Name, job title, company, and educational background
Hugo Hernandez grew up in Miami. He studied business and administration in school but fell into a job of building water features for the ultra-rich. Hugo did that for many years. Two years ago, Hugo and his wife moved to Lake Helen, FL to take over the bed & breakfast The Cabin on the Lake. He is now the sole owner of the business as his wife left him to work at a Ritz Carlton in North Carolina.
What Hugo does on a daily basis
When he was married, his wife ran the hospitality side of the B&B, and he worked on the maintenance. He preferred to stay in the background. But now he runs the entire business himself, including the construction. Currently he's building a spa area and a beer & wine bar in the back of the compound. He is doing that in between working with guests.
When I showed up for my one-night stay to relax and to interview him, he was in the back. I could hear construction going on. I had to ring the simple bell on the desk to alert him to my presence (when that didn't work, I texted him).
As the host, Hugo does everything at present. He changes out the bedding and cleans the rooms. He prepares the breakfast, and handles the check in. Hugo told me he hired someone to help with the front-of-house responsibilities as he really wants to focus on adding those amenities. Hugo also hires someone to come and do a deep clean on the rooms twice a month. So, he manages that. And he manages the reservation information posted on the various sites. He seems a busy guy with little down time.
Choosing this person
Hugo has a business that I'm interested in. I wanted to see how one couple, or one person now in this case, runs a business. Since I needed to get away for a day and since the location was close enough, I chose to experience the business and the person. The B&B has six rooms, is one house, and is small enough for this person to run. Again, this appeals to me greatly; if he were interested and if I had the cash I'd offer to buy the place.
We've studied independent lodging and have read more about how B&Bs work. We read about the technology that these folks can tap into, so I wanted to see how Hugo uses what's out there now for independent lodgers.
What I learned
I immersed myself in an independent lodging establishment for 24 hours. During my stay I felt the full operation of this kind of business. I watched Hugo do his thing and experienced his attention and his workings.
Hugo doesn't use any technology except for various booking sites. I feel he's too focused on the construction of the amenities to focus on the hospitality needs. Of course, that's his specialty. I saw him try to do both at once and felt a bit of distraction as he was in the middle of a project.
His breakfast amenity was lacking. He did cook me a waffle, but the rest of the options were sub-par.
To me, this experience helped me see the absolute need for high-quality guest experience. To do that, in the middle of construction, one really needs someone to be the host. Even with six rooms, that's 12 people that could be in the house. And those 12 people need all the attention.
That's my biggest takeaway: I must structure my business to make guest service the top priority. That's either done by one person while someone else is working in the back, or guest service comes first for the solo person doing everything.
Career fit with me
This experience reinforced my desire to eventually be in this space. I saw Hugo working on his own for himself and enjoying it. As I interacted with him, I pictured myself interacting with my guests. That scenario greatly pleased me.
I like to work alone, and I like to set my schedule. A bed and breakfast provides the opportunity to work for oneself and to work whenever.
My specialty is guest interaction; a bed & breakfast provides me, a solo entrepreneur, the chance to interact with up to 20 guests at once. I can handle that. I can take these people and help them have the best experience possible while staying with me. The most relaxing, the most meaningful, whatever the guests need.
There's nothing I need to modify in my personal career vision; at this state in my life and career I know exactly what I want. While I'm not doing full-time work in guest service, that industry is what I have my eyes squarely upon.
Still need to know
Hugo reminded me of a glaring hole in my skillset: construction & maintenance.
I know I can learn it and there's plenty of places to learn, but it is something I should focus on. At the moment my spouse handles most of the maintenance around our house, but he is not all that into it; I suspect if we were to work in a B&B, I'd have to do some of the maintenance.
Plan of action
My plan of action is to think through a business model of a bed & breakfast and make sure I have all the parts covered. I need to research exact details about how B&Bs run and compile documentation and strategies to handle all the parts. Guest service I have down. I currently run a software-development business, so I have some small-business experience, but I really need to nail down being accurate on the accounting side.
I have no specific timeline. I'm currently employed and am doing fine. "After Graduation" means little to me, to be honest, so I can't use that as a starting point. My career change will just happen when the right time happens. I can continue to do what I'm doing as I transition into running a B&B, so I'm not concerned.
In the meantime, I'm learning all I can about the technologies involved and the maintenance involved in running an independent lodger. I'm exploring current reservation sites and services. I'm also interested in building out my own independent-lodging service I use for myself.