When the owner of a guest house in Inverness came to us, he had two very specific concerns. Both of them, on the surface, seemed like dealbreakers for handing over management.

Problem one: the personal touch

This owner had built his guest house on genuinely personalised service. His guests weren’t just getting a room, they were getting his local knowledge, his recommendations, his hospitality. He wasn’t willing to hand his property to a management company if it meant guests receiving a generic, impersonal experience.

Our answer was our online guest guide books. These aren’t templated documents, every single recommendation in them is personal and local to the area, from places to eat to things to see and do. Guests still get that insider knowledge and warm, tailored welcome, even without the owner on site.

Problem two: the breakfast income

The second challenge was trickier. As a traditional guest house, part of the appeal, and the room rate, came from the owner cooking breakfast for guests each morning. Stepping back from the property meant stepping back from the frying pan too. Could the property really earn the same without it?

It turned out it could earn more. Two things made the difference:

• An extra bedroom. With the owner no longer living on site, we converted his room into an additional guest bedroom, adding a whole new income stream to the property.
• The kitchen as a shared amenity. Although we’re not cooking breakfast each morning, guests have full use of the kitchen as a shared facility, which meant we could maintain the same room rates.

The result

The owner kept the personalised guest experience he cared about, stepped back from the day-to-day work, and now earns more than the property was making before. He’s delighted, and we’re really proud of what the team has achieved.

Running a guest house and thinking about stepping back?

If you love what your property offers guests but you’re ready to hand over the hard work, we’d love to show you how we can protect what makes your place special, and grow the income at the same time. Get in touch with the mySTAYINN team today.