Dr Jeff Cornwall

The Raw Prawn is this week’s host of COTC.

Linden Manor is a Nashville Bed and Breakfast located in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee. Linden Manor Bed & Breakfast is only blocks from Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities and Music Row. Catherine and Tom Favreau (Tom was class of 2003, Belmont MBA) established their business in a Victorian home that was originally built in 1893. Linden Manor B&B has been completely renovated and offers modern amenities.

Linden Manor Bed and Breakfast had been a dream of Catherine’s for thirteen years. Catherine was a trailing military wife of Tom, who was in the United State Coast Guard. Upon Catherine and Tom’s first B&B visit, Catherine fell in love with the B&B concept and announced to Tom the next morning that she, one day, would own her own B&B. Catherine and Tom were both business majors in college and often disused owning their own business. Tom and Catherine moved every two years with the Coast Guard and knew it was not feasible to own a B&B until retirement.
During those years, Tom and Catherine studied and researched the B&B industry. They attended conferences and seminars, as well as read B&B business journals and books on the subject. Tom was medically discharged from the Coast Guard earlier then expected and, when deciding what their further would be, there was no question what Catherine wanted to do. She had waited thirteen years for this opportunity and thus Linden Manor Bed and Breakfast was born.
One of the biggest challenges Catherine and Tom have faced with Linden Manor is the City of Nashville’s zoning regulation limiting operations to three guest rooms. Linden Manor has the demand to fill 5 to 7 rooms with an occupancy rate of 70% but because of zoning it is only allowed to operate three rooms, which limits revenues and profitability. It is unheard of in the B&B industry, according to the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (Paii), for a three room B&B to be profitable. Linden Manor is running profitably on three rooms, but it is a constant struggle.
Catherine and Tom could not have anticipated how 9-11 would change the B&B industry, which is now struggling with an insurance crisis. Linden Manor’s insurance rates have risen at a rate of 50% per year since 9-11. There is only one insurance company, known to the B&B community, which insures B&B’s. As a monopoly, this insurance company is able to charge inflated rates. The challenge, perhaps the largest challenge in six years of operation, was to find an alternative insurance source with a more competitive rate in order to control costs and remain profitable.
After months of research and many phone calls, Catherine was able to secure commercial B&B insurance from another company at a much more competitive rate. Catherine believes that this relief in insurance rates may be only short-term, and is very concerned about another increase in premiums next year.
Catherine understands that she must continue to change, proactively, as the industry evolves. Her most important goal is to work with the city to change the B&B overlay that limits operations to three guest rooms and see if they will increase the limit to five rooms. She is in the process of working with her council person on changing the overlay and has the cooperation and support from other B&B’s in the Nashville area.
Linden Manor shows us how small business owners must understand the macro forces that shape their industry, sometimes quite unpredictably and with very little warning. And even a small venture like Linden Manor can try to proactively have an impact on their environment, as seen by Catherine’s efforts to secure more affordable insurance and to change local regulations that have an adverse impact on their business.

“Gas Prices Rise in January: Higher gas prices could signal a tough year for small businesses dependent on transportation.”
So reads the headline today at Inc.com. It is sad to see Inc become yet one more reactionary liberal media outlet that provides no context to important stories like this one.
“High gas prices may signal a tough year for businesses dependent on transportation, and businesses dependent on drivers. Small businesses in tourist towns, for example, would suffer when gas prices spike, both because fewer drivers may visit, and because those who do would have less discretionary cash after paying for gas.”
Such hyperbole is a real shame from a source I used to find very informative and helpful for small businesses.
The truth is that gas prices have been cycling up and down over the last 12 months, as seen in this graph from a public site of AAA I found in less than two minutes of searching on the web.

Weekend Pundit is this week’s host of COTC.