After 17 years, I closed the doors to Hopton House B&B in July.
It wasn’t quite the finale I’d planned – thank you pandemic!
I’ve been asked why I decided to shut up shop and there’s no one main reason. But it seemed once I made the decision, everytime I had a wobble, the universe would throw another reason at me.
Sometimes you just have to trust your intuition!
My main motivation was that I really wanted to focus my attention on my training business.
During the lockdowns, I put my B&B course online and created the B&B marketing membership, helping B&B owners attract more guests directly.
Yet running an online business, whilst also welcoming B&B guests had its complications.
On several occasions, I’d be halfway through giving a live workshop on ZOOM when guests would arrive early.
“Hello, here’s your key, your rooms over there, I’m in a meeting” isn’t quite the warm welcome that earned me so many repeat guests.
Then my cleaner of 10 years resigned and I just couldn’t face training someone new.
And I’ve been watching the amazing B&Bs the B&B Academy students were creating, and realising that Hopton House really needed a revamp and was it really worth the investment?
I’ve loved running a B&B, welcoming back so many wonderful guests year after year. And, oh boy, I do miss my regulars.
But the dormouse in me is rather enjoying her lie-ins and not having to clean her nest quite so often.
Read this and other great stories in the December 2021 issue of Luxury BnB Magazine.
