Learn to Manage a B and B or Guesthouse

Course Code - BTR203

• Home based small business
• Small, medium or large scale
• Learn to do it better, then plan for less risk and more chance of success before investing too much of your hard earned cash

Course Content

This course has seven lessons:

Lesson 1. Introduction to Management & Marketing

• Introduction
• Basic Principles of Management
• Four Main Steps in Management
• Planning, Leading, Organising, Controlling
• Economic View of Management
• Behavioural View of Management
• The Stakeholder Theory
• Understanding policies
• Marketing -Feasibility Research
• Advertising Steps to Follow
• Purpose of Advertising
• Advertising through media, by personal contact
  
  

Lesson 2. Facilities and Decor

• General layout - Reception, Dining area, Food Production
• Equipment - essential equipment, selection criteria
• Equipment Inventory
• Reception, Storage (Dry store, Vegetable store, Refrigeration, Storage temperatures_
• Food Preparation - vegetables, salad, meat, fish, pastry
• Parking
• Telephones, Communication and Technology - utilities
• Cleaning - outside the building, reception, lounge, bedrooms, bathrooms, corridors, kitchens

Lesson 3. Customer Service

• Personnel and service.
• Division of Duties
• Importance of Customer service.
• Customer Service Skills - waiting, carrying things, 
• Interpersonal Skills - addressing customers, records
• Staff Recruitment, Interviewing, Training and Induction.
• Controlling Staff -leadership, Giving Orders / orders not correctly carried out
• Procedures for dealing with orders not carried out correctly.
• Bedroom service.

Lesson 4. Equipment

• Principles of design.
• Service Facilities
• Cleaning/ Cleansing
• Waste Disposal
• Toilet & Bathroom Facilities
• Safety Risk analysis.
• Safety audit.
• Using audit forms and checklists.
• Signs for communication danger
• Materials control
• Maintenance control - useful checks

Lesson 5. Supplying Meals

• Breakfast timings.
• What to serve (continental or full cooked breakfast).
• Coffee - blends, grinding, troubleshooting, coffee variations
• Teas- specialty teas, herbal teas, storing, brewing
• Presentation of food & beverage
• Dealing with special requirements -breakfast in room, children, vegans / vegetarians, etc
• Serving other meals and snacks.
• Organising "experience" meals
• Dealing with customer complaints

Lesson 6. Food Purchasing

• Effective purchasing
• Planning ahead
• Role of the purchaser
• Supplier Selection
• Bulk buying
• Other Purchasing Approaches - contract, day to day, commissary, tenders, etc
• Know about following regulations (know the legalities and alcohol licensing).

Lesson 7. Records and Financial Management

• Management of guesthouse records.
• Reservations procedures.
• Cancellation procedure.
• The control of accounts.
• Methods of payment.
• Safe deposits.
• Liabilities.
• Productivity.
• Financial records management.
• Insurance.
• Taxation.
• Financial control.

Course Aims

• Identify the scope and nature of skills required for successful bed and breakfast or guesthouse management.
• Discuss the provision and management of facilities and decor in a guesthouse or bed and breakfast.
• Discuss the provision and management of customer services in a guesthouse or B and B
• Discuss the provision and management of equipment in a guesthouse or B and B.
• Discuss the provision and management of meals in a guesthouse or B and B.
• Determine appropriate food purchasing for a guesthouse or B and B.
• Determine the management of financial and other records in a guesthouse or Bed and Breakfast.

Travellers have Accommodation Choices

Accommodation options vary greatly from place to place and time to time. Luxury accommodation (e.g. five-star resorts) can be much more expensive in wealthy countries than in poorer countries. In a poorer country, it may be possible to stay in luxury accommodation for less money than what the bottom-end accommodation might cost in the wealthiest country.

Standards also vary. Five-star accommodation in one country might be different to five- star in another country. Regulations can also become a factor. For example, in Japan it may be illegal for more than two people to stay in a standard hotel room, even when the third person is a toddler or baby. Parents may be forced to upgrade to a deluxe room, even if they don’t want to. Some countries employ hotel inspectors to enforce any standards whereas others do not.

Succeed by Making your B and B a Preferred Option

Accommodation options may include any premises where any of the housekeeping, reception, maintenance, and cleaning services will need to be provided on a larger scale than in a domestic dwelling. The establishment need not necessarily include sleeping accommodation.

Accommodation management usually involves:

• The provision of accommodation to suit the purpose and the needs of the users.
• The selling, marketing and promoting of accommodation.
• The care, maintenance and security of the accommodation.
• The care, well-being, satisfaction and comfort of the accommodation user.

Guesthouse Accommodation is a broad term that can encompass Bed and Breakfast (B&B’s), Farm Stays, Cabins, Chalets, Pensions and other similar facilities.

A guesthouse is a private house offering paid accommodation. A bed and breakfast is generally a private house offering accommodation and breakfast in a package deal. These are very general definitions, and could relate to any size of accommodation, and any standard of facility or service. In Britain, guesthouses have become most commonly equated with seaside accommodation. In South Africa, guesthouses are generally found in tourist areas. In Australia, guesthouses are often larger facilities, whilst bed and breakfast operations are smaller. 

Guesthouses and B & B's do not have the hustle and bustle of hotels. They are able to provide a simpler form of accommodation, catering to smaller numbers of guests, and providing a more informal or even personal interaction between guests and staff/owners. Many B&B’s are popular as short-stay destinations, typically over a weekend (Friday and Saturday night) or mid-week. Many are located in scenic areas on the outskirts of cities and towns, within easy driving distance for city visitors and residents.

This course is relevant to any type of guesthouse, not only bed and breakfast accommodation.