Have read that chocolates make a nice gift. In regular hotels, we have given extra tips to concierge (if we stayed in place enough to have one!) but plants, fresh flowers, or wine to people who have gone out of their way to help us. Opportunities to tailor the gift can also arise-one lovely desk clerk made several phone calls to lost luggage for us. When she suggested we see a Bottecelli exhibit in Florence, we bought her the exhibition guide. We also wrote the hotel's owner to commend her. We don't know how this one worked but we met the nicest man in a restaurant in Rome. He was a regular so as we continued our conversation, he had the waiter bring us dessert drinks and cookies. After he left, we left money for the waiter to present this guy with a bottle of wine when he came for his next dinner. A la eurotraveller's post cards, I have made note cards from photos taken of the hotel (a clunky key on a marble dresser, the house cat, a pretty entry) and sent them with a thank you for the wonderful service with my promise to recommend the hotel to my friends. BTW, if you ever make Pisa your hub, Royal Victoria Hotel gets our vote for old world charm and seriously good service. Saying thank you with a gift goes a long way. Have a wonderful trip!

I wouldn't bring a small gift to a hotelier, but I might to a b&b proprietor who had been helpful with pre-arrival information, an offer of transportation, or whatever. True, a b&b rental is a business transaction, but one hopes it's a bit more, and it often is -- especially if the guest is a nice as you!

I don't get this.. but that's OK.

Leave a gift for the B&B owner if its your desire, but please remember to tip the cleaning staff with currency of their homeland...
Brandsberg, I am not suggesting that you'd do this... this next comment is just an "aside"
This leaving old clothing is just completely horrid - bad taste...gross...
some sort of crazy nobless-oblige? YUK

This has never entered my mind. I have to say, for our trip in May to the UK, the prices we will pay for B&B's will not allow for hostess gifts and I think such a thing would be totally unexpected. Running a B&B or any hotel is a business. I suppose if you return to the same place annually then a hostess gift would be a nice gesture.