The Journal

Writing for people who run the place themselves.

Practical notes on running a B&B or small hotel, winning direct bookings, and staying on the right side of the paperwork. No fluff, no jargon.

Latest

How-to guides

The VAT Threshold for B&Bs and Small Hotels: How to See It Coming, and What Crossing Really Costs

The £90,000 test runs on any 12 months, not the tax year — and you cross it in the month you beat last year by more than your headroom. How to see it coming, and what crossing really costs.

Harris·11 September 2026·11 min read

More from the Journal

How-to guides
Hotel Reports for Independents: The Five to Open on a Monday Morning
Five reports, not fifty: the twenty-minute Monday routine for a 5–40 room independent, and why most weeks only one of the next six needs you to act.Harris·10 September 2026·11 min read
How-to guides
Seasonal Pricing for a B&B: How to Build a Rate Calendar That Holds
Two prices is not seasonal pricing. Build four or five tiers from your own booking history, then spend the effort on the top two — that is where 89% of the money is.Harris·8 September 2026·11 min read
How-to guides
Seasonal Pricing for a B&B: How to Build a Rate Calendar That Holds
Two prices is not seasonal pricing. Four or five tiers, mapped onto a calendar built from your own booking history — and almost all of the money is in getting the top two right.Harris·7 September 2026·11 min read
How-to guides
RevPAR Calculator: Work Out Your Number, Then Find Out Whether It's Any Good
The arithmetic takes a second: room revenue divided by available room nights. The useful part is what comes next — whether £80.67 is a good number for a twelve-room house in September, or a poor one.Harris·4 September 2026·8 min read
How-to guides
Direct Bookings vs OTA Commission: What a Booking Is Really Worth
A £220 booking is worth anywhere between £155 and £216 depending on which channel it arrived through. Here is how to work out the real take rate of each one, what shifting your mix is actually worth, and why net RevPAR is the only number that matches your bank account.Harris·3 September 2026·9 min read
Buying guides
Bed and Breakfast Booking Systems: What a Small B&B Actually Needs
Most B&B software is a hotel system with the hotel parts left in, or a holiday-let calendar that has never heard of breakfast. Here is what actually matters at four to twelve rooms — including the one limit that quietly decides whether free calendar sync will work for you at all.Harris·2 September 2026·8 min read
How-to guides
How to Increase RevPAR at a Small Hotel (Without Cutting Your Rates)
Discounting to chase occupancy is how a small hotel makes less money while looking busier. Six levers that lift RevPAR without touching your headline rate — and a 30-day plan for working through them.Harris·1 September 2026·9 min read
How-to guides
Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR: How to Calculate the Three Numbers That Matter
Occupancy tells you how full you were, ADR what you charged, RevPAR what your rooms actually earned. The formulas, a worked example for a 12-room guest house, the UK benchmarks worth measuring against, and the mistakes that quietly skew the numbers.Harris·31 August 2026·6 min read
How-to guides
How to Sync Booking.com and Airbnb Calendars (And When iCal Stops Working)
iCal keeps a single cottage's dates straight across Booking.com and Airbnb for free. Here is how to set it up in both directions, what it quietly will not do, and the point where it stops being the cheap option.Harris·26 August 2026·8 min read
Buying guides
Holiday Let Booking Systems: What Self-Catering Owners Actually Need
Every holiday let booking system claims it syncs your calendars. Very few explain the difference between checking a feed every few hours and pushing an update the moment a booking lands. That gap is where your August weekends go.Harris·25 August 2026·9 min read
Buying guides
Hidden Fees in Hotel Software: What to Check Before You Sign
The monthly price is rarely the full cost. The charges that tend to appear after signing — and the eight questions to put to every vendor in writing first.Harris·21 August 2026·9 min read

Writing for people who run the place themselves.

Latest

The VAT Threshold for B&Bs and Small Hotels: How to See It Coming, and What Crossing Really Costs

More from the Journal

Hotel Reports for Independents: The Five to Open on a Monday Morning

Seasonal Pricing for a B&B: How to Build a Rate Calendar That Holds

Seasonal Pricing for a B&B: How to Build a Rate Calendar That Holds

RevPAR Calculator: Work Out Your Number, Then Find Out Whether It's Any Good

Direct Bookings vs OTA Commission: What a Booking Is Really Worth

Bed and Breakfast Booking Systems: What a Small B&B Actually Needs

How to Increase RevPAR at a Small Hotel (Without Cutting Your Rates)

Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR: How to Calculate the Three Numbers That Matter

How to Sync Booking.com and Airbnb Calendars (And When iCal Stops Working)

Holiday Let Booking Systems: What Self-Catering Owners Actually Need

Hidden Fees in Hotel Software: What to Check Before You Sign