Great Ideas for B&B Gift Shops
Looking for great ideas for B&B gift shops? Bed and breakfast owners can earn income not only from their room rates, but also other ways such as offering guest packages, additional services, and even having their own gift shops.
We will list excellent items for your bed and breakfast to sell. The following items have been sold at bed and breakfast gift shops:
- Apparel including hats, jackets, and T-shirts
- Aprons and bibs
- Artwork
- Books
- Calendars
- Candy, desserts, and gourmet chocolates
- Cards (greeting cards, postcards, or even playing cards)
- Coasters
- Coffee mugs
- Cookbooks
- Cooking tools
- Coolers
- Fashion accessories
- Glassware
- Jams
- Jewelry
- Pens
- Purses and tote bags
- Robes
- Sheets
- Sleepwear
- Soaps
- Spa products (for hair, skin, nails, etc.)
- Stationery and journals
- Stuffed animals
- Towels and blankets
- Umbrellas
Not all bed and breakfasts are big enough to have a room solely dedicated to displaying merchandise, but even having some items displayed in a common room on shelves or in a glass display case will work.
Just make sure that people will not be able to walk off with your merchandise without paying for it. Perhaps have it near the front desk where there is always someone on staff. Alternatively, have it in a room that can be locked at night.
Consider using the same vendors with whom you buy your linens and coffee mugs to provide you with merchandise you can, in turn, sell to your guests. Also, think about selling the work of talented people in your local community such as experienced artists and gourmet chocolatiers.
That gives your guests a reminder of what makes your local area so special and why they want to return. Having your logo on many of your items for sale will also give people an extra reminder of your inn (including your coffee mugs and apparel).
Some bed and breakfasts also sell their gift shop items online. This means people can purchase items after their visit (or even if they have not yet stayed your inn). Whether your gift shop is brick and mortar or virtual, we hope these great ideas for B&B gift shops prove useful to you!
Image by Marcus Berg of Unique Angles Photography
makes it clear that what really matters to consumers is their own self-interest. Business owners (including innkeepers) can use that knowledge to make their businesses (specifically bed and breakfasts) about the people they are trying to reach (potential guests).