Holidaying with my dog

If you want to run a business within the hospitality industry and are considering purchasing either a pub or a hotel, here are two factors which you should take into consideration before making your decision:

Set-up costs

Before making your choice, you should consider not only the costs involved in the purchasing of a hotel or pub but also the expenses you will incur when setting up either of these businesses.

Whether you buy a hotel or a pub, you will need to purchase things like insurance, permits, licenses and signage, all of which will cost a substantial amount of money.

However, generally speaking, a pub for sale will be less expensive to set up than a hotel, particularly if you manage to find a pub for sale which is already fully equipped with all of the basic items you will need to serve customers (such as bar taps, commercial refrigerators, etc).

It's also easier to keep your costs down when it comes to furnishings, as you can simply buy everything you need second-hand.

The same cannot be said for a hotel. Whilst you might be able to source second-hand tables and chairs for your dining area or used bed frames for your guest rooms, you will still need to buy brand new mattresses, bedding and towels for each of the hotel rooms, as using second-hand versions of these items could create hygiene issues.

If your hotel will include a dining service, you will also need to invest in costly kitchen equipment.

As such, if you want to keep your costs as low as possible at the beginning of your new business venture, it might be best to buy a pub, rather than a hotel.

The amount of customer interaction you prefer

If you will be heavily involved in the day-to-day running of your business, you will need to consider how much customer interaction you would prefer.

If you choose to buy a pub, you will probably find yourself continually interacting with your customers throughout the entire workday. As alcohol consumption can affect people's behaviour, these interactions could be challenging at times and may require a substantial amount of diplomacy and tact on your part. However, if you genuinely enjoy conversing with others and have excellent communication skills, a pub might be the right choice for you.

If you buy a hotel, you will probably only interact with each of your customers once or twice per day (when checking them in at the reception desk and if they approach you with a specific query). This type of hospitality business will provide you with a moderate amount of socialising but won't demand the same level of constant communication that running a pub would.