We are staying in a number of small hotels and family run establishments and thought it might be nice to take little gifts to those families. Do you have any suggestions of gifts that might be welcome?

it's a nice thought, but a hotel or B&B is a business, not a social arrangement, and unless you have some personal relationship with the family, a gift is not necessary.
Should you be very pleased with your stay, you can always send a note or a souvenir of your home town when you return home.

I posted a question similar to this a few weeks ago and got some very good ideas. Some of the suggestions were something special from your home state or town, a coffee table book or something similar with pictures of your area, etc. Where are you from and what is special in your area? I hope this helps!

Hi brandsberg, actually I am going to do this the next time I go to Italy. The hotel I stay in located in the Veneto area is owned by two brothers, their wives work in the hotel too at the desk. All four are lovely people.

They have been so wonderful to me, will not charge me for the in room fridge items, for coffee and wine from the bar etc. and I have had so many wonderful talks with them about SF that I am going to bring them a book about SF the next time I go.

I think when people put themselves out for you it is nice to do something personal.

I always remember so many of our insureds (when we owned an insurance agency) bringing in all kind of wonderful things to us at Christmas. Wines, cognac, homebaked goodies, boxes of candy etc. It was so thoughtful.

Even though one has a business relationship there is nothing wrong IMHO to show appreciation for courtesys and kindness that go beyond the mere business requirements.

Nbbrown has a great idea for thoughtful gifts And I am sure they will be appreciated.

What this world needs more of is kindness and thoughtfulness.

Hi bb,

It is one thing to bring a gift to someone with whom you have had an ongoing relationship, quite another to bring a gift to people whom you have just met.

In the latter case you will be making a faux pas, in that they will wonder what you expect in return.

I suggest that you wait until your last day and decide if you want to give them a little something.

Anything from your hometown will be appropriate.

Flowers are always welcome.

A couple of years ago I created a postcard in Microsoft Publisher with wonderful pictures of Oregon on the front and interesting facts about Oregon on the back along with a photo of myself and the person I travel with the most. I typically stay in sobe's, zimmers and other types of small accomodations. The postcards are warmly received. It gives the establishment owners a good picture of where I come from.

When I travel to visit friends in other countries I bring something that is specific to Oregon as nbbbrown suggests. I gave a coffee table book of Oregon to one of my good friends in Germany and she was thrilled with it! She emailed me a couple of weeks ago to let me know she had been looking through the book and she is coming to visit in July!

Cheers!

Tamara

While not specific to the region you are coming from I have started gifting people house plants rather than flowers as I feel it is more eco friendly and they last longer. In case I am not sure of the house I take small indoor plants eg cactus which most people do not have allergy, etc issues with - sometimes flowering ones eg anthuriums look so much better in a pot rather than cut - and if I know they have place I take outdoor plants.

Hi brandsberg, I misunderstood evidently. I thought you were returning to hotels where you had stayed before and on this visit wanted to bring a small gift.

Yes, I agree, if this is your first visit to these establishments I would not bring anything.

I am sorry for the confusion I no doubt caused.

I agree with some of the others in that it would be rather weird to give gifts upon arrival to folks you've never met, but if you enjoy your stay and are friendly with the owners--by all means send something from home as a "thank you."
I stayed in some historic [and very rustic] cabins in Silver Gate, Montana owned by a family. There little boy's name was unusual--Schuyler, pronounced sky-ler-- and so when I wrote them a letter in thanks I included a bit of newspaper about a town in my own state of the same name. I'm sure the kid got a kick out of that.
Anyway, if you are from a western state, I would send a little cowboy/Wild West themed momento. Europeans eat that stuff up, and the cheesier the better!

I agree with Ira... I wouldn't give them a gift on the first day of arrival, or they may think you are hinting for something extra. But on the last day, if you've totally enjoyed your stay and felt a warm welcome, by all means, give a warm little gift. I don't think it hurts to be a giving person. Like LoveItaly says... this world needs a little more kindness and thoughtfulness!

One thing most Europeans always seem to enjoy is a potted flowering plant. This would not be to personal and would be a nice thank you at the end of the stau for any of the places that you feel you want to show your appreciation to. Sounds like you will have a beautiful trip.

I'm still trying to think why you would take a gift to a business owner, particularly a hotel owner where you are paying to stay in their business. If you are talking about a true B&B, where you will be staying in their actual home, that might be a different matter. Will you also take gifts for restaurant owners, taxi drivers, or shop owners? Most of those will also be family run establishments.

OK - you are staying in small hotels and B&Bs - over the course of a year they will have had maybe 400 - 1000 different guests.

They do not want "hostess" gifts from you. All they want is for you to pay the bill and leave by check out time.

Not being cynical here - they are running a business and do not expect anything and would not have space to store all those little trinkets/gifts.

You MIGHT form a personal relationship, but you also might not see them for more than a few minutes during your entire stay. If you should become friends, you can always send them something from home later.

Hi Patrick, actually I did give flowers to a shop owner in Veneto who did me a big favor one day.

I needed to buy wines to take to a dinner that night. That afternoon was the afternoon the shops that sold wine were closed for the afternoon. You know how the various shops rotate their closing due to the Italian law.

I was talking to a darling woman who owned a dress store and asked her (in my terrible Italian) if she knew anywhere I could buy wine.

She suddenly made a phone call and talked to someone. Then she locked up her shop and took me to another business. It turned out this couple owned an American style cocktail lounge (not usual in Italy).

The took us down the streets to the wherehouse where they stored the liquor for their lounge. They had me pick out the bottles I wanted. They indicated I could pay the dress store owner later (they were on their way to somewhere else). The dress store owner and I went back to her shop and she took the wines and wrapped them in beautiful wrapping paper and put a bow on it.

The couple "broke the law" by doing this. But of course "they gave me a gift" as they did not accept payment for the wine that day. LOL. Love the Italian thinking.

I gave the money to the dress store owner and she said that she would give it to them when they returned from wherever they went for two days. I would have brought them some flowers too if they had been in town.

Keep in mind, all these people were strangers although the dress store owner did sort of know who I was evidently(because of my friends in this town).

So sometimes one does want to do this.

And as I mentioned, our insureds use to bring us so many presents. It was never taken for granted, but it certainly was always so appreciated and touched our hearts.

Where I live it is not unusual for people to bring in goodies or flowers for bank tellers, medical nurses, their hairdresser etc. People that have gone out of their way to make one life nicer or easier. But then Californians have a reputation as being "strange" so what can you expect

Well, I'm a Washingtonian nurse, and I guess we are strange too! As a nurse, we receive all kind of gifts from people, as a "thank you" for providing a service that they feel is outstanding. It makes us feel wonderful and truly appreciated!

I plan on bringing small gifts to give to those who make our special trip extra special. (After all, this is a trip we've saved forever for.) Including those bed and breakfasts that we stay in, even though we are paying them *(and plan to "pay our bill and leave by checkout time". It seems the decent (if not popular) thing to do.

We have given gifts to business people we've dealt with for some time and have developed a personal relationship with, or to someone who does a great favor. But to routinely hand out trinkets to hotel and B&B owners seems, well, like a desperate cry for affection or attention.

And I would bet that most of such gifts would end up in the trash or basement or regifted pretty quickly. Buying appropriate gifts for someone you don't know is very difficult.

My thought process has been that Americans seem to be very badly thought of these days and I always try to be very thoughtful when I travel.

I see examples of Americans acting badly when we travel overseas. I bet that the majority are very pleasant, but I deal with the public as well and somehow it is hard to forget those who treat you badly.

Perhaps some kind of food product would be best, like Virginia peanuts or Maple syrup.

Something hard to get there. Any suggestions from someone who travels in Turkey?

When I responded to this before, the title of your post sort of escaped me. Now I realize the faultiness of your reasoning. You're asking about "hostess gifts"? You shouldn't consider a hotel owner to be your "hostess" in the first place. They are a business, not a friend.

brandsberg: "My thought process has been that Americans seem to be very badly thought of these days and I always try to be very thoughtful when I travel."

Believe me - people in the hospitality industry don't think badly of Americans -- unless of course they are jerks.

I really don't understand what you hope to accomplish w/ this. If you take food items who is going to eat it -- the owner, or the cleaning/breakfast staff who will probably do most of the work?

You are going to a HOTEL - whether it is family run or a huge chain it is still a hotel.

About every 6 months or so a similar thread goes around Fodors -- "what to take to my B&B hostess?" The answer is nothing -- honest.

Loveitaly is in a different situation - she is talking about taking gifts to a place she has stayed many times or giving a small gift to a shopkeeper who went above and beyond.

In your case - I dare say that hotelier will likely have a nice laugh behind your back about the "Crazy American". They aren't your "hostess" - they are renting you a roof over your head and a bed.

An American associate of mine gives these hostess presents to people with whom he has a commercial, not personal, relationship. The recipients are universally confused, and regard him as a rather pushy eccentric. Not quite a jerk, but not far short. THe gesture leaves a taste in mthe mouth that's closer to nasty than nice.

If an employee of a service business goes out of their way to help, a tip or a small present - like flowers - might sometimes be fine.

If the proprietor (or family member) of a small business does likewise, a handwritten letter of thanks will stay in the mind long after those flowers have faded. And a few recommendations would be nice too.