Are you seeking a traditional business opportunity with an edge? What about opening or buying a bed and breakfast?
Inns are seeing a resurgence in popularity for tourists and business travelers alike. Joshua Hill, a prominent lawyer and business traveler, confirms the trend.
“If you travel a lot, you sort of get sick of the inside of a generic hotel room. Hotel loyalty rewards are great, but B&Bs offer a different experience. Inns feel more like home than hotels, and the food is always good. Plus, many are quite affordable.”
Though the concept is age-old, B&B fans like Hill are gravitating less and less toward traditional old farmhouses turned inns, and favor distinctive conversions instead. Take a look at unique properties for sale in your desired region when you’re looking for a space to start an inn.
Here are a few recent examples that might inspire you.
Railroad Car
Many inns across America have adopted the idea of converting old railroad cars. One of the first and reportedly best railroad car B&Bs is the Red Caboose Getaway in Sequim, Washington.
This stay comes recommended by travel magazines, books, and television programs. The Red Caboose enjoys the luxury of being nestled among some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the state of Washington, including national forests, mountains on the horizon, and ready access to the Pacific coast.
Perhaps your location isn’t so idyllically situated, but you can duplicate some of the Red Caboose’s success by offering the unique structure of a railroad car. Intriguing alternatives might include a grain silo or reclaimed industrial space.
Don’t forget to include luxurious additions, such as a gourmet breakfast.
Teepee
Tourists can travel to Taos, New Mexico, and stay at the Adobe & Pines Inn to experience what it feels like to sleep in a teepee in the great outdoors. Though the inn also offers indoor amenities and beautiful western-style luxury, their teepee is marketed as a perfect place to return to nature.
Visitors love A&P, especially the teepee, because the experience puts them in a different time and culture. You can adopt this atmosphere by offering a nontraditional outdoor experience for more adventurous inn-goers, for example a tree house, tent, or outdoor chalet.
Boat
Traveling to Toronto any time soon? A few blocks from the city’s Rogers Centre, the Making Waves Boatel is a docked yacht that offers the most sublime amenities. The three upper decks at Making Waves provide a complete panorama of Lake Ontario and skyline views.
For individuals who want to step outside the lines of traditional on-land hotels and cottages, a boat offers an alternative they might not have imagined.
Dome
Tourism may be higher in stereotypically picturesque regions, such as mountain villages, coastal towns, and similar locations. Nevertheless, the Midwest is teeming with B&B activity.
Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and their neighbors are no strangers to the quaint farmhouse-style B&Bs, which preceded modern inns. Don’t be fooled, however: Lowell, Indiana, happens to be the home of the ultra-modern Thyme for Bed inn, which is located inside a modernistic dome.
Thyme for Bed is becoming known due to its energy efficiency and sustainable practices, but anyone who drives by the inn will notice its complete dome shape that juts above a beautiful 10-acre rural property.
If you’re sick of working in a traditional corporate environment and looking to try something different, running a B&B may be the solution for you. These kinds of accommodations are becoming ever more popular.
Modern alternatives to the traditional motel experience are popping up all over. Try this market on for size by reclaiming an unusual structure and making it tourist-friendly.