bed and breakfast

I´m thinking on buying a property in Hondon de los Frailes (Alicante-Spain) in order to built a small hotel/B&B with 4 to 6 bedrooms.

Guests would be mainly people visiting relatives or friends in the area. In some cases relatives could have no rooms available in their house in other cases people could prefer be more independents.

What do you think about the possibilities of this idea ¿Have you miss this type of accomodation the past?.

Thank you for your help: Pedro

jojojojojo

I suspect its been done to death! I know of a couple of people who run B&Bs and altho they're just about staying afloat its not easy.

I dont know what rules or regulations need to be in place, but do check before you start that its possible

Jo xxx

amideislas

I'd only do it if you can afford to keep the place without bookings AND if there is some reason for tourists to book it.

Sorry, I don't know where Hondon de los Frailes is, but unless there is some thriving tourist demand in the area your chances are limited (nice beaches nearby? Tourist attractions?).

Here in Mallorca, the B&B business is very good, but only because it's a well-known, well-marketed, and desirable tourist destination.

There are many popular sites for listing your BnB, but I think the one with the most traffic at the moment is airBnB.com. 9flats.com generates a lot of traffic, too (especially in germany).

The great thing about both of the above is that they don't charge a cent until something is booked, and airBnb only charges 6%!

Do your homework!

Good luck!

missile

IMHO, the Hondons are too remote and there is little there that be of interest to most visitors. There are quite strict rules in Spain.
Do you have any experience of running a B&B? You would need to work very hard to make it work.

Rosemary

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I guess that you are a Spanish gentleman seeking to find out whether opening a B & B would be a good business venture.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

bed and breakfast

Thanks everybody for your cooperation.
Hondón de los Frailes is a small village, 50km south of Alicante. Many expats from Britain and other european countries are residents in the area.

mikelincs

I wish you luck, but PLEASE do your homework first, here are likely to be a lot of pitfalls and licenses needed, there was ISTR, a thread where this was discussed a while ago.

missile

I know the village well. It has a small population and not many are Brits. A lovely rural retreat. There are many villages in the Hondons, may I ask what attracted you to that particular one?

It would be difficult for your guests to get to, unless they have a car ..... and sat nav!

http://www.hondon.co.uk/hondon-valley.shtml

bed and breakfast

I´ve been looking for properties in the area and Hondón de los Frailes seems to be in a central geographical position close to la Romana, Pinoso, La Algueña, Hondón de las Nieves etc. And...... my fiancé works in Elche.

As you know the area, what do you think about the guests I consider could be interested in the B&B: people visiting family or/and friends?. For this people to get to would be easier.

The web about Hondón is very interesting, thank you again

Domino

It sounds like an idea - just not sure it is a sound idea


You are going to have this built - so I trust it will be with existing funds rather than a mortgage. If the idea is slow or doesnt take off then you won't be struggling for income to pay the mortgage.

Suggest you look at your business plan and SWOT very carefully - what are you going to be offering to the locals as well as the incomers.? Can the locals cope with the incomers.? What are you offering that will be the big magnet to get people travelling to an out of the way place.?

Can you get any funding from the Tourismo office for the local area.? What long term help and support can they offer you - such as inclusion in leaflets etc etc (remember these will be going to print early in the year so if not in time you may be without a slot for a year - can the business afford that?)

Have you started talking to the local Ayunmiento about licencing - not just alcohol but also food, accommodation etc etc

Do your plans include for disabled access and facilities.? Spain is way behind the UK on this, but catching up and you need to ensure you are future-proofed.

On the bad side, we had a couple buy 2 houses here, spent 2 years turning into a small hotel - they only traded for 18m, split up, their place is in care and maintenance, the business is up for sale, if it ever was a business.

good luck

rafikiphoto

I'm certain that there will be licenses needed and the house will almost certainly need to comply with some sort of fire/safety/health regulations. However, that is not necessarily a problem. As others have said it will depend upon guests coming over your doorstep.

If I was going to consider a business like this I would go to the area, spend a lot of time there talking to people, locals and expats, doing my market research. Look for tourist statistics for the locality if available. Get to know these residents to find out if they really do require your service! How many positives, how many negatives? Estimate the number of residents in your target area and how many family/relatives visit... and so on. If there are visitors centres in the area talk to the assistants there to find out who are their main visitors and where they stay at the moment.

You will also need to check out competing accommodation. Location, quality, room rates, facilities, how busy are they etc. etc.

You have to know all about your target market before you can make any assumptions about viability of your project.

Good luck.

Domino

I don't want to be a wet blanket, ideas come, ideas go, the mind has to stretch out into things that sometimes the wallet cannot afford.

My BIL wanted to start his own business meeting a perceived hole in the market for a small van delivery business, multi-drop and door to door. He discussed with a number of business people he knew who had been complaining about a lack in the market that was effecting their businesses.
On the back of this he started the business and in 3 years only got 2 deliveries out of one of the businesses.
The market changed, more people entering the Man With Van market from redundancy, some with cash in pocket to buy business for the first 6 months, the customers got fewer and fewer

Promises are easy to make, but reality is a hard thing when you have the fuel bill to pay and new clothes for the 3 girls needed.

He should have paid off the mortgage 10 years ago, due to remortgaging now has a further 5 years more to pay. Fought hard to stay out of bankruptcy but still has the house, the family, and works nights on night trunking HGV's.

.

rafikiphoto

Yes, these things happen but it's wise to check out your market beforehand whatever happens afterwards. It's unwise to go into any business just because one feels like it.

missile

There are two very nice established businesses providing good food and quality accommodation i.e. Hotel La Finca and Hostal Camarina.

Most of the people I know want their family / friends to stay with them. I would suggest many others would prefer to stay in larger towns.
e.g. AS Express in Elche @ £29 per night, or 3 star, in Guardamar @ £32, Torre overlooking the beach @ £52.61, 4 star in Orihuela @ £58.71 room rate / £71.52 B&B.

Tourist traffic is way down and many established businesses are slashing prices to fill their rooms. Would you be able to be able to compete?

It will not be easy money, but some do succeed. I would suggest you look for an opportunity to work in the trade before rent / buy.

paintermujer

Ive visited the frailes a few times in the past only because bar pepin I think it is called does fab sunday roasts.Apart from that.....nothing there.