It sound's like the B^B from hell. I'd make as much complaints as possible to whomever.

miniapple1...Did anyone else have anything taken?..I would find it odd if the house was broken into yet only your room was robbed...If this is so I would suspect the owner left the front door open on purpose to let his friend in...You think he would have learned to lock his front door if he had been robbed before....Usually people who have been robbed are very careful about locking their doors afterwards.

Just a final note: Montreal is decidedly NOT a city where folks leave their front doors unlocked and has not been since 1970!

We are not aware of any other items being stolen.

This is strange because the owner is a big collector of antiques.

The establishment had 4 cameras on front door, back door, dining room, and stairway (if I remember correctly). There was no camera on the floor with rooms (just the stairway that led to this floor).

You can see the thief go direct up the stairs to the top floor (the floor with the rooms). He does not enter any other room. Since there is no camera on the guests' floor you cannot tell whether he tried to enter other rooms.

I would not be a very good judge of what antiques have value or not, but that did strike me as strange (that no other room was even entered).

We intended to update this listing once we had taken further steps.

LJ suggested contacting BBCanada to report the incident. We provided them with a similar account of the story but never received a reply.

I tried to write a rather balanced review for bedandbreakfast.com. They requested verification of our stay (which we sent in) but have not responded and seem uninterested in posting the review.

We are going to contact some of the local government agencies, but the local BB associations do not seem very helpful.

At this point, we are ready to inform anyone of the incident, so any ideas/local resources would be very helpful. Thanks!

I am very pleased that you followed up. But I am even more disappointed in BBCanada. I have been a big supporter of them as my job gives me some opportunities to recommend (or not)this type of service. I am taking your comments about their lack of response seriously. Thank you...and I hope your NEXT trip offers more blessings and less grief!

BBCanada is a paid advertising site, not an association or regulatory body. I have had dealings with them in the past regarding unlicensed accommodations operating illegally in my town, and their reponse has always been that they are not a bylaw enforcement agency. They do not require any documentation of legal operating status, insurance etc. to advertise with them (unlike the provincial tourism directories). They are, however, recently under new management, so maybe their policies will be reviewed.

I am not sure what the law says on this matter (whether, for instance, a B&B falls under the Innkeepers Act) however, common sense tells me that the owner is liable for your loss if he did not lock the door (negligence). However, if you were provided with a lock on the door to your room and did not use it, then perhaps you also have a share of the negligence.

I would complain to all associations/regulatory bodies and pursue it through insurance....which is what it sounds like you are doing. Hopefully you will get some satisfaction... at the very least, this B&B owner will probably be more careful about locking his door in the future!

Provincial small claims court might be another option (but a hassle for you)... if the dollar value of your loss is within their limit (in my province, I think it's $2000 or less).

Good luck!

What did your insurance company do - did they reimburse you?

Here's the Government of Quebec tourism site - maybe there's somewhere on there you can complain.

http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-en/accueil0.html

I am so sorry you had this experience. I used to be in the B&B business, so know that because they had no "Suns" as a rating(Like stars in other places), they likely have not been rated or regulated by Quebec government. That won't work trying to report them there. As mentioned by someone else, BBCanada is just an advertising site.

I would report them to the Better Business Bureau of Montreal, keep checking with police and definitely would post on Trip Advisor. That last idea is very powerful. Don't mince words.