A Guest House Business Plan and Design
If you make a visit to Owerri, the capital of Imo state in Nigeria during weekdays, you will be amazed at the dotting the landscape there. Owerri, of course, is not even among the top ten cities in Nigeria as the likes of Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, etc. are there to compete with.
So, what am I trying to say? guest house and accommodation business is a lucrative business thriving in urban cities, and there is no doubt about that. I have made two important comments in one sentence. That is, (1) the business is lucrative and location and (2) location matters.
Anyway, my business here is to give you a blueprint on how to start and run a guesthouse business in Nigeria successfully.
- Type/Category of Guest house Business
There are many kinds of guesthouses. Some of them include:
- Bed and Breakfast guest houses: Bed and breakfast guest houses often have between 20-30 rooms. They are typically individuals’ homes which have been converted into guest houses. These guest houses are less expensive and offer restricted services. They are normally run directly by their owners who likewise serves breakfast to the guests.
- Budget Guest houses: Budget guest houses offer modest guest house business services to guests with restricted services.
- Resort Guest houses: Resort guest houses often have recreational offices such as fairway, a shoreline or an island where guests which guests can utilize during a vacation
- Airport Guest houses: Airport guest houses are designed for travellers. They provide majorly night services for travellers to pass the night and are typically found around airports.
- Suite Guest houses: Suite guest houses give guest rooms that additionally have a joined front room and a kitchen where guests can cook their meals.
- Business Guest houses: these kinds of guesthouses offer daily newspapers, internet access, business services and other kinds of value added services to guests.
Guesthouses and guest house businesses come in different shades and size. So, you must decide on time on:
- The Kind of services you wish to render;
- Location of the guest house;
- Size of the guest house;
- The quantities of rooms accessible.
2. Design a creative Business Plan
The hospitality industry in Nigeria and elsewhere is extremely aggressive with different guest houses springing up every year. It is improper to simply begin a guest house, without a proper business plan. You ought to think of an idea that would make your guest house exceptional and wonderful with the end goal that when guests visit, they can hardly wait to relate the experience to their companions and seize a chance to visit once more.
You can offer them complimentary breakfast, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, exercise centre, rub administrations, valet stopping, and web administrations. You can even offer them alternatives of changing their rooms following one night to appreciate the beauty of variety in the rooms you have. Your guest house building ought to likewise be developed in light of warmth and tranquillity.
3. Conduct a Proper Feasibility Study
A guesthouse business is not something you can simply race into without considering what is already on the ground elsewhere. It is essential to properly conduct a feasibility study of the region where you intend to site your guest house.
A good feasibility study would help you to decide whether it is a beneficial business and how productive the business would be. It would likewise help you locate the most appropriate area for your guest house.
4. Decide your Ownership Structure
Guest house business requires a colossal capital expense; consequently, you may need to get some investors or business partners to fund and run the business. It is imperative that you oversee the overall administrative structure of your business before you begin. Would you like to be the sole proprietor of your business? Or, then again would you rather like to run it as an association with others? These are pertinent questions you need to lay to rest carefully before you set out to start a guest house.
5. How Do you want to start?
One prevalent method for beginning a guest house business is to purchase an already existing guest house or inherit a guest house business. In the circumstance that you do not want to buy a guesthouse or inherit a guesthouse business, you would have to build your guest house by yourself from the scratch.
6. Draw Up a good business plan
At this stage, you ought to have your professionally arranged business plan in place because this is the thing that you would show to the bank or potential business partners or investors. Your business plan ought to be professionally arranged and incorporate all the important data and information that would demonstrate how reasonable the business is.
An inadequately arranged business plan may discourage your intending investors from patronizing your business. So, it is important that you put enough work into setting up your business plan or simply hire somebody to set it up for you.
7. Secure Enough Capital
You will most likely be unable to attempt such a massive venture as this without adequate funds. From observations, most times your savings alone may not be enough. As such, you may need to approach your bank for a bank loan or search for business partners and/or investors who would help kick start and run the business via adequate funding.
8. Register Your Business, Get A Business Name.
In choosing a guesthouse business name, try as much as possible to keep it short and striking. You may use words such as Exquisite, Delight, Deluxe, Luxury, Platinum, and Classic – are great in guest house names. Choose your guest house business name carefully.
Once this is done, proceed to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria with your preferred business name and get it registered with the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. if the name you’ve picked isn’t yet registered by another person, it will be registered for you at the CAC. N30,000 would be sufficient for that.
9. Pick a Nice Location
This doesn’t need to be fascinating. As a matter of fact, a suitable, befitting spot in your area is ok. However, let it be in a place that is not difficult to locate. If it can be near the road or on the street, it is very much recommended. The cost here would be a function of location.
10. Staff enrollment
If you have never worked in a guesthouse or in the event that you have definitely no clue about how to run a guesthouse, you ought to employ the service of a veteran in the business with years’ experience to maintain the business for you. This is necessary so that your lack of proficiency in the business will not lead to business loss and failure.
You would likewise need to enrol other supporting staff. It is critical to hold meetings and prepare your staff enough. Your staff must be obliging and considerate to clients and they should be individuals that are continually eager to render necessary assistance and take care of issues with eagerness and enthusiasm.
Lastly, understand that today, Guesthouses have gone past only a bed and bedding for sex. It’s rather a place for unwinding, solace, and a home away from home. Get this part of your guest house business right from the start and then, see your business rise to the top in no time.
Do have a nice day and check out these follow-up articles before you go. Thank you.
