7 Things B&B Owners Will Never Agree On Running a bed and breakfast means making hundreds of tiny decisions — and discovering that not all B&B owners agree on how to do things. In this episode, Karen Thorne of Bed and Breakfast Academy takes a light-hearted look at seven topics that divide even the most experienced B&B owners. From toast tactics to baked beans, it’s a reminder that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to running a successful B&B. Karen shares personal stories fr...
Apr 27, 2025•19 min
Social Media for B&B Owners: It’s Not All About Direct Bookings Learn how to use social media as a tool to connect with guests, showcase your B&B’s personality, and build lasting relationships—without relying on it for direct bookings. B&B expert Karen Thorne of Bed and Breakfast Academy shares how social media can support your business while discussing the risks of over-reliance and what to do if you decide social media isn’t for you. In this episode, we discuss: Why social media is...
Jan 23, 2025•15 min
Real-Life Tales from Running a Bed and Breakfast (and What You Can Learn) In this festive episode, I share some of the funniest and most memorable moments from my 17 years of running an award-winning B&B in Shropshire. From spider mishaps to dog antics, and even a few guest mix-ups, this light-hearted look back at my time as a B&B owner is sure to bring a smile to your face. Whether you’re dreaming about starting a B&B, already running a bed and breakfast, or just curious about the p...
Dec 20, 2024•18 min
Behind the Scenes of Running a B&B with Kate O’Donovan | Bed and Breakfast Academy In this episode, I’m joined by Kate O’Donovan, owner of Maple Bank B&B in the stunning UK Lake District and a graduate of my B&B Academy course. Kate shares her journey from corporate life to running a thriving seven-room B&B and offers practical insights for aspiring and current B&B owners. Whether you're dreaming of starting your own B&B or looking for inspiration to improve your guest ex...
Nov 21, 2024•57 min
Choosing the Right Online Booking Platform for Your B&B | Bed and Breakfast Academy Join me as I chat with Heather Scott from the International Booking Engine Platform, Freetobook, about the key considerations when selecting an online booking platform for your bed and breakfast. Heather shares her wealth of experience as a former B&B owner and current account manager for Freetobook, offering practical insights for B&B owners at every stage. Key Topics Covered: Introduction: My backgr...
Sep 29, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Join me as I share my experience on creating a memorable welcome basket for your B&B guests. With over 17 years of experience running my own B&B and training hundreds of B&B owners since 2006, I provide practical tips and ideas to enhance your guest experience, ensuring they become loyal and repeat customers. Key Topics Covered: Introduction: My background and experience in the B&B industry. Transition from in-person to online training. Why a Welcome Basket? Importance of making ...
Jul 19, 2024•24 min
Welcome to the B&B Academy podcast. I'm Karen, the founder and owner of Bed and Breakfast Academy, helping aspiring and existing B&B owners to create a B&B lifestyle you'll love living with guests who become loyal fans and keep returning. Visit the Bed and Breakfast Academy Website for more information about the Online Course and Mini Workshop. In this episode, which is #9 in the Taking Control of your B&B Marketing 2024 series , I delve into the significance of understanding you...
Mar 14, 2024•19 min
Welcome to the B&B Academy podcast. I'm Karen, the founder and owner of Bed and Breakfast Academy, helping aspiring and existing B&B owners to create a B&B lifestyle you'll love living with guests who become loyal fans and keep returning. In today's episode, I share practical steps to take control of your B&B marketing in 2024. Learn more about how you can make more effective use of your website to get more direct bookings. Visit the Bed and Breakfast Academy Website for more inf...
Feb 05, 2024•20 min
Welcome to the B&B Academy podcast. I'm Karen, the founder and owner of Bed and Breakfast Academy, helping aspiring and existing B&B owners to create a B&B lifestyle you'll love living with guests who become loyal fans and keep returning. In today's episode, I share practical steps to take control of your B&B marketing in 2024. Learn more about how you can make more effective use of your website to get more direct bookings. Visit the Bed and Breakfast Academy Website for more inf...
Jan 26, 2024•28 min
For more information about Bed and Breakfast Academy visit the website here In this episode, Karen delves into the power of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for your B&B. Learn how a well-crafted FAQ page not only streamlines guest inquiries but becomes a marketing goldmine. From handling policy queries gracefully to boosting your online presence, FAQs are your secret weapon in 2024. Tune in for practical tips on turning FAQs into engaging blog posts and Instagram content....
Jan 18, 2024•15 min
Welcome to the B&B Academy podcast. I'm Karen, the founder and owner of Bed and Breakfast Academy, helping aspiring and existing B&B owners to create a B&B lifestyle you'll love living with guests who become loyal fans and keep returning. In today's episode, I share practical steps to take control of your B&B marketing in 2024. Learn more about using your "Smile File" to organise your B&B Marketing into content buckets. Visit the Bed and Breakfast Academy Website for more inf...
Jan 10, 2024•15 min
In this episode, Karen shares her insights on how to take control of your B&B marketing and increase direct bookings. She emphasizes the importance of adopting authentic marketing strategies that not only yield positive results but also bring joy to the process. Karen challenges the common perception that marketing is distasteful or spammy and offers a fresh perspective on how to market your business in an enjoyable and genuine way. One of the key strategies Karen discusses is the concept of...
Jan 05, 2024•14 min
What makes a good bed and breakfast? 10 tips for running a successful B&B When I was setting up my own bed and breakfast, my focus was very much on those added extras that would turn it into something special; the very expensive welsh blanket, the eggs benedict at breakfast and the huge brass bed to name just a few. And if you want to create a B&B that stands out from the competition, all of those are important. But before you start to think about any of the bells and whistles you have t...
Dec 01, 2023•19 min
In this podcast, I'm chatting about getting your B&B ready for the low season. If you're running a bed and breakfast in the Northern Hemisphere, chances are your business is slowing down for winter or maybe you're closing altogether until spring. Whether you're just getting fewer guests or taking a complete break, there are a few things to tackle to prep your B&B for the quieter times. First off, make sure to carve out some time for yourself—rest and recharge after a busy season. Next up...
Nov 10, 2023•16 min
When bed and breakfasts opened following the first Covid lockdown, many B&B owners, myself included, stopped offering the room tidy. Now Covid rules are being relaxed and life is starting to feel a bit more normal - in the UK at least. There have been a few discussions in my Facebook Group for Course Attendees about what happens to room tidies going forward. So I thought I'd use this podcast to discuss: What is a room tidy and how long does it take? What does a room tidy involve? When should...
Jul 06, 2023•22 min
If you’re a bed and breakfast owner looking to do more of your own business marketing and reducing your reliance on the online travel agencies, then reels can be a really effective way to showcase your business. In this blog post, I’m going to give you 10 creative ideas for using reels to promote your B&B, that you can create and post quickly, so that you can get on with the fun part of the business such as cooking breakfasts and welcoming guests.
Apr 21, 2023•17 min
It’s that time of year when many of us are thinking about New Year's resolutions and personal goals. But it’s also important to take some time out to reflect on and set goals for our business too. When I was running my B&B, I was guilty of having a wishlist in my head of things I'd like to happen for my business, without actually getting my goals down on paper and figuring out what I needed to do to make them happen. But by setting goals, writing them down and deciding what actions you need ...
Jan 04, 2023•19 min
It’s Karen here, I’m the owner and founder of Bed and Breakfast Academy. I provide training and ongoing support to aspiring and existing bed and breakfast owners, helping them create a B&B lifestyle they’ll love living, with guests who become repeat fans! In this week’s podcast, I discuss the best fish finger sandwich I’ve ever had and what that has to do with getting recommendations and reviews for your B&B. I've included a few tips for increasing the number of recommendations and revie...
Oct 13, 2022•15 min
With increases in the cost of living; energy bills, fuel, food and supplier costs increasing, many bed and breakfast owners are bracing themselves for potentially difficult winter. Whilst we have little control over rising costs, now is the time to be thinking about taking positive action to help your business through this period. At our latest B&B community meeting, we talked through ideas, both for saving money by reducing costs and also ideas for generating more income. This podcast inclu...
Sep 08, 2022•30 min
How to stay fit as a bed and breakfast owner, especially as you get older. This week's podcast episodes is a bit of a step away from talking about B&Bs, but it really is relevant for bed and breakfast owners, especially those of us who are over 55, even if you're not a B & B owner and never intend to be one, I believe this episode will be of interest. In the B B course, I go through all of the skills experience and attributes that you need as a Bed and Breakfast owner. And one of the mos...
Aug 21, 2022•57 min
Buying or setting up a B&B is not a cheap business so you need to do your research very thoroughly to ensure you’re not about to make a very expensive mistake. If you’re having to borrow money to acquire your business, you will have to prove to the lender that it will be a viable business and that you can keep up on the loan repayments. Knowing who your customer is is key to running a successful business. Once you know who your customer is you can create and run a B&B experience that mat...
Jul 29, 2022•22 min
In this podcast I talk you through one of the most popular posts on my Bed and Breakfast Academy Blog - the Top 8 Mistakes I made when starting a bed and breakfast. You can read the blog post here >> Top 8 Mistakes I made when starting up my B&B I’ve set up 4 B&B rooms in the 16 years I’ve been running a B&B. And I'm not too proud to admit that I’ve made a fair number of mistakes along the way. Some of these mistakes have cost me time - an awful lot of time over the years - and...
Jun 30, 2022•19 min
I had a very enjoyable morning last week when I was joined by Alicia Storie, who is the founder of A Design Storie. She is an award winning eco conscious interior designer who specialises in designing short term lets and bed and breakfasts. Alicia creates eye catching interior renovations to make the accommodation stand out from the noise and she also runs her own bed and breakfast in Scotland. This gives her a unique perspective into what works well and what doesn't when designing a B&B. Yo...
Feb 23, 2022•54 min
As the spotlight is very much on the environment at the moment, I thought it might be useful to look at how to reduce food waste at your B&B. Find out more about the live mini workshop I'm running for aspiring B&B owners >>> First steps to owning a bed and breakfast >>> First steps to owning a B&B - workshop Check out all of the recipes I mentioned at >>> Bed and Breakfast Academy Recipes Read more on the B&B academy blog >>> Bed and Breakfast ...
Nov 11, 2021•21 min
It's difficult not to take it personally when you receive a negative review about your bed and breakfast. But you can turn a bad review into a great B&B marketing opportunity. In this episode I discuss ways of not taking it personally when you receive a review, turning it to you advantage and include my 10 steps to responding to a negative bed and breakfast review,
Oct 28, 2021•24 min
Running a bed and breakfast can be an amazing and fun lifestyle. But like any business it can also come with its own problems and it's not for everyone. In this episode I talk through the main pros and cons of running a B&B. Further blog posts you may find useful: Setting boundaries at your B&B How to respond to a negative review Online B&B Training Course...
Oct 12, 2021•28 min
In this week's episode I'm going to share the things you need to consider when deciding whether running a bed and breakfast is the right business for you. You'll find the free download I mentioned here 👉 get the free guide Find out more about the Online B&B Training here 👉 How to set up, run and market your own B&B It may be your dream business, but is running a bed and breakfast the right business for you? Owning a B&B might mean you can work from home, be your own boss, have more...
Sep 15, 2021•24 min
In this episode, I'm joined by Clare Wright, who runs the School House B&B in Shropshire with her husband Dave. Clare and I chat about setting a B&B up from scratch, why it's so important to your business to take time out and the importance in organisation and structure when marketing your B&B. You can find the School House online: On Facebook On Instagram Website...
Sep 01, 2021•40 min
In this week's podcast I discuss how I found inspiration for my own B&B, share a confession about staying at B&Bs and also let you in on something a bit personal about my weekend. You can listen here... or you can read the transcript below
Aug 16, 2021•26 min
Join Karen, owner of Bed and Breakfast Academy, and Claire Byrne, owner of The Corner, Broadstairs to find out what it's like to set up a brand new B&B. You can follow Clare on Instagram here --> The Corner Broadstairs Find out about the B&B Academy Training Course here --> Learn how to set up, run and market your own B&B If you've thinking about running a bed and breakfast, then this video is a much watch! Joining me on this ZOOM call is Claire Byrne who, along with her husban...
Aug 02, 2021•53 min
