THE ABC OF B&B: Randy Vogel, 47 has raced most of his life, too, albeit around the buoys and in open waters. You'd expect that of the scion of a clan long evident in the "Victor" section of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club's membership roll. He kicked off the Vancouver Area Racing Council's regatta season by sponsoring a reception there recently. Vogel, who raced around on foot as a 25-year mortgage broker, now does it only aboard "the smallest and cheapest boat in the family." It's an ultralight Martin 242 sloop that can ghost along on mere zephyrs but is jail-cell austere below.

What a contrast to Vogel and wife Pam's day-to-day business. That's BB Vancouver, which operates four-unit Hycroft Suites on West 15th Ave. and the five-suite Granville House B&B 30 blocks to the south. "We thought we'd done the wrong thing," Vogel said of paying $500,000 for their first property, a 1929-built former adult-care home, and the same again converting it just before 9/11 struck the visitor market. Then, when business grew (not to mention today's $3.5-million assessment), "We'd done the right thing."

Right enough for them to buy the character-looking but three-year-old 5050 Granville in 2007 and equip it with superior, five-star amenities. Rates range from a low-season $125 suite to a high-season $1,000 whole house. Average stays at kitchen-equipped Hycroft are four days and two at Granville House. And booking, which for B&Bs long relied on postage-and-paper, is all online and instantly confirmed.

Vogel and former chain-restaurant cash manager Pam Kehler planned to rent out their first purchase, But honeymooning at Salt Spring Island's Hastings House changed that. Now, after missing out on a 10,000-square-foot Granville Street mansion, they're seeking a third B&B or an up-to-100-room hotel. His ideal would be the Broadway-at-Granville building that once housed RBC's residential-mortgage centre. "I love my South Granville neighbourhood," he said. "Half way to the airport." As for B&B operators' risks: "The nice thing about this business is that, if you fail, you've still got a nice home."



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Malcolm+Parry+Trade+Talk+bikes+have+changed+Patrick+Visser+love+wheel+power/8256397/story.html#ixzz2YFH6He6k, As mentioned on Breakfast Televisions, Featured on News For The Soul.