Nearly two thirds of UK B&Bs and guest houses have experienced business disruption, according to a report from insurer Direct Line for Business.
Acording to the report the average cost to the business as a result of this disruption was £3,985, of which £3,276 was spent fixing the problems with a further £709 written off through loss of revenue.
The most common type of disruption faced by UK B&Bs and guest houses is as a result of visitors damaging a room, an issue which has affected almost half (45 per cent) of establishments surveyed. This is followed by water damage from burst pipes and broken or damaged boilers, both of which have affected a quarter (24 per cent) of B&B owners.
Business disruption is costing B&B businesses significant revenues, along with the cost of repairs there is the loss of earnings as rooms can be out of action for some time. The most expensive issue to deal with is water damage from flooding which costs approximately £28,000 to fix. This includes the cost of resolving the problem (£22,700) and lost revenues (£5,339) while the premises is out of action. The disruption caused by flooding can last an average of 70 days before it is resolved.
