Updated : Mar 17, 2025
If you want to turn your home or an old family home into a bed and breakfast (B&B), you must understand how to run a bed and breakfast on Airbnb.
Maybe you’ve been inspired by the charm of Lorelai, and Sookie’s Dragonfly Inn has sparked your interest.
Perhaps you’ve just realised that your spare room could make you money instead of collecting dust.
Whatever your motivation, running a B&B is a fantastic way to share your space, meet interesting people, and earn some extra income.
But before you start baking scones and folding towels into swans (yes, that’s a thing), let’s walk through how to run a bed and breakfast.
We’ll take you through setting the space to pricing it just right to maximise revenue.
Step 1: Understand What Is a Bed and Breakfast
It’s not just a place to crash for the night. A B&B is an experience. Think of it as the cosy, personal alternative to a hotel. An excellent B&B feels like staying at a friend’s house – if your friend has impeccable taste, a knack for hospitality, and a killer pancake recipe.
Take inspiration from Gilmore Girls’ Dragonfly Inn on how to run a bed and breakfast. Lorelai and Sookie created a space that was quirky, welcoming, and full of personality.
Step 2: Prep Your Space for Guests
Before you list your B&B on Airbnb, you need to get your space guest-ready.
This isn’t just about cleaning up (though that’s crucial). It is about creating an inviting atmosphere that makes people say, “Wow, I want to stay here!”
1. Declutter and Deep Clean
No one wants to stay in a room that looks like it is auditioning for Hoarders. You should clear all your personal items, organise the closets, and thoroughly deep-clean everything!
Think of it as Monica (from Friends!) preparing her house for a visit from her judging mother. But the stakes are way too high for you here.
2. Invest in Comfortable Things
Your bed is the show’s star! Do not skimp on quality; splurge on soft sheets, fluffy pillows, and a mattress that doesn’t feel like a sack of potatoes. You should also consider adding throw blankets on the sofas, blackout curtains, and a bedside lamp for reading.
3. Create a Breakfast Nook
Breakfast is the other half of the deal. People expect you to roll out all the shots for breakfast.
Set up a dedicated meal space for a fantastic breakfast with all the required items. Make it cute and aesthetically pleasing. A small table with fresh flowers and a coffee station will also do. If you feel extra, add a chalkboard menu, and you will feel like you’re running your own Central Perk.
4. Make It Personal
Guests love the little details! A stack of local guidebooks from different eras, a basket of toiletries, or a handwritten welcome letter – these small gestures can turn a good stay into a great one!
You should also consider opting for a particular theme to run through the B&B. Pop-culture features dominate your decor, or you only have vintage furniture.
Step 3: Take Stunning Photos
Let’s be honest: no one will book your stay if you have a blurry photo as your cover photo. Your listing photos are your first impression, so you must make them count!
1. Use Natural Light
Open the curtains and let the light in! Natural lighting always makes the space look bigger, brighter, and more inviting. If you do not have natural lighting, use as much artificial lighting as possible to ensure that everything in the room is strategically placed.
2. Highlight Key Features
Show off your best features – a cosy reading nook, garden view, floor-length windows, and breakfast spread that looks like it was on the Food Network. Make all of these stand out.
Step 4: Write a Killer Listing Description
Your photos might grab your guests’ attention, but your description seals the deal!
This is where you sell your B&B and show off your personality.
1. Start With a Hook
Think of your opening line as the trailer for a blockbuster movie. For example: “Welcome to Maplewood Manor, where cosy meets charm, and every morning starts with homemade waffles! 🧇”
2. Be Specific
Don’t just say your B&B is “comfortable”. Describe what makes it comfortable: Is it a clawfoot tub? Fireplace? Cosy towels? Reading chairs? Or something else?
If it is “special”, why is it so? Is it that you’re a block away from the best pizza in town? Or did someone famous stay in your property?
The details matter – this will be the difference between you and your competitor.
3. Set Expectations
Be clear about what your guests should expect in your property. Do you serve a full breakfast, or is it more of a continental spread? Are there shared spaces? If yes, what is allowed in those spaces? Is your B&B kid-friendly? Or are you more welcome to couples?
Transparency in the amenities you provide and the condition of your property will build trust and get your great reviews!
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Step 5: Price it Right
Pricing your B&B is difficult. If you charge a lot, you will scare off your guests. If you charge too little, you will lose out on the money you could make.
Knowing how to price your B&B is as important as listing your property.
1. Research the Competition
Remember to check out the competition. Learn about the charges and offerings they charge for their services.
Research and determine the cost of your property. Don’t be intimidated to stand out by showcasing your unique property.
2. Factor in Extras
In case you’re offering perks such as airport drop-offs, sightseeing trips and hearty breakfasts at the same time during your pricing, all of these must be included.
3. Adjust for Demand
This is where tools like PriceLabs come in handy. PriceLabs leverages hyper-local data to price your property based on demand, seasonality, and local events. It takes the guesswork out of pricing and maximizes your revenue without scaring off guests with high pricing.
How can PriceLabs help B&B hosts like you?
PriceLabs shall help you with optimizing revenue to maximize occupancy via hyper-local data. Here’s everything PriceLabs can do to ensure you do not lose money.
1. Smart Dynamic Pricing
It applies AI-driven dynamic pricing to set up rates depending on demand, seasonality, local events, and competitor pricing. PriceLabs’ breakthrough hyper-local data-driven algorithm will ensure you get the best price for your B&B that everybody loves!
You can also set personalized pricing rules, such as minimum and maximum rates, last-minute discounts, and length-of-stay adjustments to ensure that you capitalize on every market opportunity.
With PriceLabs, you can also automate price updates across multiple booking platforms (e.g. Airbnb, Vrbo, etc) without manual intervention. This way, you will save time while ensuring consistent revenue.
You can also identify high-demand periods, such as holidays or local festivals, and automatically adjust prices according to demand patterns to maximize your revenue.
2. Market Data and Insights
PriceLabs’ Market Dashboards are automated, personalized tools for short-term and mid-term rental operators. It provides actionable insights into market trends and property performance metrics.
It has access to Vrbo and Airbnb listing-level data, two years of historical data, and one year of projects. You can track your KPIs like revenue, pricing trends, occupancy rates, and market demand.
You are competing not only with other B&Bs but also with Airbnbs and hotels.
Once you’ve done your research on how to run a bed and breakfast, you will have several questions:
- What’s the average local price?
- How do your prices and occupancy compare to competitors?
- Which dates get booked most?
- Do local listings raise prices for peak demand?
The Neighborhood Data can help you answer the above and understand your neighborhood’s performance!
Final Thoughts: Embrace the Adventure and Be a Great Host
Learning how to run a bed and breakfast will have its ups and downs, hilarious stories from your guests, and probably a few burnt pancakes! 🥞
If you approach B&Bing with passion and the right sense of humor, you will meet amazing folks worldwide while making money.
So, perfect your skills and start welcoming your guests into your home.
Who knows? You might become the next Lorelai Gilmore of the B&B world.
And, tools like PriceLabs can help you maximize revenue while optimizing your occupancy.
