8 Things You Should Remember While Building a Guest House
Are you thinking of building a guest house as a rental? There are factors to consider before starting your guest house project. You want to determine whether you can finance building and running your guest house. You must have the zeal to be your boss by making good decisions to keep your guest house on track. Ensure that a guest house is a suitable business for you. Since a guest house is a demanding undertaking, you must be able to multi-task, deal with pressure, be friendly and be willing to deal with having others around, potentially in shared spaces. It would be best if you kept yourself at par with the happenings in the hospitality industry for you to make the right business decisions.
If you want to turn your guest house dreams into reality, here are 8 things you should remember before building one:
1. Decide Whether You Want to Build, Buy or Renovate
When deciding to build a guest house to rent, ensure that you decide whether to build the property or renovate an existing structure. If you will be building your guest house from scratch, it is best to develop your design ideas in advance. Consider the number of people that will be living in your guest house, the house design, your preferred style, features, and decorations for your rooms. Building a guest house from scratch is a tedious process. You will need permits and various approvals before you can start. The best thing about building from scratch is that you can customize your guest house according to your specifications.
Renovating an already built guest house is more manageable. You can potentially build your guest house from a preexisting structure, reducing the costs of building and getting started. However, you should be aware of the operating expenses, current profits, and cash flows. Keep into consideration the modifications and renovations that might be required if you decide to renovate.
Whether you transform a building or build a guest house from scratch, here are the factors you must keep in mind:
a) Location
Ensure that you like the location of your guest house and how it will impact your current situation.
b) Seasonability
If it will be a short term rental, check whether the location will have visitors year round and which seasons will be busiest. Also, do not forget to factor in how you will cope during off-peak seasons.
c) Costs
Find the best options from building from scratch or renovating an existing property. Choose the best overall option.
d) Size
The location for your guest house should be determined by the space at hand and how many people you expect to be able to accommodate. Be sure to plan accordingly.
e) Regulations
Check whether the regulations in your zone allow for the construction of guest houses.
2. Planning
Planning is one of the most crucial aspects before building your guest house. It is essential to draft a comprehensive guest house plan that entails everything from building to finding renters. A business plan will show you whether the undertaking will be profitable or not and whether you will achieve it. A typical business plan has three items, these are:
a) Vision
Capture your ambition of setting up a guest house.
b) Mission
Emphasize the reasons to set up a guest house and the people it will serve.
c) Goals
Enumerate your objectives of setting up your guest house and the procedures you will take to achieve them.
3. The Industry and Competitors
Perform extensive research and understand that having a guest house is like running a business. Check how your competitors are running similar operations. When you learn from your competitors, you will set up a unique business to persuade more renters to your guest house. Get all the facts that will make renters prefer your guest house instead of your competitors.
4. Services and Amenities
Perform extensive research and understand that having a guest house is like running a business. Check how your competitors are running similar operations. When you learn from your competitors, you will set up a unique business to persuade more renters to your guest house. Get all the facts that will make renters prefer your guest house instead of your competitors.
5. Operations and Management
Always be aware of the policies that will affect your guest house business. Check the required processes and establish a checklist to help you operate with less hassle. Have a definite program for renters checking in or out, payments, suppliers, housekeeping, health and safety, and service standards of your guest house. If you are using your guest house as a short term rental the above mentioned items are even more crucial.
6. Marketing
If you are planning on having your guest house be a short term rental, create an identity for your guest house by designing a website, logo, and stationery with specific colors and fonts. If you want to make your marketing campaign a success, get into digital marketing to reach potential renters and save on the cost per acquisition. A few ways you can market your guest house through blogs, social media, emails, and online reviews.
7. Finances
You should have enough capital to build and maintain your guest house. Your capital should be able to sustain your guest house until you break even. If you are unsure how to design a financial plan, consider hiring an accountant.
8. Find a Reputable Building Contractor
To ensure the success of building your guest house, consider hiring a reputable contractor. Developing a guest house may be tedious. The process of acquiring the licenses and permits is long. An experienced contractor will help you out through these processes. The other benefit of hiring a contractor is a proper guest house design. A design build contractor has professional architects that will design the best guest house for you and provide approval from regulators.
For the smoothest design and build of your guest house, hire us at House to Home. Having worked in the industry for over 25 years, our clientele has established trust in us. We have experienced and highly qualified personnel. Contact us at House to Home for the best design build of your guest house.