It’s been a hectic couple of weeks here at The 25.
The summer season has kicked off so we’re getting busier, with several nights completely full, but on top of this, our social calendar seems to have been pretty busy too.
One of our big reasons for moving from our hotel in North Wales (Plas Dinas Country House) and downsizing was to remove the need for an on-site restaurant. We no longer need to provide food as there’s so many wonderful places to eat within walking distance. This in turn means we now have more freedom to go out in an evening once all our guests are check in and settled.
This week my parents have been staying, and we also had some friends staying last week. It was therefore a good opportunity to go out for some meals with them, but we’ve also enjoyed the sunshine with a few beers with friends on the seafront, attended a charity event and also the theatre. Life is certainly never dull.
When I take time to compare our lives now with that of our last hotel, I’m really thankful that we moved. We absolutely love Torquay and have settled in really well. It’s great to work for ourselves, and to have the freedom to go out in an evening if we wish to. Only ten minutes walk and we’re on the seafront and feeling like we’re on holiday ourselves.
Don’t get me wrong, owning a B&B is extremely hard work. I am up by 6am most days, usually work seven days a week and when you work to the standards we do, even cleaning one bedroom can be exhausting. But overall, life is great.
In winter, I’m going to run some training courses for people who are thinking of running a B&B themselves. It does take hard work to get to the stage we have. I am now giving others the opportunity of learning from our mistakes and fast-tracking to success. Many people are worried about taking such a big step and I’ll be able to answer their questions, give them a “warts and all” view of the industry and give valuable advice on topics such as writing a successful business plan which results in being offered finance, and how to deal with day to day issues. If you’re interested yourselves, let me know and I’ll send you more information once I have it.