Monday, August 14, 2006

How about a bed and breakfast in San Antonio

In contrast to the article in the Wall Street Journal, here is a news story our of San Antonio TX.

Ready to make the big leap? Some historic B&Bs are up for grabs

Web Posted: 08/12/2006 07:24 PM CDT

Rachel Stone
Express-News Business Writer

For anyone daydreaming about fixing up a quaint little bed-and-breakfast, or longing to nurture his or her inner Martha Stewart, here's an opportunity.
At least four San Antonio bed-and-breakfasts are on the market. Ranging from $477,000 to $1.4 million, they come with Web sites, brands, built-in clientele and, in most cases, furnishings.

Inn keeping is not a profession to jump into willy-nilly, however.

Too many people have little more than a romantic notion about inn keeping before taking the plunge, said Pam Horovitz, president and CEO of the Professional Association of Innkeepers International.

"They fly into it, and then they move on almost instantaneously," she said from her office in Haddon Heights, N.J. "We try to make sure that doesn't happen."


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Many innkeepers — even those who did their homework and went into the business with eyes wide open — move on after seven years, Horovitz said. "They think, 'You know that signature dish of ours? I just don't know if I can make it one more time,'" Horovitz said. "We find that if they can do something to get their juices flowing again, then they're good."

If they make it over "the seven-year hump," they tend to stay on for 20 years or more, she said.

If you would like to know more about the ups and downs of running a bed-and-breakfast, the Historic Accommodations of Texas group is offering a seminar for aspiring innkeepers as part of its annual meeting in San Antonio Aug. 20. For more information, call the association at (512) 371-9884.


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Online at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA081306.01D.REDbedandbreakfast.10a89c1.html

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