update March 25

More exciting installments in our quest to buy our dream house in Bunnik!

Tuesday March 24. In the daytime, I worked on the business plan, which is now posted in part on this blog, and complete with tables on our website. What a job! And that's just the first version, and without the attachments....

In the evening, I drove to Wageningen, to a sort of "open evening" at a health food store there called Buys & Ko. I've heard a lot about them and wanted to see it for myself. I was also hoping to see an old friend and colleague, Karl, who now works there... and I was in luck. Karl was there, and quite surprised to see me! (it isn't an easy drive from Utrecht, in the dark and rain... I'm impressed that he commuted every day for many months before finally moving to Wageningen.)

I asked Karl in particular about the "client card" being used at Buys & Ko. Approximately 300 clients signed up for this card a few years ago, when the store came up with this way to raise funds. Each client had to loan a minimum of 100 Euro to the store, interest-free. (150 for a family) They could loan more, but in practice almost everyone did the minimal loans of 100 or 150 Euro. Clients can ask for their loan back at any time, but until now only one person has done this. Each year, there is a renewal fee of 10 Euro to cover administration costs. In exchange for making these loans, the clients received a card that gives them 5% discount in the store, plus the right to participate in meetings to discuss developments in the store. Clients with these cards turn out to be very loyal shoppers -- when the weather is bad, regular customers stay away but the client card holders keep coming, to "their store." As a result, the store had dramatically improved sales figures since starting this service -- a nice extra benefit in addition to the interest-free loan of 30,000 plus Euro.

Karl also told about another store in the area that needed to raise money to pay for moving to a new location. They also turned to their customers for small, interest-free loans. Karl said they
needed 200,000 Euro but they could have raised 3 times that much. They had to tell people, no thanks, we don't need any more. His opinion is that there are plenty of people in the Netherlands, even in this economic climate, who want to do something worthwhile with their money. They aren't so concerned about making a profit, if they get a good feeling or some sort of social benefit from their investment.

But how could we use this idea with our fundraising plan? A card with a barcode and discount -- that's good for grocery stores but not for us. A gift certificate for 25 Euro, for every 500 loaned to us, would be a nice gesture (that's the equivalent of 5% interest, plus it brings us more customers) but it is probably not that interesting to our friends and family in America. I thought, what about organic cotton t-shirts with a copy of the old etching of Het Huis aan de Brug? I started to tell Paulus my idea that evening, but he stopped me -- HE had been thinking about what we could offer as a gift to people who help us with loans, and HIS idea was to use the etching of the house, on ceramic tiles. We laughed. It's crazy, we both work all day and when we get back together in the evening, the conversation always starts with "hey, I was thinking, what if we ...."

Wednesday March 25: I got up very early so I could go meet with Ellen Kok from Terecht Anders at 8 a.m. Ellen is another super-friendly person, who gave me an hour of her time and lots of useful information. Today she has sent an email with even more: documents on B&B rules and regulations, a power-point presentation with good tips on how to plan your remodeling and redecorating, a summary of some national research on B&B's... I'm still reading through it all. Great. My conclusions: I've lowered the prices on our two "luxury rooms" and my "best guess" for occupancy rate, to be safer, but it was good to hear that some B&B's in the area are as high as 85%. Plus that the whole group is friendly and cooperative. And that Terecht Anders is very busy with marketing and promoting, and membership is not expensive.

It was 9 o'clock and my next appointment was with Nellie and Victor, at 10:30, so I had an extra hour. I decided to go visit Samaya again. The same friendly receptionist was there as last time, and she invited me again to look around or take a walk outside. I decided to visit the garden, and one of their conference rooms that was not in use. Again, it was such a great experience. I can't explain it. Something about the place touches me so deeply -- I was actually crying, walking in the garden (luckily it was raining and no one else was outside.) The building is not very old, so I don't think that I am tuning into the emotions of previous tenants. And the tears weren't due to my own sadness or longing or whatever. I think it must be because of all the people who come there for their meditation classes and awareness workshops and such things. Cool, that the effect is so tangible. I wonder if that will keep happening every time I visit, or if the effect will wear off after a while.

At 10:30, I rang the doorbell at Dorpsstraat 1. I had another very nice visit with Victor and Nellie. They are really great people. I hope, if we don't manage to get it all together, that they find other good buyers for their house. I know they will be disappointed if they feel they have to sell to someone who doesn't appreciate the house as much as they do.

On this visit, I learned a few extra useful things for our plans, the most important being that we really need to talk to Peter de Wit. Peter is the restoration architect who did all the remodeling of the house for them when they moved in, plus the big restoration for the city back in 1980. He is an expert on the house, but also on Monument buildings in general and in particular on the subsidies that are available for Monument buildings. We have now made an appointment for Monday. (he's coming here! which means I need to clean up all the papers and maps and spreadsheets that are spread all over the livingroom...)

I need to say something about Netherlands and subsidies (although I will be able to say much more after Monday). I'm not an expert on this subject, but I know that Holland does it much better than the US. One of the reasons my mom is worried about this project is because she has been very active in historic preservation in Ithaca (and elsewhere.) In particular, there is a nice old building in Ithaca, called the Clinton House, which was scheduled to be torn down at one point in the 1960's. A group of people (Historic Ithaca) came together to save it. They borrowed money to make all the necessary repairs, and recovered the money later by renting out office space in the building. But they fell behind on the continued maintenance, and took out extra mortgages on the building to fund other restoration projects, and in the end it was a financial nightmare. Now the Clinton House is being sold to a developer. It's a pity.

The way it works in the Netherlands, if I understand correctly, is that someone can petition to get their building on the city Monument list or the national Monument list. There is a selection process, and it takes a while, but in the end if the building has historical or cultural or architectural value, it is accepted. Once on the list, it stays on the list, even if it is sold. There are some disadvantages to being on the list -- you aren't allowed to make certain changes that affect the "essence" of the building (for example, adding an elevator or a sunroom, hanging a modern plastic business sign on the outside, etc.) But the advantages of being on the list are many, especially if you get on the national Monument list. Then the government pays you to maintain the building. How much and how often is not clear to me yet, but apparently you can put together a "10-year maintenance plan" with a rotation of projects like exterior wall painting, new gutters, new lead/zink panels by the chimneys, etc., and get the plan approved, and those costs are covered. If you need to do a major renovation, there is also money for that. In our case, that isn't necessary because this house had a huge, million Euro renovation in 1980. All the walls have an extra wall built on the inside, with a space between the two walls, for insulation (resulting is lots of deep window sills, perfect for plants...) The roof is renewed and insulated. The electric and plumbing and everything are fine, also the emergency fire escape from the upstairs hall.

(update: I learned that the government used to actually pay monument owners for doing maintenance, but not any more. Now you get to deduct the costs, including the cost of your work hours, from your taxable income. Plus, for the maintenance of the building's exterior, you can apply for loans with very low interest -- around 1.5 %. So, it is still much better than living in an old house that isn't a registered monument.)

What is also interesting, this year, is that there is extra subsidy money available for improving energy efficiency (as part of an economic stimulus project from the government.) So we could apply to get a new, more energy efficient water heater (for central heating), for example, and custom made storm windows for the old ones that don't have them yet, and maybe even solar panels or a little windmill. I don't think there will be a subsidy for our new kitchen or bathroom, but who knows? Water-saving showers and automatic lights are good things... Or maybe someone will be impressed with the fact that we want to put in a handicapped-accessible toilet. Anyway, we wouldn't have to worry about outrageous maintenance costs (especially since Paulus can do most of the work himself.)

Another interesting new factoid: The Kromme Rijn river, which runs behind the house, is allowed to partially flood into a flat area each winter, just on the other side of the bridge. The flat area is set up with a mound in the middle, and benches, and lighting poles -- to make an outdoor skating rink! We saw it on our first visit, when it was still very cold. But later in the year, the water is drained away, and you are left with a big swampy area of ground -- a favorite resting spot for massive bird migrations in the spring! Cool! I went home and immediately added "birdwatchers" to our "target audience" list in the business plan.

Victor had some funny stories to share... Apparently, there is a group in Bunnik that likes to organize courses for the locals (I found their agenda already at the city hall -- lots of interesting things, like yoga and photography and music classes). They approached Victor when he first moved there and asked if he would be willing to give a course on restoring antiques. He said, sure, why not? Apparently that caused quite a disturbance in their offices -- lots of people were angry, because when they showed up on the first day to enroll for classes, Victor's course was already full! He ended up running 4 separate sections! He said the same thing about the local people as Michel said, from Bio Goed: lots of academic types, and a rather sleepy feeling in the town -- but very active when it comes to culture and music and so forth. I think this is a very good thing, in general of course, but in particular for our project.

I explained that Paulus wasn't with me because he was busy with a painting job -- in fact, he had painted all day Saturday and Sunday, because the weather was good. Victor said, it's a real advantage being handy with a big house, and Paulus would certainly get extra business in the area. Victor does the exterior painting himself mostly, and he has gotten several requests from passersby: "Can I have your business card, Mr. Painter? Do you have time for a project next month? My back wall needs painting..." Funny!

But the main reason I went by the house on Wednesday was to pick up some materials that Victor had collected for me -- some old postcards and books and articles about the house, including a small copy of an etching that was done of the house in the 1700's. Victor used the etching as part of the design on a wine bottle label (they make wine from the grapes in the garden.) I asked, could we use that etching as well, as part of a logo for the B&B? He said, why not? Copyrights expire after 50 years, and so the etching is public now. Cool. But the books and postcards were also very interesting. In fact, the cover illustration on a book about architecture in the area, is another etching of Het Huis aan de Brug! I'm going to make copies of everything, to use in our business plan, and take the originals back to Victor next week.

After our visit was over, I went back to the Shoemakers to talk to Geerke again. Again, such nice people! I discovered that she and her husband had just been written up in a book about Bunnik in 2008 (a sort of yearly report -- I later got myself a free copy at the City Hall.) Maybe we can get ourselves written about in the book for 2009? Or at least a line or two. The book mentioned a few events that happened at the antique business -- and of course there was a large picture of the house. I went around the corner to the local book store and looked for modern-day postcards of Bunnik -- and again, more than half of them included Het Huis aan de Brug! I'm going to scan a few and put them in the next blog entry.... It is just so amazing, to imagine living in an historic monument that people buy postcards of!

Until next time....

the business plan, in Dutch

This entry is long and in Dutch and maybe I should put it as a page on our website or something, because I don't think the tables are going to work... but at least it is on the internet now so I can point people to it (Dutch people, that is....) Feedback welcome! I haven't ever written a real business plan before, so maybe I left out important categories or something. For sure there are lots of spelling errors because Paulus hasn't checked it yet.... English version coming soon!

update: no, the tables didn't work. I've adjusted it and put it on our website now: www.innerfireworks.com/businessplan.html.... I'll leave the first part of the plan below (the description) but the financial stuff is getting deleted. It makes much more sense with the tables!

updateII: I've gotten so much good feedback that I've had to re-write just about everything, so really the part below is not worth reading, unless you are interested in the evolution of our ideas and thinking.... look for a more recent version in the april blogging section.

Huis aan de Brug, Bunnik

Beschrijving Onderneming:

Bed & breakfast en ontmoetingscentrum aan de Kromme Rijn. Biologisch, ecologisch, rustig en gastvrij.

Uitgebriede omschrijving: Rijksmonument in Bunnik aan de Dorpstraat 1: privé woning, B&B, praktijkruimte en ontmoetingsruimtes voor besloten activiteiten. 100% biologisch eten, eco-vriendelijke producten, groene stroom, e.d.

Begane grond: privé slaapkamer, privé keuken, privé badkamer met douche en toilet, privé eet/woonkamer, praktijkruimte/ontmoetingsruimte 5x5m, ontmoetingsruimte 4x8m, eetkamer/ontmoetingsruimte 4x4m, ingang/receptie, gemeenschappelijke entree hal met grote eettafel, receptie zaal 9x10m met twee toiletten en uitgang naar terras, cateringkeuken en spoelkeuken.

Verdieping: 4 B&B slaapkamers (twee met eigen toilet en douche); badkamer met douche, badkamer met ligbad, en toilet op de gang, bergruimte, gemeenschappelijke woonkamer annex kinderspeelruimte, grote zaal 11x10m.

Buiten: terras, tuin, loods met opbergruimte, fietsstalling, hot tub en sauna, half-open schuren als bescherming.

Mogelijk gebruik van ontmoetingsruimtes:

- concerten of repetities (koor, kamermuziek, akoestische gitaar, piano, e.d), optreden, tentoonstellingen, exposities
- muziek / kunst cursussen of lessen
- yogales, meditatie groepen, seminars en workshops, trainingen, intervisie, behandelingen
- pilates les, dans les, bewegings workshops
- recepties, diners voor besloten groepen, proeverijen, kooklessen (beneden grote zaal)
- bedrijfspresentaties, lezingen, seminars
- trouwerijen (boven grote zaal)
- wellness arrangement (behandelingen + eten + hot tub /sauna gebruik + overnachten)
- combinaties van boven (bijv: trouwerijen + receptie + overnachten, seminar + diner + overnachten, schilderlessen + wellness arrangement)

Aansluitende activiteiten:
- kanohuur, fietshuur (evt. ook mogelijk bij ons)
- wandelen (bijv. naar Fort Rhijnauwen, Amelisweerd, de Moestuin in Maarschalkerweerd), picknicken
- uitstapjes in Bunnik (bijv. naar de Wapen van Bunnik)
- feesten in Bunnik (bijv. bij Hofstede van Beesde)
- bezoeken van de sauna in Houten
- toeristische uitstapjes naar Odijk, Werkhoven, Wijk bij Duurstede
- allerlei mogelijkheden in Utrecht en Zeist


Doelgroepen:

- eco-toeristen, natuurliefhebbers, vogelspotters
- internationale toeristen
- gezondheids-bewuste mensen
- mensen die een cursus of conferentie volgen in de omgeving, bijv. bij Samaya, Amadorra, Universitair Medisch Centrum, e.d.
- mensen op zoek naar rust en de mogelijkheid voor een wellness arrangement
- mensen die lijden aan chronische ziekten zoals kanker, asthma, HIV, CVS, suikerziekte, voedingsallergieen, e.d.
- familieleden daarvan
- bedrijven en organisaties die bezig zijn met het milieu, duurzaam leven, gezondheid, kunst en cultuur, muziek, biologische en streek producten, e.d.

Er wordt niet gerookt in het huis en om het huis. Dieren in overleg.

Onderscheidend:

Als B&B, zijn we anders dan een hotel: we bieden een aparte en uniek omgeving aan, in een Rijksmonument naast een natuurgebied, met veel persoonlijke aandacht.

Als B&B in een Rijksmonument en naast een natuurgebied, zijn we al anders dan de gemiddelde B&B. Verder spelen we in op de “groene” markt (met 100% biologisch eten, natuurlijke schoonmaakmiddelen, gefilterde lucht en water, e.d.) Mensen in de welzijnsmarkt kunnen we ook aantrekken door onze wellness arrangementen (behandelingen, wandelen, hot tub en sauna.) In onze keuken, bereiden we zonder moeite vegetarische of gluten-vrije of suiker-vrije maaltijden – alles kan.

Als ontmoetingscentrum, zijn we anders omdat we ook overnachtingen kunnen aanbieden. Bedrijven, organisaties en/of individuele therapeuten zullen de rustvolle sfeer, dichtbij de natuur, en onze lekkere en gezonde maaltijden waarderen. Ook uniek bij het Huis aan de Brug is de makkelijke bereikbaarheid: 100 meter van het oude dorpscentrum met winkels en postkantoor, 2 km van de A12, 10 minuten van Utrecht, goede verbinding met de bus of trein.

In de zomer, kunnen gasten en bezoekers gebruik maken van fiets- en wandelpaden en kanohuur faciliteiten. Met deze is het mogelijk om een overnachting of een seminar te combineren met een bezoek, bijvoorbeeld, aan het Bezoekerscentrum thee huis bij Amelisweerd of het Pannenkoekenhuis bij Rhijnauwen.

We streven er naar een informele sfeer van gemeenschap te creeren, door mooi ingerichtte gezamenlijke ruimtes. Bij de eetkamer horen grote tafels voor meerdere families en gasten. In de woonkamer zijn kasten vol met bordspellen en legpuzzels.

Onze vaardigheden:

Emily is Amerikaanse met veel ervaringen in andere landen en culturen. Voor toeristen die geen Nederlands spreken, bied dat een mate van vertrouwdheid. Zij heeft Engelse les aan anderstaligen gegeven en weet hoe ze haar taal eenvoudig en begrijpbaar kan houden. Zij kan zich ook als buitenlandse goed inleven in de ervaringen en interessen van internationale toeristen.

Paulus is heel praktisch ingericht. Hij heeft diploma’s en werkervaring als kok, hovenier, klussenman en therapeut. Hij heeft als chefkok en diëetkok gewerkt in restaurants en zorginstellingen, en ook zijn eigen catering bedrijf gehad. Ook heeft hij een aantal jaren makrobiotisch gekookt en gegeten. Nu heeft hij zijn eigen klussenbedrijf, “Paulus de Eco-kluskabouter,” en is aangesloten bij de VLOK, Vereniging van Klussenbedrijven.

Paulus zijn laatste baan was als technisch beheerder voor DOENJA dienstverlening in Utrecht. Hij deed alles, van kleine klussen naar zaalbeheer naar veiligheidstaken. Hij was hoog gewaardeerd voor zijn rustige maar zeer efficiente en doelgericht gedrag. Bij exposities of andere evenementen wilde iedereen hem erbij hebben. Hij heeft BHV en EHBO certificaten gehaald.

Emily werkt nog steeds bij Rio de Bio Natuurvoedingswinkel in Utrecht, waar zij 5 jaar geleden als bakster is begonnen. Nu werkt zij als assistent bedrijfsleider. Zij heeft veel contacten in de biologische sector en heeft bijna elke taak in de winkel gedaan, van roostermaken naar afdelingschef naar bestellen naar boekhouding naar personeelzaken.

Emily en Paulus hebben al jaren een Shiatsu praktijk aan huis, welke ze vooral ’s avonds en in het weekend runnen. Ze zijn leden van de NVST: Nederlandse Vereniging van Soma Therapeuten. Naast hun praktijk, hebben ze momenteel ook één logeerkamer voor gasten. Deze hebben ze aangemeld als B&B kamer in augustus 2008.

In 2007 en 2008, waren ze allebei bezig met de medische basiskennis examens voor hun beroepsvereniging, en met een jaar-lange cursus voor startende ondernemers bij de Utrechtse Ondernemers Academy.

Emily heeft zelf een website gemaakt voor de praktijk, het klussenbedrijf, en de B&B. Zij zorgt voor alle reserveringen, facturen, inkopen, marketing, en boekhouding. Paulus zorgt voor het onderhoud, niet alleen thuis en voor klanten maar ook voor familieleden en vrienden.

Emily en Paulus houden ervan in hun vrije tijd activiteiten te organiseren waarbij gasten, vrienden en familie in een gemoedelijke sfeer samen kunnen komen. Bijvoorbeeld, huisconcerten, groepsdiners, lezingen en workshops.

Omschrijving bouwplan:

Begane grond:

Waar een prive toilet met fontijntje, een bedrijfstoilet met urinoir en twee wastafels, en een bergruimte nu staan: wanden en deuren verplaatsen en voorzieningen uitbreiden naar: Prive badkamer met toilet, douche en wastafel; kleine schoonmaak wasruimte met gootsteen; een gewoon toilet en wastafel; een invalide toilet en wastafel. Uitdaging: heet water inbrengen van andere kant van het huis.

In huidige keuken, extra wandkasten en werkoppervlakken inrichten.

Extra deur installeren tussen ingang en het kantoor; daarvoor een balie bouwen en plaatsen.

Nieuwe catering-keuken en spoel-keuken inrichten waar huidige restauratie werkruimte staat. Als deel daarvan, het huidige lange raam (voormalig deur) aanpassen ivm afzuigkap en wasdroger. Uitdaging: heet en koud water en gas inbrengen van andere kant van het huis, riolering aansluiten. Tweede lange raam (voormalig deur) aanpassen ivm keuken installatie, raam inzetten dat we kunnen openen.

Dubbel deur naar terrasje installeren ipv huidig groot raam in receptie zaal.

Muziek /technische installatie (inclusief beamer, scherm, CD speler en speakers, draadloze microfoon mogelijkheid) in receptie zaal.

Verdieping:

Houten vloeren leggen in de vier slaapkamers.

Inbouwkasten in slaapkamers bewerken (MDF vervangen door hout, deuren toevoegen of weghalen, e.d.)

Een extra badkamer (douche, wastafel, toilet) installeren op het einde van de gang, met toegang op de gang en van de slaapkamer op de hoek.

Evt. brandpreventie/ brandveiligheid maatregelen nemen.

Houten vloer in overloop en trappenkasten afwerken (schuren, lakken, schilderen)

In grote zaal, extra zijdeuren maken naar de bergruimte. Nieuwe verlichting installeren.

Evt. nieuwe CV-ketel installeren.

Overal: gele en groene houtwerk schilderen: wit of neutraal. Wandverlichting en vloerverlichting (met spaarlampen.) Voorzetramen waar zij niet al bestaan – maar dat kan ook in de komende jaren.

Buiten: infra-rood sauna en dompelbad bouwen/installeren. Zonnepanels of kleine wind- of watermolen, afhankelijk van mogelijkheden en subsides.


Opstart plan:

Van tevoren: Zo veel mogelijk meubels en apparaten kopen, op marktplaats. Bedden, matrassen, lakkens, kussens, linengoed, nachtkastjes, borden, bestek, eettafels, diepvriezer enz.... Ook zo veel mogelijk wat we later gaan verkopen aan gasten: plattegronden, gidsen, kado’s, streek producten, souvenirs. Collectie van fietsen klaar om te verhuren. Alles kan opgebergen worden in de twee zalen en de loods. Logo, huisstijl, visitekaartjes, fliers, reserveringssoftware al klaar. Subsidies al aangevraagd (CV-ketel, alternatieve energie bronnen, schilderwerk) B&B aanmelding veranderen van Groenedijk naar Dorpsstraat met bericht dat we een periode gesloten zijn ivm verbouwing. Begin al met reserveeringen.

Eerste maand: B&B kamers aanpassen (schilderen, houten vloeren leggen, brandveiligheid, extra badkamer, meubels) Kleine aanpassingen in de privé keuken om deze te kunnen gebruiken voor de B&B. Kleine ontmoetingsruimtes inrichten. “Gasten” (klusser-vrienden uit Belgie e.d.) kunnen in de ontmoetingsruimtes, eet/woonkamer, en kinderspeelruimte slapen. Persberichten rondsturen, mensen uitnodigen voor openingsfeest.

Tweede maand: Reserveringen voor B&B accepteren als het mogelijk is. Emily draait B&B (ontbijt, schoonmaak, reserveren) Paulus gaat door met privé badkamer, toiletten voor beneden zaal, balie. Emily schildert in privé keuken, eetkamer, slaapkamer; eetkamer deur.

Derde maand: Paulus installeert cateringkeuken en spoelkeuken, verlichting in trouwzaal, deur naar terras. Emily regelt tatamis, meditatie kussens, terras meubels, catering meubels; schildert trouwzaal. B&B draait door.

Vierde maand: finishing touches: muziek installaties, tuin, kantoor, telefonie, kunst regelen.

Eind vierde maand: openingsfeest. Alles klaar, en mooi.

Over deze vier maanden:

Inschatting kosten: 50.000 aankopen, 20.000 verbouwing, 15.000 hypotheek/leningen, 15.000 maandlasten, verzekering, eten, openingsfeest, e.d. = 100.000 Euro

Inschatting inkomsten: 0 + 3000 + 4000 + 5000 B&B, 6000 borgsom van huidige huurcontract, 3000 levensloop regeling = 21.000 Euro

Inschatting spaargeld: 7000 Triodos aandelen, 11.000 geleend aan Rio de Bio, 14.000 aandelen Intel, 2000 deposito, 2000 betaalrekening = 36.000 Euro

Een typische dag bij het Huis aan de Brug:

Emily en/of Paulus begint met het ontbijt om 7 uur. Het wordt als buffet klaargezet in de eetkamer: yoghurt, muesli, broodjes, croissants, beleg, jam, fruit, iets lekkers uit de oven. Gasten lopen binnen tussen 7:30 en 9 uur. Ze krijgen dan verse koffee of thee en eieren naar wens. Ze kunnen aan kleine tafels in de eetkamer zitten, aan een grotere tafel in de entree hal, of buiten op het terras. We proberen een leuke sfeer te maken zodat gasten elkaar kunnen leren kennen. We bieden geen privé ontbijten aan in de kamer (ook geen televisies in de kamers, wel één in de gemeenschappelijke woonkamer.)

We ruimen de eetkamer op om 9:30, en zetten evt. koffie en thee klaar voor de pauzes bij de ochtend workshops of trainingen. Gereserveerde picknick manden zetten we ook bij. Misschien hebben we groepen in twee van de vier ruimtes. Ze kunnen de eetkamer gebruiken tussen 10:00 uur en 13:00 uur. Om 13:00 ruimen we het weer op en is de kamer klaar voor evt. gebruik als ontmoetingsruimte, of voor koffie en thee bij de namiddag pauzes.

B&B gasten zo wel als overdag gebruikers kunnen picknickmanden meenemen, tegen statiegeld, als ze van tevoren reserveren. Manden worden door De Veldkeuken dagelijks geleverd, samen met onze bestellingen voor de keuken (vooral broden.)

Tussen ontbijt en het regelen van koffie/lunch, zorgt Emily voor evt. afrekening van gasten die vertrekken. Ze ruimt de kamers op als er tijd is (anders gaat ze verder in de namiddag, of belt ze een oproepkracht als het heel druk is.) Paulus zorgt voor evt. klaarzetten van stoelen, tafels en aparatuur in de ontmoetingsruimtes, als dit niet al de avond daarvoor gedaan was.

In de namiddag, zorgt Emily voor B&B reservaties (die vooral door internet binnenkomen), en wat boekhouding en administratie. Een paar keer per week, zorgt zij voor bestellingen: groente en zuivel van de Moestuin en Kroon, melk en karnemelk van de Hondspol in Driebergen, broodjes van Zonnemaire, droogwaren en schoonmaakmiddelen van de Nieuwe Band of Varuvo, sappen en appels en peren van Kavel 55. Brood en picknickmanden en bloemen van De Veldkeuken worden dagelijks besteld. Afhankelijk van de hoeveelheid van de bestelling, wordt het aan ons geleverd, door ons opgehaald, of in samenwerking met de natuurvoedingswinkel in Bunnik (Bio Goed) geregeld.

Paulus zorgt voor het technische beheer. Alle onze meubels zijn tweede-hands (ecologisch verantwoordelijk, dus). Paulus doet evt. reparaties in de loods. In zijn vrije tijd, repareert of vernieuwd hij wat extra meubels in opdracht of gaat hij verder mijn zijn interesse in beeldhouwen. Emily in haar vrije tijd gaat verder met haar schrijven (als haar eerste boek bij de uitgever ligt, kan zij aan haar tweede beginnen...)

Iemand (één van ons, of een oproepkracht) blijft altijd bij de balie of in de omgeving om de telefoon op te nemen, de winkeltje te draaien, en/of gasten te helpen. De anderen kunnen buiten werken, in de tuin of in de loods, of de B&B kamers schoonmaken, of boodschappen doen.

In de namiddag kan ook Paulus of ik een behandeling geven. Tegen 17:30, als nieuwe mensen binnen komen voor het derde dagdeel, moet iemand weer stoelen e.d. klaarzetten. Als er geen avond reserveringen zijn, kunnen we iets extras maken in de keuken voor de “winkel” – een appeltaart of suiker-vrije brownies, bijv. Deze worden ingepakt in folie en liggen in de verkoop koeling naast de keuken. Hier kunnen mensen de hele dag een hapje of een drankje kopen, voor naast hun picknick lunch of voor later. (B&B gasten kunnen zelf thee en koffie maken de gehele dag in de gemeenschappelijke woonkamer boven.)

In de “winkel” kunnen B&B gasten en andere gebruikers wat biologische, ecologische, cultureel en/of kunst-gerelateerde spullen kopen. Sappen, noten, kleine hapjes en toetjes... wandelgids, kookboeken, boeken over het Kromme Rijn gebied, poezie... tandpasta, massage olie.... kunst artikelen, CD’s.... We zullen ook souvenirs van Het Huis aan de Brug verkopen (biologische T-shirts, briefkaarten, e.d.) Als er interesse is, kunnen we ook de water filters en lucht filters verkopen die we zelf gebruiken. (Deze winkel blijft heel kleinscalig; meer is niet nodig omdat er ook grotere winkels in de buurt zijn.)

Een paar keer per week krijgen we grotere partijen, voor een trouwerij of receptie of tentoonstelling. Voor deze, als het ook druk is in de B&B, bellen we onze oproepkracht. We nemen ook stagiaires van de Vrije School in Zeist. Waar mogelijk, gebruiken we De Veldkeuken of andere biologische catering bedrijven. Er is genoeg om te doen, met bloemen en muziek en alles in orde te houden – maar dit is ook juist leuk.

B&B gasten moeten inchecken tussen 18 uur en 22 uur (het derde dagdeel, dus) behalve als iets anders afgesproken is. Na 22 uur, gaat de voordeur op slot en gasten die al eerder ingechecked zijn mogen terug komen van hun activiteiten, maar dan moeten ze aanbellen. We hopen dat een meerdereheid van onze gasten bij ons zijn om te wandelen e.d. en niet om tot de kleine urtjes te gaan dansen, bijv. Als dat niet het geval is, dan blijft Paulus langer wakker en neemt hij regelmatig een middagdutje.

B&B gasten die weg gaan moeten voor 12:00 uitchecken. Dan hebben we minimaal tussen 12 uur en 18 uur de tijd om de kamers schoon te maken.

update March 23

Whew. Today was a rollercoaster day.

My friend Wendy wrote with an idea for how we could raise money: sell "shares" of, say, 1000 Euro each, to friends and relatives, and at the end of each year hold a lottery and pay back, say, 10 people. I thought, hmmm, it sounds like something another friend, David, had recommended. I wasn't too hopeful that we could raise enough for the 40% that a bank needs to give a mortgage, but probably we could raise enough for start-up costs, if we could negotiate a rent-to-buy contract with the owners. It "just" involves convincing a few hundred people that we are a good risk, but I am quite certain we could do that -- this is a great project. Fun, socially and environmentally and culturally responsible, and my latest "best guess" for profit is 25,000 Euro per month (which we would then divide between banks, other lenders, and the tax man.)

I wrote back to her, and David, asking them to please tell me more.

In the meantime I had an email from Lilianne, Nellie and Victor's real estate agent. She was glad to hear that I am actively busy, but wanted to have a clearer idea how it was shaping up for us financially. The owners, she said, were not really that interested in any option other than selling the house. Reading between the lines, I got the idea that they were getting impatient and perhaps had other potential buyers. Oh dear. All my work and dreams for nothing?

Luckily I also had an email from David. He "scolded" me: what am I doing, putting limits on what is possible before I even start? Why do I think I can't raise 40% of two million in a creative way? He explained more, and I followed up with some internet research... (I hope I got it right, David...): his recommended way of starting up a new business is called working with seed capital. A person goes around to lots of regular folks, convinces them that he has a great business idea, and asks if they can lend a small amount of money to get it started. 500 Euro, say, or any multiple of that. If the person says yes, then you agree on the details: how long can they spare the money and can they lend it interest-free, perhaps in exchange for a gift-certificate at the future business? You put everything in a contract and sign it. Then, when you a nice collection of contracts, you go to bigger investors and see if they will join in. And after that you go to a bank. In the end, a typical division is 33% seed capital, 33% bigger investor(s), and 33% bank. And, David has a financial advisor whom he recommends highly, who could explain more and help us out. So....

I wrote an email back to Lilianne (with copies to Wendy and David and others) saying, we understand that a rent-to-buy arrangement is less than ideal (although if it wasn't 100% off the table, we could get some expert advice from Paulien in Deventer on how to set that up...) And if they have other potential buyers with money in hand, naturally that is more interesting than waiting for us to gather our finances. But that we still have hope, thanks to this seed capital idea. I explained the 25,000 per month expected profit, and that I am almost done with a first version of our business plan, which we will take to several experts for their feedback. If they can confirm that our numbers are realistic, then we can approach people more confidently to ask for seed capital. And PS to David: yes! please connect us with your financial advisor!

pictures at last!

Yippee! I figured out how to import several pictures into one blog entry and put text around them! And I got caught up on all the updates! So now I'm going to switch gears and send out some more emails. If you are just hearing from me now and checking out these blogs for the first time, here's a quick summary: Paulus and I are in love... with each other of course... but also with an amazing house in Bunnik. If all goes well we will be living there by next Christmas! (in fulfillment of a resolution/affirmation we made last Christmas...) It will take a few small miracles to achieve that, but we believe in miracles (and we are also willing to work very very hard.) I've been researching and writing and blogging and mailing like crazy, and some of that effort you can see here below. If you want to follow it chronologically, use the archive on the right and start at the bottom... "We've found a new house?"


This is the view of the house from across the Kromme Rijn. The little brick house on the side with the chimney was formerly a bakery -- it is now attached to the main house with a hallway. We would use that little house as our bedroom.

Here is what the bakery house looks like inside. Notice the old oven on the left.

This is the view of the house from the street. This is the dead-end section of the Dorpsstraat. To the left, outside the picture, is a cute bridge over the Kromme Rijn. Looking at the house, on the ground floor are windows to one of our potential meeting rooms and the dining room. Above on the left (windows blocked by the trees) are the B&B bedrooms. The midle area that comes forward would be our main entrance. To the right of the main entrance is the other half of the house, not visible in this photo. That's where the two big halls are.


This is the big hall on the ground floor (there's floor heating under the tiles.) It is a huge room. Try to imagine it without all the antiques! Although many of them are beautiful and if we have the finances to buy some, we will! Especially a few large wooden wardrobes and a long dining table... Victor Couwenbergh and his wife Nellie have put a lot of love and attention into their antique showroom and restoration business and you can really "feel" the good energy in the building. Who knows? Maybe we could arrange to "babysit" some nice antiques, in addition to a grand piano (via Anne and Robert... see previous entry)! And if we pursue the art gallery angle, with paintings and sculptures on display and for sale, maybe we could do that for some antiques as well. Everyone wins: extra sales and no storage fees for Victor and Nellie, nice ambiance for us and our guests....


This is the big hall on the second floor (or first floor, as they call it in Europe...) Again, imagine it without furniture! We would make it an open space, with folding chairs and mats and meditation cushions available in the storage areas under the eves. We would also change the color to something more neutral/meditative, and put wall sconce lighting and floor lamps. The window at the back opens out onto the emergency exit and staircase -- we would probably make that more available for people to use (but not to go out onto to have a cigarette!)


This is *not* from "our" house but from Samaya Conferentie Centrum, where I went for a visit. This is the kind of sphere I'd like to create, though, in the upstairs hall. Could be a challenge of course because we don't have all the windows...


This is the back of the house, with terrace. We would replace the big window with double patio doors into the large ground floor hall (an idea of the Victor's, which we thought was great.) There is another single door to the right, into the same hall. The door on the left goes into a work area that Victor set up with a temporary wall along one side of the large hall. We would probably keep that temporary wall (or most of it) and make the work area into a professional kitchen area. The door will be handy for deliveries. If we do catering or receptions in the large hall, that will be the perfect place for a kitchen. To the right, outside of the picture, is the vegetable garden and after that the river.

Here it is, the vegetable garden, with raised beds even! I've been wishing for a vegetable garden space ever since coming to Holland. We have a nice garden now (and all the bulbs and perenials will be lovingly dug up and brought with us) but we've never had sun and ground in the right place for veggies. So this is fantastic. Nellie said that this area could be dug up and covered with terrace tiles if someone didn't want to be bothered with the vegetable garden, and I said, no way! Beyond the garden is the bakery house (our bedroom) with its own little terrace and grape trellis. We would put our hot tub on that terrace.

There are more pictures at http://www.funda.nl/woningaanbod/koop/Detail/Fotos/?id=804edf5a-1a2c-44bd-b994-d4ecfd8d9499&objecttype=DetailKoopObject but I am going to stop with the downloading for now....

March 16 to 22! trying to get caught up!

Well, there's still lots to tell, in our on-going adventure, trying to buy a beautiful old house in Bunnik, the Netherlands. And I know, I need to import some photos! But today is Sunday and I don't have appointments in the agenda, so I hope to make good progress.

Tuesday March 17: We went to a network evening hosted by the Utrecht Ondernemers Academy (a school for people starting a business, which Paulus and I attended last year.) They had several guest speakers tell about their companies, and then a networking exercise: we divided into groups, made circles, and had 60 seconds to tell the person opposite us about ourselves before the circles rotated. At the end, we had time to search out the people who were most interesting and have longer conversations. Like speed dating. Artifical, but very efficient and effective. As long as the moderator manages it all correctly. Our moderator had a microphone with a lot of static and he kept up a sort of running commentary (in Dutch, naturally)... "okay everyone, that was the bell, time to rotate, go on, finish up your conversation, keep it simple, don't forget to listen to the other person, don't worry, you'll get more time later to talk, isn't this fun?" It was not helpful at all. I had 30 seconds to cover who I am, what I do now, and what we're hoping to do in the future, in Dutch, while shouting to be heard over the moderator and not getting distracted by his chatter. I was torn between wanting to burst into tears and wanting to throw something at the guy. At one point as he was walking by, I asked him politely if he could please talk less because he was taking away from our networking time, and he just brushed off my request with a laugh and "you'll just need to talk faster!"

So it was a small miracle that we actually came away with some good contacts. Utrecht is full of coaches and trainers (for everyone from stressed-out housewives to workers looking to change career paths to CEOs wanting to improve company performance) and they all need a place to give their workshops, etc. Several of the ones we met asked, how soon will your rooms be ready? (they aren't so fond of the spaces they use now and are looking for something better.) We had to say, hold on, we don't even know yet if we can buy the house! We also met some nice graphic arts type people and caught up with some people from our own class.

Tuesday night I called my mom to ask if she had been following my blogs and if she had any feelings about the whole project. She loves the building, of course (as a life-long member of multiple historical preservation organizations...) but the financial scale is overwhelming for her. She could help us out a bit (enough to add a bathroom and kitchen, for example) but not enough to make a down payment. She and my dad recently got the opportunity to buy the land beside and behind their house, which they've been wanting to buy since they first moved there. (I remember that move: I was 4 years old, so that's 41 years they've been trying to buy that land...) Clearly it makes sense for her to focus on her own backyard and not a property half a world away....

She asked me, why don't we consider moving to Detroit? I laughed, but she was serious. Apparently there are a lot of good housing deals in Detroit because of the housing crisis. She sent a newspaper article about it, which I got yesterday. It told about a man who bought a one-bedroom house for 1000 dollars or so. It was in terrible shape (scavengers had broken in to it and stripped it of everything of value, including all the copper plumbing) but he was going to rebuild from scratch and put in solar panels. He contacted some starving-artist type friends who bought the four neighboring houses and together they put in a community garden and are working on a power grid to connect the whole little neighborhood to alternative power. It actually does look kind of cool.

So why not move to Detroit? It is worth thinking about.

If we moved to the US and bought a small, cheap, fixer-upper house, we wouldn't have the debt involved with buying a big, expensive house here. But we would still need jobs, to pay the monthly bills and the repair costs. What jobs could we get in the US, particularly in the communities where the housing crisis is the most severe? Paulus can do handiman work, but he wouldn't be licensed or insured. I could, well, work at McDonalds I suppose. I don't imagine that people in those communities would be banging down the door for Shiatsu treatments (people are lucky if they have insurance that covers regular doctors; insurance that covers alternative treatments is almost non-existent.) Translating from Dutch to English is also probably not in high demand. B&B? Not likely. Especially in a small house that would be filled with construction dust for several years. But living in a small, green, innovating community would be good. Nice neighbors, a roof over our heads even if it needs repair, and no major debts.

Contrast: Bunnik (or a similar large house in the Randstad): With a B&B and rooms for rent, we would have enough income to pay for the building and monthly costs without having to work other jobs. If we do it right. Of course, there is a lot of debt, and there is also the risk that the business would fail and we would end up in a really terrible situation. But, we would be doing work that we love and that we are highly motivated to do well.

I guess the big difference is the work. If we were just looking for affordable housing, with a few plusses like interesting neighbors, something like Detroit would be fine. But we are looking for our Dream House, or more accurately our Dream Situation. We want to make careers for ourselves as people who create The Right Kind of Space, for patients and guests and visitors. A place that supports good health, rest, community, the arts, the environment, international friendships. As a bonus, we get to live there also. If that is our professional goal, the location and setting are of primary importance. But yes, it is a Big Dream and not all dreams come true.

Wednesday March 18: We drove to Deventer, a city about an hour east and north of Utrecht, to meet with Paulien from the bedandbreakfast.nl forum. (www.vastgoedlocatiescout.nl) She gave us a tour of her bed and breakfast (two rooms, each 95 Euro per night) and looked at our photos and drawings from the house in Bunnik. Our first question was, as a B&B owner and a real estate agent specializing in B&B's and similar properties, would she recommend trying to buy the house in Bunnik? Or would she recommend another province, another city, another type of house, another price, another time....? She answered immediately, yes. The house in Bunnik. Now. It is a great time to be entering the B&B market, the location is perfect, the house is perfect, it would definitely work. She looked more carefully at my spreadsheets and recommended that we either lower the prices on the bedrooms with shared bathrooms or try to add extra facilities. A shared toilet in the hallway is not a problem for most people, but guests really prefer to be able to shower in their own space. We'll need to make some choices about marketing to the "eco-tourist" market segment versus to the "cultural elite."

Then we talked about finances and the news was less encouraging. Paulien said that banks these days are asking for "guarantie" (security deposits) of around 40% of the mortgage amount -- we're talking roughly 800,000 Euro! Geez. If we had that kind of money lying around, it would mean that we were already well-established, well-known, super-rich people (movie stars, lawyers, bankers) and I doubt that we'd be interested in starting up an eco-B&B-plus-more and working 14 hour days 7 days a week at it. Paulien encouraged us to keep working on our business plan and spreadsheets, though, because you never know how it might pay off in the future. She was very impressed with my full binder -- no one with the idea of buying a B&B has shown up to talk with her, with so much documentation and research. And I agree, I'm going to keep working on it, because it is quite possible that the University friends of Ron's, or Jaap from Non-nobis, might have some creative ideas about how to go further.

But Paulien also said, if we finish our plan and we have people who can help with the start up costs, that renting the house from the owners might actually turn out to be a good option, for everyone involved. She has a lot of experience writing up these kinds of contracts. You need to anticipate all the possibilities (how many years? do we get the option to buy, or are we required to buy, at the end of the rental period, and for what price? do we pay extra rent above what the owners need themselves, into a pot that then becomes our downpayment, or do we pay extra rent in exchange for a lower purchase price at the end, or neither? how do we divide maintenance and renovation costs? what if we get sick or die or discover we hate living there?) We had thought about renting earlier, and had mentioned it one time to Victor and Nellie, and it remains a theoretical possibility. But we had all put it on the back burner, because of all these complicated questions. Maybe with Paulien's help it wouldn't have to be so complicated. She could work with the owner's real estate agent, Lilianne, to lay out all the risks and options.

All in all, it was a great visit. Pauline was very friendly and helpful (and clear about her costs: we can stay in touch with her and if we decide to hire her to work out something, we'll make a contract beforehand.) We will definitely use her if we end up going further, and can certainly recommend her to anyone else thinking about buying a B&B.

Wednesday afternoon, I contacted our insurance company and they were able to estimate what our insurance costs in Bunnik would be. Everything together came to around 350 Euro per month: for the building, glass windows, the contents including hi-tech installations, the garden, "rechtbijstand" (legal coverage if you have to go to court for some reason) and "bedrijfsaansprakkelijkheid" (if the business causes any damage or is responsible for some kind of trouble). Quite reasonable, I thought.

I did some surfing at www.marktplaats.nl to see what kinds of second-hand furnishings were easily available. Answer: everything! 390 listings under business goods for sale > horeca > furnishings. 35 hotel beds for 50 Euro each. Lamps and tables and linens and place settings... everything, for reasonable prices. I also discovered a website called www.oplocatie.nl. It's a national site with every imaginable location for meetings, business events, conferences and so forth. It would cost 200 Euro to be listed there, which might be worthwhile -- but at least I can use that site to find out what else is available in the area, to help us decide how to set our prices.

Thursday evening we had B&B guests here again, Gert and Inneke, and told them all about our plans. They thought it sounded great. They travel a lot in Holland for work and recreation and always stay in B&B's because they like the contact with people. Gert also does trainings in and around Bunnik, so he was able to tell us a bit about that. At the Mercure hotel, on the highway in Bunnik, their company paid 1000 Euro to use a conference room for about 20 people. That was for a day (two "dagdeel"s) and included lunch. If you subtract about 25 Euro per person for the lunch, and divide by 2, that comes to 250 Euro per dagdeel. My estimated income for a room that size in "our" house was 150 Euro per dagdeel. So, maybe I can increase that number in my spreadsheet. Plus if we offered exactly the same package, we would also make a bit of profit on the lunches. Overall, good news.

But the best news from Gert and Inneke is that they are both amateur musicians. We told them about the small house concerts we've had here on the Groenedijk. They were really excited about our idea to continue and expand that tradition in Bunnik. Gert said to stay in touch, and he will bring his saxaphone and his jazz quartet up to play for us!

On Friday, March 20, I went to sing in the evening, with a choir made up of students and teachers (and former teachers, like me) from the Christelijk Gymnasium in Utrecht. (a school where I taught English for 3 months as a substitute teacher.) I was chatting with some of the other teachers, and learned that our conductor, Marina, also conducts a choir... in Bunnik! They sing at the church across the street from "our" new house! So I went to talk to her after our performance. Yes, it is a great choir, lots of nice people, and I would be very welcome to join. It wasn't clear to me if they needed extra rehearsal or performance space, but it was good to hear that people in Bunnik like music. I feel positive about being able to attract musicians and music-lovers to "our" house.

Our friends Anne and Robert, from www.pianoguitar.com, say they can probably get us a grand piano to babysit. They have a friend in Amsterdam who is storing 4 grand pianos in his house, for free, on the condition that he is allowed to play them and use them for house concerts. But this friend is going to move, and those 4 people will have to find new homes for their pianos. If we could take care of one of these, that would be so great! We would keep it in the large downstairs hall, which has floor heating under tile and opens onto the terrace. We already imagine using that room for receptions and dinners and small concerts and performances. (My Yamaha electric piano could live in the upstairs hall, where we imagine quieter activities will happen, like workshops, wedding ceremonies and meditation classes.)

Saturday, March 21: After work, I drove to Houten to visit a B&B that was having an "open door." That B&B is called Centraal Groen and is run by a super-friendly woman named Laura. I thought, I'm not going to pretend that I'm a local looking for a place for family members to stay. I told her our plans, and she reacted just the way I had hoped: very positively. It turns out she is a member of Terecht Anders, as well as the B&B website we already use, and she is very happy to work cooperatively with other B&B's in the area. In fact, a good friend of hers has a B&B in a neighboring town and had her own business cards there on a table. Awesome. I am so happy to be finding people everywhere who see us as potential friends rather than potential competitors. Certainly we can all help each other out -- there is enough business for everyone.

After visiting Houten, I drove back to Bunnik and explored some of the residential areas and the back road up to Zeist. I was amazed... I followed the road out of Bunnik going north, and after a few minutes there was a speed limit sign, saying to slow down because I was entering... Zeist? No it couldn't be, I thought, it is too soon, I just left Bunnik. There must be some other little town between Bunnik and Zeist. But yes, it was Zeist. The road from Bunnik is called Koelaan (cow lane) and winds through beautiful farmland. It enters Zeist on the south side at the Zeist Castle, with its lovely mote and park and tree-lined avenues. It was something out of a fairy tale almost. I tried to imagine what we'd say to international guests: "Well, you could rent a canoe today and go visit the old fort at Rhijnauwen, or the tea house at Amelisweerd, or Fort Vechten. Or you could go by bicycle to the castle in Zeist and explore their charming city center. A little further away in the other direction are Odijk and Werkhoven, two typical small Dutch towns, and beyond that is Wijk bij Duurstede, with its old church and windmill...." It is so idealic.

My last stop on Saturday was the moestuin (vegetable garden) at Maarschalkerweerd, near the stadium and canoe rental business in Utrecht. (www.moestuinutrecht.nl) Pieter, the manager, wasn't there, but I talked with the woman running the shop. I told her I used to be a volunteer there, back when there were basically just the two greenhouses, a couple of run-down trailers, and a breakroom with toilets. It has really changed in five years! Now there's a children's play area, a petting zoo, bee house, herb garden, carpentry workshop, picnic area and terrace and tea room and area to buy vegetables and fruit and other organic food. It is really nicely done, with large windows and attractive wooden furniture and a great ambiance (with flowers and newspapers on the tables...) The older of the two greenhouses, with grape vines and kiwi plants, is now in use as a meeting room for businesses and parties, especially children's birthday parties. I know Pieter had to work very hard to get the whole project off the ground, and he needed lots of sponsors and volunteers. I hope he will have some tips for us, and maybe ideas how we can work together.

I just looked at the map again with Paulus, and it turns out that the Kromme Rijn continues on, past the Moestuin and the canoe rental place, into the heart of Utrecht, and in particular right to the Ledig Erf, a cafe/bar run by Eddie, an old friend of Paulus'. Paulus had just gone by Eddie's to take measurements and stuff for some work that needs to be done there. Business is booming at the Ledig Erf -- roughly double what it was last year. Eddie has been wondering what he might do to next -- he doesn't really have a kitchen, and his terrace is already full, so he's been thinking about offering picnic baskets for customers, who could take them to the park area next to the river... I joked with Paulus, we should set up something with Eddie and the Veldkeuken and the Moestuin and the canoe place... cooperate with food and marketing... set up a tour... people stay at our place, have breakfast, get in their canoes with a map and a picnic basket, stop for coffee at the Pannenkoeken huis at Rhijnauwen, then tea at the Veldkeuken, then coffee at the moestuin, then a beer at Ledig Erf, then return their canoes and go home, or come back to us for another night.... I said it as a joke, because I don't really think of the crowd at the Ledig Erf as being the same sort of people who like canoeing and organic food -- but who knows? The sandwiches and foccacia and stuffed pita breads from the Veldkeuken are so delicious, I'm sure Eddie could sell them to his clients, and even people from our eco/organic market segment probably like a beer now and then, and we're all connected by the Kromme Rijn, so why not try?

Whew! Caught up! Now for some pictures!

update from March 15

Sunday March 15th:

We went to the Onkruid Beurs. Some background for people from outside Holland: A beurs is a sort of exposition, with lots of different stands set up by difference businesses or services around a particular theme. Paulus likes to go to the Bouw Beurs (for the construction industry) where he can talk to all the different painting supply company representatives about what they have to offer, for example. (and make lots of people giggle at his "Paulus de Kluskabouter" name tag.) The Onkruid Beurs is targeted at a different group....

Onkruid means weed, in Dutch, and Onkruid magazine is well-known fixture in the Netherlands associated with the... um... hippie crowd. The granola types -- you know, with all the nuts and fruits. The crystal ball readers and incense burners. Or as they say in Dutch, the people with geiten wollen sokken. (goat wool socks.) These kinds of people and events sometimes make me nervous. I work with energy and intuition and lots of "crazy stuff" but my background is in the sciences. For me, there isn't a contradiction. But for some people in the nuts & fruits crowd, concrete facts and evidence and scientific method are all "evil." And for some people in the scientific crowd, all intuition and subtle energies and spirituality are "garbage." And I'm stuck in the middle, both at the same time and neither.

But we wanted to go to the Onkruid beurs to look for people who might have advice for us or be interesting in renting rooms from us in our future house. So we said goodbye to our current B&B guests and off we went....

I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there were a few fortune-teller types who made my "inner scientist" want to say, "garbage! You don't know what you are doing and are just taking advantage of gullible visitors." And a few air-filter salesman types who made my "inner yogi" want to say, "whoa there, I know you've got your sales targets to meet but money isn't everything. " But overall, most people looked radiant and passionate about their work and more interested in making the world a better place than in becoming rich and famous.

Among the crowd, there were several people who stood out. One was Elisa, the part time administrative person at Rio de Bio whom I helped to hire and train a few years ago. I thought, huh, what is Elisa doing here? Then I remembered that she has been busy following a course to become a meditation teacher/leader. She was there to sit at the booth for her school. We talked a while and I thought, wow, here is a perfect person to make a partnership with. She has the perfect sort of activity to run in the upstairs hall, and she could help us a lot with marketing, communication, administration, design -- all the things she has been trained in. And we could use her on a flexible and freelance basis, adjusted around our needs and her needs and her work at Rio de Bio. I asked if she would be interested, and she said yes, certainly. Turns out she loves Bunnik and for many years wanted to move there.

(An aside: the idea of hiring people to work for us gives me the heebie-jeebies... In the Netherlands, if someone is on your payroll with a "vaste contract" -- a permanent employee as opposed to summer help, for example -- besides having to deal with all the payroll taxes and insurance and stuff, you are responsible for their livlihood for years. If the person gets sick or has a burn-out or gets pregnant and wants a leave of absense, they still stay on your pay-roll. Also if the company goes out of business. They only go off the payroll list if they choose to leave themselves or if they do something really terrible (and well documented) and get fired. That is just normal, and in general I think it is great, but the risks are high for small businesses. Of course, you buy extra insurance as an employer to cover your payroll costs in case something happens -- but it is all an administrative nightmare. And Elisa knows this -- one of her first tasks at Rio de Bio, a task that took several months to complete, was arranging to get a former employee who became sick off the official payroll list.)

Anyway, another impressive person at the Onkruid Beurs was Henning, who stood at the booth for Free Alliance. (This group has a two-year course, and also sponsors activities and lectures, around greater conciousness and harmony. I just glanced at their website briefly. www.freealliance.org. They seem to be involved in a very practical way helping families in the Gaza Strip -- one version of their website is in Hebrew, or will be...) We stopped to chat because I recognized someone else at their booth, and we ended up talking to Henning the most, and later meeting his wife. What an interesting and enthusiastic person! He lives in Zeist, used to work for years for the government, and is currently treasurer of their organization. Their group rents out meeting room spaces like we are planning to do, and Henning knows all about the demand, the standard prices, and so forth. He also knows about the "competition" because he frequently needs to be able to refer customers to other spaces if theirs are full. He explained that it is a niche market -- you need to know what is out there, because if you refer a good client who is looking for an intimate setting to a place that is severe and business-like, for example, or vice-versa, they won't be happy with you. I said, wow, this sort of expertise is something we really need. If we manage to buy the Dorpsstraat house, could we pay him for some training sessions? No, absolutely not, he said. He'd much rather work out an exchange for Shiatsu treatments! And in the meantime, he said he would be happy to put something on paper if we need it for our business plan, basically his expert opinion that we can earn roughly such-and-such with our meeting rooms given such-and-such circumstances. Awesome.

Another interesting person was Johan, from an organization called Amadorra (www.amadorra.nl) located in Houten (Bunnik is roughly half way between Utrecht and Houten.) Johan and his wife set up Amadorra and he gives ... wait for it... Shiatsu treatments there! And they have rooms that they rent out to other therapists and there is a range of courses and lessons that people can take -- in yoga, meditation, drumming, Shiatsu, other therapies. In essence, everything we imagine for ourselves, minus the B&B part. Johan is a really tall guy with an easy smile, like Paulus.... he was standing there with a drum in his hand (Paulus loves drums) and they looked at each other, discovered they both do Shiatsu... and it was as if nothing more needed to be said. We all exchanged business cards and said, we'll be in touch!

We also took contact information for several interesting artists, and for a group/magazine called Genoeg! (Enough!) They are all about taking care of the Earth through simpler living and less consumerism. The person at the booth (oh rats, I see that her name is not on her business card, just her photo...) was very nice and I bet we can do something with her in the future. We're going to try to furnish the whole house with second-hand things (except for the technical equipment, for power point presentations and stuff.... that has to be new and working 100%) Maybe her magazine or website will have good tips for us, or be interested in publishing an article about us?

Speaking of publishing, there were also many alternative/spirituality type publishers at the Beurs and I learned from 4 of them that they would be quite willing/happy to look at my manuscript. Even though it is in English and that could make it more difficult to work with. My favorite was Zwerk. www.zwerkuitgevers.nl I like their name, their energy, the fact that they are quite small, and located in Houten. So, once this business with buying a house, moving, renovating, and getting our businesses up and running is complete, I can work on getting published. (ha) I have the feeling that I will have to get inspired by Obama some more, and try to do everything at once. If he can work on the world economy, national healthcare, climate change and green energy, peace in the Middle East, etc., all at once, I can combine moving with getting published.

(did you see in the New York times? The Obamas are digging up part of the White House lawn and putting in an organic vegetable garden!)

Here is an interesting coincidence, not really related to buying our dream house at all: We had to leave the Beurs rather early, because I had an appointment with my friend Anne (in the agenda for months) to meet with a small group of her friends and ...um.... read aloud from our manuscripts. We are all writing or sitting on book manuscripts. Just a coincidence. That also makes me think that I'm entering one of those life phases where everything happens at once.

Next report: our visit with Paulien the too-good-to-be-true B&B real estate expert....

update from March 13

Now, where was I?

First, some thank-you's:
to Wendy, who says she has read these blogs and likes them and has.... um, what is the lingo here?... bookmarked them? so that she can follow regularly. I have a "fan"!

To Veronika, for a lovely supportive email with lots of !!!!!!.

To Coco, who wrote with a few tips -- a friend who does solar panels, and another who works with investors interested in new projects. De Weert Marketing... I think I saw them at the last Kamer van Koophandel (chamber of commerce) network event?

To Coen, who wrote suggesting that we try to tap into the market for holistic/spiritual trainings for businesses -- when he was at IBM, they offered a very popular Zen Meditation course in Utrecht. That course was at Zentrum (www.zentrum.nl) and Coen suggested talking to the owner there about how he got started, etc. Great idea!

Now, the update from Friday, March 13.

I started off by driving to a small city called Wijk bij Duurstede, a fairly well-known tourist destination also on the Kromme Rijn river. (the river runs from east to west, passing Wijk bij Duurstede, Werkhoven, Odijk, and Bunnik, then the old Fort Rhijnauwen and the estate at Amelisweerd, before coming into Utrecht next to the soccer stadium.) I was planning to visit Terecht Anders, the organisation that supports B&B's and organic farms and artists in the area. Their office was supposedly located in the tourist information center, but it turned out they had recently moved, without putting their new address on their website. That was a bit disappointing, but I decided maybe they are a bit of a shoe-string operation (like us) and therefore quite likely to be interesting people, even if a bit disorganized. I noticed that their website has no English on it -- which could also be seen in two ways: 1) they aren't very professional or 2) they are new and growing and there is an obvious way for me to participate, by helping them with translations.

Since I was at the tourist information center anyway, I decided to look around and talk with the receptionist there. She says they keep a list of local B&B's (it costs 35 Euro to get on the list) and they give that information out to anyone asking for it. (It doesn't appear to get you on their website, however.) I discovered two printed B&B guides for the Netherlands, one from "Bed and Breakfast Netherlands" where we are currently registered, and one from the ANWB (roughly equivalent to AAA in America -- they sell traveler's insurance, maps, hotel guides, etc.) The selection in Utrecht province was decent, but not overpowering, I thought. The average price for a room seemed to be around 70 Euro, compared to around 50 Euro for places outside the "Randstad" (the central, more urban part of Holland, including Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht and the Hague). But when 20,000 people come to Utrecht for an event in the Jaarbeurs (exposition center), and there's maybe 40 B&B's in and around Utrecht with maybe an average of 3 rooms each -- that's a lot of people who will have to stay at a hotel even if they would rather stay at a B&B. How can a B&B not be in high demand?

I had been on another website that morning, www.erfgoedlogies.nl. They specialize in lodgings and "arrangements" at houses/estates of cultural and historical significance, usually Monumental buildings. I called to ask them to mail me their registration information and to ask for some advice. A friendly woman in Drente told me that it is difficult to start a B&B. In the first 4 years, if you reach 35% occupancy, you are doing very well. But she did say it could be different if you also attract business clients. She herself is very much outside of the Randstad and only hosts tourists, and so business is very slow in the winter months. That was rather discouraging, which is why I was eager to talk to Terecht Anders. Oh well, something to look forward to for another day.

At the information center I also bought a bicycle route map for Bunnik and the surrounding area. That was very useful, because it showed the small back roads running from Bunnik directly to the University and the UMC (Universitair Medisch Centrum), which I explored at the end of the day.

I drove back to Bunnik to my next destination, the Monument Stichting, located in a building right next to our future house. (a stichting is a non-profit agency) In fact, the current owners explained to us that they had made a "deal" with the Monument Stichting, that the stichting employees could park up to 6 cars behind their building on property that technically belongs to Dorpsstraat 1. The owners, with their antique showroom, found this an improvement over having the cars on the street, blocking the view of their business.

The door to the Monument Stichting was locked, which I thought was a bit odd, but I rang the doorbell. A man came to open the door and seemed rather irritated. "What do you want?" "Well, I was just hoping to get some more information about Rijksmonuments... what one needs to do to maintain them and what the rules are and so forth...." That wasn't a good answer. I continued faintly, "you see... we are trying to buy the house next door, and I'm not from here, I need more information, maybe I'm at the wrong place...." That was a good answer. The man changed completely. "Oh, you might be our new neighbor! Fantastic! I'm Tom, please come in..." It turns out that I was at the wrong place, to get information on how to maintain Monumental buildings and so forth -- all that stuff is now handled at another office. But Tom said we were more than welcome to make a special appointment with him and he could advise us on everything. He was very busy at that moment but gave me his card. Whew. Turned out very well in the end.... and yes, he did ask if we had heard about the parking agreement :-)

My next stop was back at "Bio Goed", the organic food store, where I found Michael restocking the shelves. Could he point out the Mr. or Mrs. Schoenmaker, of the family somewhere across the street, the ones who used to have a B&B in Bunnik? He laughed -- it wasn't Mrs. Schoenmaker I needed to see, it was THE schoenmaker. Shoemaker. I had confused last name with title. But at least I'm not the only one: Paulus calls his business "Paulus de Kluskabouter" (Paulus the handy-gnome) and has occasionally gotten mail addressed to Mr. de Kluskabouter.

Michael said, shall I quickly introduce you? I said, sure, if that's possible, but what about your store....? He was already out the door. There were no customers inside at the time, and apparently Bunnik is quite sleepy, as he said! We walked briskly to the corner store (shoemaker, keymaker, dry cleaner, clothing repair and probably more...) and I was introduced to Geerke. She used to run "De Binnenplaats" B&B, with 2 rooms and 5 beds. I asked how it was. Very busy, she said. I said, you mean, like 60% occupancy? She said, no, full. Full. She was listed on the www.bedandbreakfast.com, the same site we use, and she always had customers, even after raising her rates to 75 Euro. Tourists from all over Europe, business people connected to the bedrijfsterrein (business zone) near the highway, people training at the nursing school. Companies would book both rooms for several weeks or even months. There are no other lodgings in the area, except for the Mercure hotel on the highway. It was madness. She had her shop to run, plus another business as professional photographer, plus 4 children, and it was too much.

I asked Geerke what she thought of our chances at Dorpsstraat 1, with 5 rooms and 10 beds. She said, you'll always be full, and you can ask more because of the house and the location. It won't be much more work than my 2 rooms with 5 beds, because there isn't much difference between making breakfast for 5 and making breakfast for 10. If you like having guests, and if you have some private areas in the home just for you, it will be fine. As long as you get approval from the gemeente. All the technical and logistical information on how to run a B&B is on the B&B website.

So. Later that night, I revised my spreadsheets to show a "realistic estimate for occupancy" rate of 80%, up from my previous estimates of 35% to 60%. 5 rooms, at 50-120 Euro per room, at 80% occupancy, comes to a projected income of 11250 Euro per month. That feels nicely reassuring. A mortgage/loan payment would be, at the worst, around 9000 Euro per month, and hopefully closer to 5000 Euro. And we haven't added income from room rental, extra meals and incidentals, the practice, or the handiman business. *I* feel 80% confident now that we can do it, which of course is a whole different thing from convincing a bank that we can do it.

On the way home, I followed some of the smaller roads in and around Bunnik. I drove quite unexpectedly right by the Hofstede van Beesde -- another one of Bunnik's 6 wedding locations. It looked like a country club -- wow -- quite in keeping with their fancy website www.hofstede-debeesde.nl and the super-glossy info packet they sent me. (Of course, I didn't ask for an information packet, I asked if I could make an appointment to tour their facility and talk to someone about possibilities for working cooperatively). Clearly they are in another league -- but still, it is walking distance from the Dorpsstraat, so people who are marrying or celebrating there would have the possibility to stay the night with us. Not a bad thing.

I drove past the University, and happened to see the Ronald MacDonald house, so I know where to go when it's time to ask them about getting on their "back-up" list.

I ended up at the canoe and bicycle rental place near the stadium. They are closed at the moment (it seems they are open from April to October), and the information in their display case was very faded and difficult to read. But it appears that they take their canoes and their customers to several different drop-off points on the Kromme Rijn, several times a day. The people can then paddle leisurely downstream back to the stadium. I squinted: the drop-off points seemed to be Wijk bij Duurstede, Odijk, Bunnik, and Rhijnauwen... and there were little photos pasted on a map of the river... and the photo next to the Bunnik drop-off point was our house!!! Incredible! It seems that the field of grass across the river from the house is where the canoes go in the water.

I revised our local marketing plan, in my head. Top of the list: not advertisements in the paper or posters around town. Sitting on the terrace eating lunch and waving. Tasteful sign in the yard:
Huis aan de Brug
Bed & Breakfast & Ontmoetingscentrum
Biologisch, ecologisch, rustig en gastvrij.

(translation: House by the Bridge, B&B and meeting center, organic, ecologic, peaceful/restful, friendly/hospitable). Easier than falling off a log.

But the bank thing and the "ontmoetingscentrum" part remained rather uncertain.

That evening, I found the registration information from Erf Goed Logies in my inbox. They do seem to be a good organisation, doing a lot to support their members and, indirectly, Monumental buildings and Dutch heritage. But I learned that membership for a B&B with 5 bedrooms would be 750 Euro per year! That would be worth it, of course, if our occupancy rate was 20% and we wanted to double it. But if we are already going to reach 80% easily? I suppose it could also be useful if we were very popular and wanted to raise our rates and cater to a more affluent crowd. But... but... we aren't really the affluent-crowd types. Not that there's anything wrong with having a lot of money, it's just that it's so fun to socialize with a wide cross-section of people. But perhaps the most important reason to still consider joining Erf Goed Logies is their emphasis on "arrangements." It would be nice if we regularly had visitors who, for example, wanted to celebrate their anniversary with a 3-day vacation including hiking, canoeing, picnic basket with a bottle of champagne, Shiatsu treatments, and sitting in the hot tub under the stars. If these people don't find us through the normal channels, we could always consider joining Erf Goed Logies later....

I checked back at the forum for members of www.bedandbreakfast.nl, where I had left a question about the economy, occupancy rates, and getting mortgages. 7 people have answered my survey: 1 said business was much worse, 2 said it was somewhat worse, 2 said it was somewhat better, and 2 said it was much better (compared to last year.) And one person had posted a written response: She has her own B&B, and she is a real estate agent specializing in unusual buildings, including B&B's. She used to work as a horeca real estate agent. She knows how to do exploitatiebegrotingen (how to translate... budgets for exploitation... basically how much money you can expect to make from using a building) plus the other stuff you need to arrange financially for a B&B, including a business plan. It sounded too good to be true, so I was immediately suspicious. Her last line, though, stated that a first visit was free. No 178 Euro surprises. I took a deep breath and called to make an appointment. Results will be posted in a few days, I hope!

But first, I need to write another post about Sunday.

update on "our" house in Bunnik: March 5-12

I've been very busy the last few days, doing research, still staying optimistic that we'll find a way to buy the house at Dorpsstraat 1....

First, some "thank-you" messages:

to Renee, for the great tip that we talk to the Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis (children's hospital) and let them know that we could host families if the Ronald MacDonald house is full. "Our" house is just a few minutes drive away from the hospital.

Norm: how interesting that you know the house from your childhood! Yes, we'd love to have copies of photos and info from the book you mentioned about Bunnik.

Manfred: great that you are willing to "spread the word." Yes, I think the networks from our Utrecht Ondernemers Academy will help us a lot.

Leslie: thanks for the encouragement and your own update and hope we can get together this week!

Wendy: you asked how the owners reacted when we asked if it would be possible to rent for a year or two...

I'll begin there. On Thursday, March 5, we had our second tour of the house and spoke with both owners. They said that they would naturally prefer to sell the house than rent it, and that they thought it would be a pity for us to pay a high rent to them without being able to call the place our own -- but, that they didn't really need all the money at once and they would be willing to consider alternatives. For example, splitting the house into two parts, on paper, and selling us half, if we could get a mortgage for that much, and renting us the other half for a few years. In any case, it seems that they like us and our plans, and we like them and their house, and we are all willing to be flexible. Just as long as they get their money eventually and we don't get in over our heads -- we all agreed that we need to be practical and give it up if it starts to look too difficult.

On Friday, March 6, we went to visit a woman who has a similar set-up in Baarn: an old house that she remodeled and uses for her practice and rents out to others. She said she had some ideas and could probably help us. (She didn't say that she would be sending us a bill for 178 Euro's afterwards. Her website did mention somewhere in very fine print that she gives consultations to businesses for 75 Euro -- I guess I should have asked explicitly, is that per hour or per session, inclusive or exclusive tax?) So, that left a bitter taste. Most of her advice was not something I would have paid for (like what colors to paint the walls and stuff -- that part we can handle.) I wanted to know about financing and reasonable expectations for how in demand our rental rooms would be. But anyway. We did get a little information on those points: meeting rooms are very much in demand (she says -- no specific numbers) and she has a feeling that we could get a mortgage if we could put a lot of money in a sort of deposit account -- what I described in my first letter to everyone. My intuition is that this one little piece of information was what we needed to get from her. I suppose, if it works out, those 5 minutes were worth the 178 Euro.

On Sunday, March 8, we went to an art exposition at "Concordia" in Utrecht and talked to quite a few artists. I collected business cards and contact info for the ones we liked the most, so we can invite them later to display artwork at our place, or give classes, or whatever. I like the idea of having art (and music) be part of our project.

On Monday, March 9, I met with our "loopbaan" group and shared my enthusiasm over all the developments. The others reminded me how much I've changed since I started going to those meetings. It was hard to remember. But yes, it is true: I'm focused much more these days on the statement sitting on a postcard in front of my computer screen: "Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams." It is exciting and fun to research all the possibilities. Even as we open the mail to find a parking ticket, which we won't be able to pay until Paulus collects the money owed to him from his last handiman job. Crazy, thinking about buying a 2 million Euro house when you don't have 50 Euro in the bank.

I wrote the letter that is the second entry in this blog.

On Wednesday, March 10, I finally had a whole day free to go off researching. I started by going to Samaya Conference Center in Werkhoven. (www.samaya.nl) They have (more or less) 6 conference rooms and 40-some bedrooms in an old cloister, which they rent out for conferences, and they also offer organic meals. One of Bunnik's 6 approved wedding locations is in their chapel. The receptionist said she was quite busy and all the conference rooms were occupied but if I wanted to guide myself around the hallways, I was welcome. So I did. I knew already from their website that it was a pretty cool place -- but wow, in person it was 10 times more special! Beautiful flower arrangements, artwork and photographs and garden spaces... just the whole energy of the place. I was literally in tears. I stopped by the reception again on my way out and learned that (a) they have absolutely no shortage of people who want to use their space and have seen no effect from the current economic situation, and (b) rather often they have more seminar participants than can be accommodated in their guestrooms, and for that situation there is a list of back-up hotels in the area, and they would be very happy to put our B&B on that list. Great!

Then I drove into Bunnik and went to visit the organic food store, Bio Goed, located on the same street as "our" house. The man by the checkout, Michael, turned out to be the owner. His first question, when I told him I wanted to start a bio B&B, was, did I realize I was in Bunnik? He walked me to the door and pointed out all the empty store fronts up and down the street. The only reason he is still in business, he said, was because he has no employees. He runs the whole business himself, the way he likes it, because that's the way he likes it. But if I really wanted to do it, he would be very happy to have us there. In fact, he'd be happy to have a Lidl across the street, he said, laughing. Anything to liven up the place. (Lidl is a chain of discount stores, where you can buy, for example, 12 liters at a time of off-brand cola. The polar opposite of one-man owned and run organic food store, dus.) Bunnik is apparently rather sleepy. Many residents work at the University and shop in Utrecht. He told in a very animated way how they have a vrijmarkt (open air flea market -- a Dutch tradition) on Queen's Day -- it starts around 10 a.m. and is all over by noon! Queen's Day in Utrecht, of course, starts the night before, goes on all night with music and partying and games and TONS of people. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Of course, as we're talking, customers are coming in and out. He knew most of them by name and greeted them with, "hey so-and-so, this woman wants to open a bed and breakfast in Bunnik, what do you think of that?" I think I was there for an hour and a half.

I learned a bunch of useful things: He'd be happy to order for/with us, and not at the "advertised price." There's a short cut over to the warehouse for one of the local important suppliers; we could take turns with him driving over to pick up our orders. We could leave fliers, etc., in his shop. He doesn't have time to provide recipes and samples for his customers and would be happy if we brought soup or snacks down to his shop. He'd be very happy to organize events in cooperation with us. If we want to rent bicycles, there's no one else doing it in Bunnik and we could get a nice supply of good cheap bikes at the police auction. He recommends getting stagaires (apprentice-type people) from the Vrij School (Waldorf school) in Zeist to help out when it is busy. And he knows a family across the street who used to run a B&B and we could talk to them about how it went -- unfortunately they had already closed their shop. His idea was that their B&B didn't go so well, but a client in the store was pretty sure that it was successful and that they stopped for other reasons.

My last stop that day was at the jeugdherberg (youth hostel) in Rhijnauwen. They have rooms to rent (family style with bunk beds and also dormitory style, I think. Plus several conference-type rooms.) I talked to the two guys at the reception. Have they noticed an effect from the economy? Would they recommend opening a B&B in the area? Would they be interested in cooperative efforts? Sadly, it seems that things are not going so well for them. The number of reservations there is much less than it was last year (although last year it was already going down, so I don't know if the problem has to do with the economy entirely.) They said that many hotels are having a hard time and it is quite easy to dig around a little and come up with a big discount at a 5-star hotel, and pay about the same as what they charge at the hostel. They would definitely not recommend investing in a B&B right now. There had been a B&B in Bunnik but it didn't make it. So. That was all a bit sobering. But as Paulus said that night, the youth hostel crowd is absolutely not the same as the B&B crowd.

On Thursday, March 12, I went to the gemeentehuis (city hall) for Bunnik, which is located in the nearby town of Odijk. I found a wall there full of interesting fliers (local choirs performances, agendas for small courses like drawing and yoga, etc.) and spoke with one of their workers. I learned that with a B&B of 5 rooms, we'll need to ask for a gebruiksvergunning (permission for particular use of something). Someone from the city hall would then come by and check for things like emerency exits, etc. But in general, she reacted positively to our idea. I pointed out that I thought a B&B would be good for Bunnik, and she agreed. I also asked about a horecavergunning. It turns out that a horecavergunning is permission for serving alcohol, and only for serving alcohol (although the name suggests that it is about horeca in general: hotels, restaurants and catering.) If we don't serve alcohol (for a payment), we only need a gebruiksvergunning. We can still serve alcohol for "closed" parties and receptions, or for example as part of a chamber music concert during an intermission, as long as the cost is part of the entrance price. I don't think this is how they do it in America, but fine... I think I understand what the rules are now, even if they don't make sense to me.

At the city hall, I also asked about the wedding situation. We had heard from the owners that the city wanted to continue using one of the rooms for wedding ceremonies. I learned that yes, the upstairs hall had been used for weddings before and we could probably continue that. If it is something we enjoy doing and we put some effort into it, we might end up hosting more than the current owners have. But, Bunnik is not like Utrecht and there isn't a huge waiting list for getting married. They do about 50 weddings a year in Bunnik, and that is including Fort Vechten, which is quite a popular location. My conclusion: we aren't going to be doing weddings every month -- but with a good website and outreach, we might be able to appeal to the Utrecht market a bit. If you are free to go to another gemeente to get married, and Utrecht has long waiting lists and Bunnik is very close by.... it doesn't take a rocket scientist...

At the end of our talk, the woman told me about a new organisation in the area that might be interesting to me. She found a full-page ad in the local paper (and here is the website: www.streekhuiskrommerijn.nl) The ad was to promote their opening ceremony on April 4th, but when I read it, I thought, I need to drive right over to their offices now! So I did. They were very friendly and helpful. Apparently, Streek Huis Kromme Rijn is an organization (with a large budget from the national government) to care for the whole Kromme Rijn region -- focusing on the environment, agriculture, history, tourism, and quality of life. Of course, they don't have money to give to an individual B&B, but it is good to know that they are doing things that are likely to make our B&B more successful, like adding more bicycle paths and promoting organic farming. I think we could arrange some sort of open door event, or a canoe or bicycle tour, featuring eco-friendly companies and farms, etc., and apply for a grant to cover our expenses. The people there also suggested that I contact a group called Terecht Anders (www.terechtanders.nl), that works specifically with B&B's, tourist-oriented businesses, farms, producers of organic products, and artists in the area.

My last stop on Thursday was at Amelisweerd, where people I know through Rio de Bio have a tea house (called the bezoekerscentrum -- it is coupled on their kitchen, which is called the Veldkeuken.) I spoke with Juliette there, who was also very helpful and friendly. At their tea house, they haven't seen any negative effects from the economic situation. They have a conference room upstairs that they rent out for 50 Euros for a "dagdeel" (part of a day, usually 4 hours) and it is no problem finding people who want to use it. Frequently those people then eat lunch in the tea house. They have a loyal following, people who are very disappointed when they hear that the room is taken. If Juliette tries to refer them to the youth hostel, they aren't very happy ("it's just not the right atmosphere" -- I think Paulus was right...) Juliette said they would be very happy to work with us, refer their clients to us for the B&B and/or our meeting rooms, and do catering for us (their food is all organic and really delicious -- we'd be crazy to try to make the same products ourselves.)

I really like the way they have set up the tea house, with rough wooden benches and tables, displays of local products and books, flowers, nature drawings on the walls. Like Samaya, it feels friendly and peaceful. And it is also right on the Kromme Rijn, so I'm sure we could cooperate on hiking, biking and canoeing events.

That was Thursday... I still have to report on Friday, but it is already my bedtime.... until tomorrow!