Buying a hotel in blackpool...
Discussion
As many as your imagination allows?
Simply take a leaf out of this guy's book: http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/10/youll-never-believe-...
See also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570386/Pi...
Kind of like a hotelier's Detroit.
Simply take a leaf out of this guy's book: http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/10/youll-never-believe-...
See also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570386/Pi...
Kind of like a hotelier's Detroit.
I grew up on the same road as the hotel in the first post-our family home was less than a minutes walk away,and back in the 70's my parents were friends with the (then) owners and used to pop in for a drink quite regularly.It was a good business then and a nice hotel-the owner had a lovely Jag XJS.
Funnily enough Eric the hotel that fined for poor reviews is located just across the road too.
There are a lot of hotels nearby including seafront ones that are boarded up including the Warwick,which somebody offered to buy in the late 80's for over £2 million!The area itself isn't too bad,it's between the Pleasure Beach and St Annes.Im a bit biased because I grew up there but it's one of the nicer areas in Blackpool IMO.
As Tonker rightly states,Blackpool is a dying town and in today's world where you can stay in a Premier Inn/Travelodge type place for £40 per night then these old hotels with a tired layout/small rooms and poor facilities are really up against it.To make any kind of business with a hotel of this size you have to be cheap cheap cheap and you can guess the kind of clientele you get at that level.
Very few hotels in Blackpool make anything more than a basic wage for a lot of hard work for their owners.There are so many for sale by the local estate agents.
The advice given earlier about buying a smaller place in a better area with higher price per room per night and better clientele is the way to go in my view.
Funnily enough Eric the hotel that fined for poor reviews is located just across the road too.
There are a lot of hotels nearby including seafront ones that are boarded up including the Warwick,which somebody offered to buy in the late 80's for over £2 million!The area itself isn't too bad,it's between the Pleasure Beach and St Annes.Im a bit biased because I grew up there but it's one of the nicer areas in Blackpool IMO.
As Tonker rightly states,Blackpool is a dying town and in today's world where you can stay in a Premier Inn/Travelodge type place for £40 per night then these old hotels with a tired layout/small rooms and poor facilities are really up against it.To make any kind of business with a hotel of this size you have to be cheap cheap cheap and you can guess the kind of clientele you get at that level.
Very few hotels in Blackpool make anything more than a basic wage for a lot of hard work for their owners.There are so many for sale by the local estate agents.
The advice given earlier about buying a smaller place in a better area with higher price per room per night and better clientele is the way to go in my view.
My old man has been doing this the last ten years in Farnborough. Nearly always full, good reviews, makes a decent but of cash from it. It looks ridiculously easy. I can't believe more people don't do it. As he says, hire people to do the donkey work and make sure the place is modern and clean and you offer a decent breakfast and it really doesn't look like much beyond that to me.
D1on said:
I know Blackpool gets a reputation but it is still a very popular seaside town even through October to November because of the illuminations
What about the other ten months of the year?Most people I know spend an hour driving their kids through the (to be fair, excellent lights) and then get the hell out.......
Wacky Racer said:
What about the other ten months of the year?
Most people I know spend an hour driving their kids through the (to be fair, excellent lights) and then get the hell out.......
Looks quite busy in july...Most people I know spend an hour driving their kids through the (to be fair, excellent lights) and then get the hell out.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCwDqtVoudg
It does look quite temping however a quick look at the pics in the OP shows rooms like
The others aren't much better.
You can invest your heart and soul into providing a great service, good food and spotless rooms. You can invest in updating the decor but you're not going to be able to do anything about the size of those rooms and as such the hotel will never be able to charge much beyond bugger all and by the looks of things that's a pretty congested market in Blackpool.
I suspect that's the fundamental flaw with the really cheap places like this. If you're thinking of buying into a dying market then you need to at least have one of the better properties to stand any chance.
The others aren't much better.
You can invest your heart and soul into providing a great service, good food and spotless rooms. You can invest in updating the decor but you're not going to be able to do anything about the size of those rooms and as such the hotel will never be able to charge much beyond bugger all and by the looks of things that's a pretty congested market in Blackpool.
I suspect that's the fundamental flaw with the really cheap places like this. If you're thinking of buying into a dying market then you need to at least have one of the better properties to stand any chance.
Edited by rpguk on Monday 22 December 17:50
If you want to earn a mint renting tiny, badly decorated rooms in poor condition to a captive audience for £>100/night, buy a hotel or B&B in Aberdeen as it's a licence to print money. There's even a sizable local population of EU immigrants who will work for NMW to do the boring stuff like cleaning, changing beds and cooking fried breakfasts.
lets just say its a love it or hate it place
I have a hotel in Blackpool and have had it for the last 10 years
it has 10 letting rooms all on suite 3 private accommodation and 2 spair in the loft... you will need them because everyone (freinds) will want /expect a free weekend
just a few things
buy over ten bedrooms you will need staff both my brothers did this and it wasent worth the chew by the time you pay staff your not making much more money IMO
yes you can make good money
its not as hard as everybody thinks
not as much trouble as everyone thinks, i used to do stag,s hens, rugby lads, gays, lesbians, 18th partys, basically any paying groups, up to 29 paying people
only ever phoned the police once and that was for a couple (man and woman) fighting in the bedroom, police were there in 2 mins flat and kicked them both out
you wont get £40 per person per night unless you have top class rooms.. i haven't.. and im the first to admit it, its really clean really tidy, a good service and a nice big breakfast, I get £25 PP on a weekend £20 weekdays
this for me gives a decent balance
the people who run it now (i lease it out) only do familys and are doing well and love it
anything you want to know just ask
I have a hotel in Blackpool and have had it for the last 10 years
it has 10 letting rooms all on suite 3 private accommodation and 2 spair in the loft... you will need them because everyone (freinds) will want /expect a free weekend
just a few things
buy over ten bedrooms you will need staff both my brothers did this and it wasent worth the chew by the time you pay staff your not making much more money IMO
yes you can make good money
its not as hard as everybody thinks
not as much trouble as everyone thinks, i used to do stag,s hens, rugby lads, gays, lesbians, 18th partys, basically any paying groups, up to 29 paying people
only ever phoned the police once and that was for a couple (man and woman) fighting in the bedroom, police were there in 2 mins flat and kicked them both out
you wont get £40 per person per night unless you have top class rooms.. i haven't.. and im the first to admit it, its really clean really tidy, a good service and a nice big breakfast, I get £25 PP on a weekend £20 weekdays
this for me gives a decent balance
the people who run it now (i lease it out) only do familys and are doing well and love it
anything you want to know just ask
just had a look at that one there on the first link, yeah its a bit shabby and not very modern at all really
south shore can be nicer place to live, mines in the middle i find it really good to rent because most people will want to visit the south shore (pleasure beach) and the center (tower and town pubs/shopping)
south shore can be nicer place to live, mines in the middle i find it really good to rent because most people will want to visit the south shore (pleasure beach) and the center (tower and town pubs/shopping)
D1on said:
Wacky Racer said:
What about the other ten months of the year?
Most people I know spend an hour driving their kids through the (to be fair, excellent lights) and then get the hell out.......
Looks quite busy in july...Most people I know spend an hour driving their kids through the (to be fair, excellent lights) and then get the hell out.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCwDqtVoudg
I'm sure there is a reasonable living to be made, but it can't be easy when you are competing with a week in Spain or Malta for 300 quid.
You get people who have never been abroad in there life for whatever reason
we had people who come 4 times a year.. every year
its not and never will be like the hay day of the 60s 70s when hundreds of people used to sleep on the piers because there wasn't a bed left in the town or like the bloke a few doors from me had bunk beds made in two sheds out the back to rent out
there's a lot rundown and shutting down but they are the people who have never updated anything or have hit there own bar ...this happens a lot
there are hundreds of hotels for sale but if you think about it there are thousands running and making money
we had people who come 4 times a year.. every year
its not and never will be like the hay day of the 60s 70s when hundreds of people used to sleep on the piers because there wasn't a bed left in the town or like the bloke a few doors from me had bunk beds made in two sheds out the back to rent out
there's a lot rundown and shutting down but they are the people who have never updated anything or have hit there own bar ...this happens a lot
there are hundreds of hotels for sale but if you think about it there are thousands running and making money
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