subject: Home Security When You Run a Bed and Breakfast [print this page] Home Security When You Run a Bed and Breakfast
Bed and breakfasts are wonderful ways to earn a living and can be a great way to meet interesting people. The nice thing about it is that no two days are alike and you are always surrounded by friendly people excited to get to know more about the town or city. By the same token, the drawback is that if you live in the bed and breakfast, you essentially are inviting strangers to stay in your home and must take some added home security precautions to ensure that you and your guests remain safe and secure at all times.
For starters, it is imperative that you install a home alarm system if you don't have one already. Depending on the size of your bed and breakfast and how many rooms you rent out, you may elect to only install the alarm in the part of the house that you live in, otherwise you would have to give the access code to everyone that stayed by you which would defeat the purpose of installing an alarm in the first place. You can take other security measures for your guests that include a 24 hour porter or guard that monitors who enters and exits and key only access to the front entrance. As long as you monitor who enters and exits the premises, you should be fine.
It may be a good idea to install a home security camera as well as they are relatively inexpensive and will be of great service to the guard or porter in charge of monitoring the entrance. At a glance, he will be able to detect any suspicious activity and report any unwarranted behavior to the police. Because you live on the premises as well, it is in your best interest that the perimeter is guarded and well looked after as your safety is directly at stake.
Because the nature of your profession involves inviting strangers into your home, it is important that you secure your valuables and belongings in a safe. Do not leave jewelry or expensive electronics lying in plain sight even if your home is set apart from the rooms that you rent. Your home security is intrinsically tied to how well you look after yourself and your guests so be sure to practice common sense as well as to not be too trusting of the people that stay by you, they are strangers after all. That doesn't mean that you should be weary of people or not take the time to get to know your guests and where they come from; that's part of the charm of a bed and breakfast. It just means that you should exercise a bit of caution and take all of the security measures that you can in order to ensure that you and your guests remain safe and secure wile on your property. Make sure that you ask your guests to post a review about their stay by you as that will generate more business.
