1. Ensure that as part of the purchase you will own the  domain name, email accounts and telephone number.
This may seem a bit obvious but I would strongly advise that you make sure these are part of the contract of your bed and breakfast, guest house or hotel purchase. I am aware of one incident where a retiring couple decided to take the established telephone number with them – they had it for years and all their friends used the number. Ensure you have these itemised within your contract so a solicitor can follow these up if there are any issues following the sale.

Another critical check is the domain – never assume the current business owner actually owns the domain of your new hotel, guest house or bed and breakfast. I have come across a number of domains that were set up and paid for by a web designer or friend, who is now not contactable. Make sure you check this and put the onus on the current owner.

To check all domains (website names) ending in co.UK (for example torbaylodge.co.uk) then go to www.nominet.org for all other domains go to www.whois.net.

If the information shown is not the current owner of your new B&B, guest house or hotel then contact the owner by email and express your concern. The current owner may be the only one who can initiate a domain transfer.

Also check when the current domain is due for renewal.

The outgoing owner may forget to leave you with all the essential IT information and you may find it near impossible to retrieve it once they have left.  Make sure you are IT ready and double check the following.

2. Ask for the full contact details of the existing web hosting company.
You or your web designer will need full access to the existing website and you must ensure you have full login details to the web space that your hotel’s domain is pointing to.

Ideally you should ask for the following:-

Hosting Companies Name, Address and Telephone Number.
The level of service(s) and the expiry date of any service(s).

3. Ensure that you have full access to the email(s) accounts the moment you collect the keys.
Above all make sure you have full control of all your new hotel, guest house or B&B email accounts as nearly all administrative accounts for hosting, domain names and on line booking engines will only send any requested information requests to the registered email address on their accounts.

4. Get the contact details of the existing web designer – is he/ she still available to support the website?
In the event where you have been given incorrect login information then you need to have a direct contact of the existing website who can guide you. I have seen new accommodation owners on day one stuck with the wrong, and therefore useless, login details.

5. Ensure you have a back up system for all important documents, files and emails.
Most people have inadequate back up of their critical information.

Prior to you taking over your new bed and breakfast, guest house or hotel you should download and become familiar with some of the free remote back up solutions. These allow you to back up key areas such as email or any important word processor or spreadsheet documents. Once you are settled you must buy a physical back up for all your data.

Two great free remote back solutions are

• idrive
  Get 2 GB of online backup space absolutely free. Store your photos, documents and other important data.
  mozy
• mozy
  Get 2 GB absolutely free!
  No setup fee, no monthly payments, no credit cards, no hassle

Buy a desktop backup!

6. Ensure you have a good anti-virus and anti spyware protection in place on your PC or laptop,
Computers are hard enough to control when they are working fine never mind when you have a virus running amok. For minimal expense you can ensure your PC or laptop can run trouble free and have regular automated maintenance.

There are dozens of anti-virus and anti spyware products on the market and a good local IT specialist should advise you on the most appropriate software for you.

I use the following on my PC and laptop – (the following are the free editions )

• Advanced SystemCare™ Free v3
  Advanced SystemCare Free (formerly Advanced WindowsCare Personal) has a one-click approach to help protect, repair, clean, and optimize your PC. With over 35 MILLION downloads since 2006, this fantastic, award-winning free registry cleaner and system optimizer is a “must-have” tool to speed up your slow computer. 100% safe with no adware, spyware, or viruses; a PC maintenance program that’s incredibly easy to use.
• avast!
  avast! Home Edition – Free Antivirus represents the best FREE antivirus protection currently available on the market.

7. If the existing owner has wireless and is leaving the router then make sure you have the full access details.
Hopefully the password for the wireless access point and router login details is on the underneath of the router. Again ask for all user name and passwords relating to a broadband router (if left by outgoing owner)

8. Ensure you have full login access to any third party on line booking system.
If the accommodation benefits from on line booking then make sure you have full access to the booking system and are familiar with its administration.

9. Ensure you have all login details for any agency and review websites such as laterooms.com and TripAdvisor
Make sure that any on line bookings marry up with any paper diary that you have been left. Equally, imagine you just take over and find a negative review on TripAdvisor suddenly appears – you need to know you can log in as the accommodation and respond to these.

10. Are there any other IT related services or marketing fees that the existing owner subscribes to?
You may getting up to 25% of all bookings from one accommodation directory so make sure there are no outstanding fees or on going disputes with them. Alternatively you may receive a bill in a few months in asking for IT support services that you were unaware of – so it best to ask for information on all subscribed or contracted IT services. This is true of all aspects of the accommodation.

Hopefully, I haven’t scared anyone too much with the above but trust me  it wise to be prepared for these possibilities.

#1. To take advantage of social media.

There are now thousands of accommodation owners, prospective buyers, travel writers and bloggers using the big two social media giants Facebook and Twitter so it can only make sense for “my bed and breakfast for sale” to become part of those two communities.

#2. Gather tips and feedback along the way.

I have never attempted to promote the sale of a business before so I will be keen to encourage as much interaction with as many people as possible. Hopefully, I can create a website that could be a useful resource for people looking to sell or buy a bed and breakfast, guest house or hotel.

#3. I can do all the design and technical bits – so it’s cheap.

I have worked on websites and the promotion of them for fifteen years so the only real cost is registering the domain name and getting some web hosting. The website is built using WordPress so I can quickly add updates from anywhere.

#4. Helps to promote Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway is an amazing place and I want to let people more know about this part of the UK.

#5. The website can work beyond the sale of the guest house

I already have articles I have written stored on my computer that I will upload over the next few months so I have no plans to take “my bed and breakfast for sale”  down following a sale.

It also could become somewhere for other bed and breakfast owners to promote their accommodation for sale.

#6. Provide much more relevant information to prospective buyers

Although our commercial agent provides nice shiny literature for the sale of my bed and breakfast and also advertises on the main websites it is still difficult to provide people with a great deal of information. This website can provide information such as the level of repeat business or the variety of guests we have each year. It also provides a much more extensive gallery normally offered by standard sales particulars.

#7. Share knowledge on how best to promote your accommodation and hopefully save you money!

The guest house has opened other opportunities.

We originally bought the guest house to escape the grind of 9 to 5 and take more control of our lives and it has certainly allowed us to do just that.

The Torbay Lodge benefits from being established for many years so it is on all the accommodation listings for the NHS, education, emergency services and forestry commission. Dumfries is also the administrative centre for Dumfries and Galloway – so when someone comes from an interview they often contact us for accommodation. If successful, they will generally book back in and look for places to rent.

We were always surprised to find that people struggled to find well maintained affordable rental properties in Dumfries. Five years later we now have four properties for rent in Dumfries – so this is what I mean when I say the guest house has opened other opportunities.

Does this mean there isn’t enough money in the bed and breakfast? – not at all I just am a workaholic – ask Suzy – but I did want to explain why the bed and breakfast is on the market. I know other B&B owners that spend at least three days a week on the golf course.

The Torbay Lodge Guest House allowed us both to work from home and have an instant income.

That said, it was a a big move and, in hindsight, the words from another local B&B owner proved to be so true. “Derek, 99% of the people who come into your house are not just nice but really nice” – there are many great things about running a B&B -  how right he was!

The Torbay Lodge remains busy throughout the year which means we have the freedom to choose when we want to take a holiday and not have to OK it with anyone else first.

Buying an already established guest house meant we were up and running from day one (actually my first introduction to running a bed and breakfast was 14 full cooked breakfasts  – which was a bit of a daunting start as there was just Suzy and I – who was seven month’s pregnant!)

We have been running the guest house for five years now and I have never once missed looking at the back of a lorry on the M6 for hours each day.

So that is why I am selling the bed and breakfast. It is a good business and been going strong for fifty years and I am sure it will serve the next owner equally well.

If you are interested in viewing our guest house, ask a question, seek advice on buying/ selling a B&B, or share your knowledge then feel free to contact me.

Derek Pennycook

Many people have thought about running a bed and breakfast and they may even have even viewed a few properties but never got to that next stage. Taking the leap to running your own bed and breakfast can be a major decision and you really need as much information as possible.

The Torbay Lodge is a great little business and has been for 50 years. The guest house  benefits from a very high level of repeat business and  remains very busy throughout the year.

So why sell? -   simply because the guest house has opened new opportunities for our family.

The guest house is for sale with one of Scotland’s main hospitality sales agents Bruce and Co and they will handle all the booking of viewings and any sales negotiations.

I will also be doing lots of research on buying and selling bed and breakfasts so I will add links to any useful information I find. I also believe that it will be useful to find out how much other accommodation providers pay for services such as business insurance and credit card facilities etc and whether we can all save some pounds!

If you are interested in viewing our guest house, ask a question, seek advice on buying/ selling a B&B, or share your knowledge then feel free to contact me.

Derek Pennycook