It is a great and nice post and I like it.

You are correct, 50% tells you nothing. This is a gentle juggle and it’s not the gross income that is important. It is really the net income.

Also, you really have to know what you can afford to purchase. A bank will want you to invest a minimum of 25% and then it has to cash flow. A very well run B&B should allow 45-48% of gross to hit the bottom line. But size will also affect this. How large is the inn?

I would be happy to speak to you personally and please feel free to call us at 866-563-2772. Happy Holidays!

Before I commit to that time and expense I would like to be able to analyze some basic information, such as gross income and expenses and occupancy rate by month as a minimum. The B&B is in an area where occupancy is mostly seasonal, so I will need to know if operations during the busy part of the year will provide enough income to cover the lean months when current occupancy is, as far as I can tell, almost zero. There is opportunity to increase off-season occupancy that is not being pursued by the current owners.

The response was the occupancy rate is approximately 50%, but no occupancy by month and the “full” months only account for 1/3 of the year, short of 50% even if there were partial occupancy during the “shoulder” months. I have gross income and expenses for 2006, gross income and estimated expenses for 2005.

I don’t feel this is enough information to allow me to calculate the numbers needed to be confident in expending the time and effort for a site visit, much less developing a business plan and seeking financial aid, which is going to require a very detailed plan and probably some creative financing.

What do I need to do or what questions do I need to ask the broker to get him to provide me with this information so I can be more confident in committing the time and expense to make a site visit?

Thank you.

The Certificate is awarded to those businesses showing leadership in implementing pollution prevention practices in daily operations.

White Cedar Inn is the first Bed and Breakfast in Freeport to achieve this distinction.

The husband and wife owners of the inn, Rock Nadeau and Monica Kissane, have changed several aspects of the day to day operations of the business to use more ‘green’ and environmentally aware practices.

“We sort trash,” say the owners. “It’s not the most glamorous part of the day, but we’ve been able to reduce our trash pickup to twice per month from once per week. We have also included an environmental impact statement in our guest room books to show guests what we are doing. These are simple, easy steps most anyone could use in their own home. Even if someone says they don’t believe in global warming, everyone is looking for ways to save money.”

The process to obtain the Environmental Leadership Certification includes a self-assessment workbook which allows the business to highlight their areas of expertise and to focus future conservation efforts on projects with the most impact on reducing environmental impact and increasing the bottom line.

“It really gave us a place to focus our continuing efforts,” says Ms Kissane. “We had a lot of help from Peter Cooke, Program Manager for the state, in helping us find sources for green cleaning products.”

Mr Nadeau concurs that taking small steps has helped already. “We have reduced water consumption by almost 10% by taking quick, inexpensive steps to reduce water leaks. We use an HE (High Efficiency) washer for the linens. There are always small projects that can have a high impact on savings and that also reduce energy and water consumption without sacrificing creature comforts.”

The owners are working now to switch from incandescent to CFL bulbs throughout the inn. With this project in the works and having already put timers on many electrical appliances they expect to see a reduction in their overall electric consumption and cost to the business.

The US is finally coming of age (we came from Europe)so do look us up – The Woodstocker Inn and we are an approved ‘Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State’.