Tips for starting a bed & breakfast

Number of B&Bs growing

The number of bed & breakfasts in the Netherlands has grown significantly over the past 5 years. On 1 January 2024, there were 3,243 B&Bs in the KVK Business Register.

Can you start a B&B just like that?

Normally, your house only has the function 'living'. But your house can get the additional function 'providing accommodation' if you start a bed & breakfast. The municipality determines whether you are allowed to rent out rooms. You usually have to apply for a permit.

The rules may differ per municipality. Sometimes there is a maximum number of beds or rooms you may offer. Some municipalities also require a common room for guests. Or your rooms may not exceed a certain number of square metres. You can often find what rules apply on your municipality's website. Also check the environment plan.

Register at KVK

If you are an entrepreneur, you must register with the Chamber of Commerce KVK. Check whether you meet the entrepreneurial criteria. Municipalities often only grant permission to B&Bs that are registered with the KVK. They also call this business operation.

Permits and requirements for bed & breakfasts

If you start a B&B, you may have to deal with various requirements and permits. Think of a permit to renovate or permit for fire safety. Do you serve breakfast? Then you must have a food hygiene plan (HACCP). In a visitor register you must keep track of who stays overnight in your B&B.

You can read all about permits and requirements for B&Bs on Business.gov.nl

Costs

Starting a business costs money. How much? That depends on many things:

• Will you start the B&B in the house where you live now, or will you have to buy a new, bigger house?
• Is it necessary to renovate? And if so, can you do it yourself or do you need to hire someone to do it?
• Will you furnish the rooms with second-hand stuff or buy everything new?

Apart from these start-up costs, take into account monthly costs, such as:

• Gas, water and light
• Cleaning
• Internet
• Products for breakfast
• Insurance
• Marketing

List all costs in a financial plan so you know how much money you need to get started and how much you will incur monthly.

Determine the room price

To make enough money from your B&B, it is important to set the right rate. In doing so, consider:

• how popular your location is
• Which facilities and services you offer
• how big the room is
• what your monthly costs are
• What other B&Bs in the area charge

Also consider how many nights a year the rooms will be occupied. No matter how popular your bed and breakfast is, you will not be fully booked 365 nights a year. And as the owner, you are not always available, due to illness or holidays, for example. Do you have someone who can replace you at those times, or is the B&B closed then?

Work-life balance

With a bed & breakfast, your guests stay in or near your home and that has more impact on your private life than most types of business. But you can separate work and private life in many ways. Create a separate entrance for your guests, for example. Or screen off part of the garden for them. That way, it is clear what your private space is.

Although you want to serve your guests as well as possible, you do not have to be available to them every moment of the day. Clearly state at what times and how you can be reached for questions and requests. Then it will not be a problem for your guests if, for example, you want to have dinner in the evening with your family, undisturbed.

Bookings and promotion

Once you have arranged all the permits and have set up your B&B, it is time for the first bookings. How will you manage them? You can create your own website and put a booking option on it. Or you can register with online platforms such as AirBnB, Booking.com or Bedandbreakfast.nl. In that case, you often pay a certain amount per booking to the platform.

To advertise your B&B on an online platform, you usually need a KVK number and VAT ID number. You get these when you register with KVK.

Foundation Bed & Breakfast Netherlands

You can also register with Foundation Bed & Breakfast Netherlands (in Dutch). This foundation wants to improve the quality and image of bed & breakfasts in the Netherlands. They do so using a system: after an inspection by the foundation, you receive one to 5 tulips, which indicate the quality of your B&B.

Cooperation

Another way to promote your bed & breakfast is to cooperate with the local tourist office, tourist attractions or restaurants in the neighbourhood. And try to connect with events in the region. You can also collaborate with other B&Bs. Think about advertising together or referring to each other in case it gets too busy.

Taxes for B&Bs

B&Bs and other businesses that offer overnight accommodation have to pay tourist tax. This is an amount per night or day for each tourist coming from outside the municipality. You file tourist tax returns with the municipality.

You also file a turnover tax (VAT) return. Bed and breakfast falls under the 9% VAT rate (in Dutch). Just like salaried employees, you file an annual income tax return. In doing so, you declare your profit.

Video series: 10 steps to owning your own business

The information in this article is specifically about starting a bed & breakfast. Would you like to know more about starting a business in general? Then watch the video series 10 Steps to Starting Your Own Business.