream of owning an inn picture the hospitality: welcoming guests, cooking breakfast, recommending a favorite trail. The reality also includes laundry, plumbing calls, booking messages late at night and very little time away. Understanding innkeeper workload, and how the current owner’s labor is reflected in the business, is essential for anyone evaluating an existing bed and breakfast. It affects the buyer’s quality of life, the true earnings of the inn and how lenders view the buyer’s plan.
This article is general information for buyers and owners of existing, operating bed and breakfasts and inns. Employment law, payroll and worker classification rules vary by state, and those questions should go to qualified attorneys, accountants or payroll professionals. Nothing here is legal, tax or employment advice.
What the Work Involves
- Guest service: reservations, check-ins, questions, recommendations and resolving problems
- Food: shopping, menu planning, preparing breakfast and any other meals, and kitchen cleanup
- Housekeeping and laundry: turning rooms between stays and maintaining standards
- Maintenance: routine upkeep and coordinating repairs, which can be constant in older buildings
- Business tasks: bookkeeping, marketing, online listings, payroll and tax filings
- Events: planning and hosting weddings or gatherings where the inn offers them
The Hidden Value of the Seller’s Labor
In many inns, the owners, and sometimes their family members, do much of this work without a market wage. If the buyer plans to hire for any of it, those costs reduce the earnings available for debt service and the buyer’s own income. Buyers should map who does each task today and who will do it after closing.
Staffing Models
Some inns are run almost entirely by the owners. Others rely on housekeepers, a cook, a part-time assistant innkeeper or a resident manager. Seasonal staffing is frequent at properties with sharp peaks. Our article on bed and breakfast cash flow explains how seasonality affects staffing decisions. Whether workers are employees or contractors is a classification question for qualified professionals.
Events Raise the Workload
Weddings and food service beyond breakfast can add revenue and also a great deal of work, frequently on weekends when the inn is already full. See our article on inn event revenue.
Owner Dependence and Transition Risk
When guests return to see the hosts, or when the seller is the cook and the event planner, much of the goodwill may leave with the seller. A thoughtful transition can help: a training period, written procedures, staff who stay on and introductions to repeat guests and local partners. Our bed and breakfast due diligence checklist includes questions about staff and roles.
Questions Buyers Can Ask
- How many hours does the seller work in a typical busy week and a slow week?
- Which tasks are done by family members, and are they paid?
- Which staff plan to stay, and are there written arrangements?
- How often has the seller been able to take time away, and who covered?
How Lenders View the Operating Plan
Lenders may consider whether the buyer’s staffing plan is realistic and whether projected cash flow reflects the cost of any labor the seller is not paid for today. Our step-by-step guide on how to buy a bed and breakfast places this planning within the purchase process.
For Sellers
Owners who document routines, train staff and reduce the inn’s dependence on themselves may find buyers and lenders more confident. See our guide on how to sell a bed and breakfast.
US Professional Funding helps buyers finance the acquisition of existing, operating bed and breakfasts and inns. Learn more about our bed and breakfast acquisition financing.
