Good question. If you enjoy meeting people and don't mind a bit of hard work, then it can be great fun. Over the past 6 months, we've had literally hundreds of guests and fried/ poached/ scrambled/ boiled over 400 eggs! We've not had one bad guest; they've ranged from delightful to acceptable. Of course, they are different and we get on better with some than with others, but the difference in itself is part of the charm of the business. You get new perspectives, new ideas, new ways of thinking. You'll never get in a rut!
The biggest effort has been on the laundry side - it just never stops, and makes people who stay for more than one night VERY attractive! The cleaning and fettling side is not a problem, since there are two of us, and the breakfasts are just fun. We have a wide variety of breakfast options and frankly it's nice when people break away from "full English, please" and test us with demands for smoked salmon, porridge, fresh baked croissants, exotic juices and the like. We haven't been beaten yet!
The biggest tie is waiting in for arriving guests. If you get one lot out by say 10:30 and then next ones are coming in at 3:30-5:00pm, after you have changed the rooms and cleaned the house, you don't get that much time for you, in your own home, or time to go out.
Overall, however, the experience has been very positive. We really like the people, enjoy (most) of the work, and it allows us to live in a house, and to enjoy a lifestyle, which otherwise we could not afford. And, if it all gets too much, we just put a line through the diary and tell enquirors "sorry; we're full".
Informs on B&B in Northeast England and focuses on Dowfold House, a leading B&B in Crook, Co Durham. Discussion points on when and how to use B&Bs and what their advantages and disadvantages are
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