S4 Ep1: Three Top Tips to Deal With and Avoid Burn Out While Running Your Bed and Breakfast

Hello I’m Yvonne Halling from www.BedandBreakfastCoach.com and today’s video is about burnout, so if you’re nearing the end of your season, and you’re feeling tired and worn out, or you’ve been doing this for many years and aren’t really sure how you can get up and do it all again next season, then my 3 top tips to deal with and avoid burn out in this video will help you. Let’s face it, running a B&B, guest house or inn is hard work. You wear lots of hats and your time is often stretched, but here’s the thing. We all have 24 hours in a day. It’s a question of how you use those precious 24 hours that determines how you’re going to feel at the end of each day, week, month and season. If you’re allowing your guests to dictate how you spend your time, such as not being clear on check in and check out times and sticking to them, then you could start to feel resentful towards your guests. If you spend all evening chatting with them, because you think they want you to, whether that’s true or not, then you’re putting their needs before your own, and that could also cause resentment. Unacknowledged resentment is a big problem in this industry. Most owners think that they shouldn’t be feeling this way, so put on a big smile for their guests, stuff it down and soldier on. If you’re doing that, and you want to find a way to live more peacefully and in alignment with yourself and your guests, then here’s what to do instead. Tip #1 Set your check in window to 2 hours if you can. It will depend largely on where you are, who your guests are and what you offer, but if it’s more than 4 hours right now, then look at how you can narrow it down just a little bit. There will always be exceptions of course, and we need to be flexible, but if you can, fix a 2 hour window to reduce your waiting around time, so you can claim back more time for yourself. Tip #2  Stick to your check in times and don’t allow your guests’ poor planning to violate them. If someone rings the bell or shows up unannounced outside of your check in window, either don’t answer the door or charge them. They made a decision albeit unconsciously that you were going to “pay” for their inability to plan correctly, and you can’t afford to accept that. Figure out a way to train your guests to roll the way you want them to and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with this. Tip #3 Take time off for yourself every day. It’s your life, you get to decide how you will live it. Devise a schedule for yourself that allows you at least 2 hours a day relaxing or doing something away from the business, that re-charges your batteries, so that when you open the door to your guests at check in time, you look and feel amazing being 100% present for them and ready to deliver your unique experience. And if you’re still feeling burned out, then you could be at the end of your B&B life, which we’ll talk about in another video. If you’d like to find out more about how to free up even more of your time by having a systemized business that runs on your terms, and makes you more money, with less stress then register for my next Masterclass by clicking on the link below. And if you liked this video, and you want to be notified when I post the next one, then click the red Subscribe button and I’ll see you again soon.