ME_Innkeeper

Thanks to those who responded back to my post! I am not in the habit of 'entertaining'. I don't do parties. I dread family coming for extended visits and they know this, so they don't! <grin>

I am not the least little bit a morning person. I don't wake up chipper and jump out of bed to greet the day.

So, you're asking, why the heck is she doing this for a living? The answer is kind of involved but the short version is that I get a lot of satisfaction from this 'job'. I get to decorate an entire house for other people to enjoy. (I get to decorate MY house for me to enjoy!)

Guests come in from all over the world. Getting opinions from people who are not a bit like me is VERY interesting. I like being able to say I've had people from Mongolia stay in my home.

This will be an 'I told you so' moment for those who go away to get away, but the conversations in the morning are what keep me going. And it's one of our top compliments...'I loved the conversation.'

Yes, we DID have one gentleman in our 3 years here walk out the door saying it was like eating in an Army barracks (he REALLY likes his peace and quiet in the morning) but, overall, guests have enjoyed themselves.

So, for those who can't see themselves in a million years staying in a B&B (my parents and siblings as an example) it's a good thing hotels have come as far as they have in a thousand years.

For those who like B&B's but have had some not too happy experiences, please keep trying! There are so many different kinds of 'B&B' out there to enjoy!

jerryw

Just thought I would chime in. . .

In Ireland, Great Britain, Wales, and Italy, we have loved B&B's. Some were great, some not so great--all added to the experience and were cheaper than hotels. A few had communal tables, most did not. I think the key is, to a certain extent, is just act like you "own" the place and make yourself at home and to speak up when you need/want something. We do prefer when the owner's have their own private quarters. And we probably engaged in conversation with the locals to a much greater extent than if we had done the "hotel" thing. And that's a good thing.

In Hawaii we love the "vacation rental" experience. Not a B&B, but usually you do get to interact with a "local" and, again, that's a good thing.

In the mainland US--I find that B&B's are just too expensive. We travel extensively and usually just go the Priceline route for hotels--the cost is the factor, but I would love to try more B&B's if the price was right.

ME_Innkeeper

To dmlove:

"I much prefer to find a local coffee house/bagel joint for my breakfast (for example, the fabulous The Croissant Shop, I think it's called, on the same block as the Residence Inn Times Square, or the Coffee Pot in Sedona)."

Oh, if only I could last long enough to find a nice diner or coffee shop! That said, I had the best breakfast in the Eagle's Nest Restaurant in SF. Not sure if it is still there on the pier or not. Totally locals the first time I went, totally tourists the next time.

When it was all locals it was great. Complete strangers wanted to know where I was from and what I was going to be doing. They helped me figure out how to order and were yelling from the back what the best menu items were. (No yelling goes on at breakfast here, but we do get some guests saying to the new arrivals, 'Ooo, this was really good.') (Always nice to hear.)

I could have eaten at the swanky hotel I was staying at in SF but even Willy Nelson (also staying there) asked me where to go to eat.

You're right, $15 for breakfast at a hotel was way too much.

ME_Innkeeper

To jerryw:

"In the mainland US--I find that B&B's are just too expensive. We travel extensively and usually just go the Priceline route for hotels--the cost is the factor, but I would love to try more B&B's if the price was right."

I'm interested...what price would be right? I ask because I know the hotels in my town have prices from $179-$350. I guess they discount on Priceline, but I don't know that for sure.

The $350 is over double what I charge and that doesn't include breakfast. (And it's a Hilton, not exactly the upper echelon of hotels.) Even the $179 beats out my top price in peak season.

You could stay at an Econolodge or Super8 for about $79-$99 in season, which is substantially less than I could charge and still stay open.

Hope you read this, I'd like to get an idea from someone who would stay at a B&B what a good price would be.

And what that price should include.

toedtoes

Me_Innkeeper - do you live in the B&B or do you have a separate residence?

From your posts, it sounds like you do VERY MUCH enjoy being around people and conversing with them (even if you don't necessarily want them in your personal space), which would conform with my take on things.

P.S. Regarding your first post, I would KILL to have an ice machine close to my room...

AAFrequentFlyer

In my earlier post I stated that I do prefer nice hotels but my few experiences with B&Bs were satisfactory and in one case a great experience.

But since you asked about what is a fair rate for a room at a B&B, here is my take.

A B&B does not have nearly the expense of a 4*+ hotel.

Just recently, we paid ~$100 for a night at a London Gatwick/Horley area B&B. That included a nice, albeit small ensuite room with a TV, phone and free wi-fi, continental breakfast and a free airport shuttle.

That's about as much as I'm willing to pay for a B&B, unless of course it's a very special, water view, balcony, romantic, private jacuzzi type B&B.

You did mention Hiltons. I have Diamond status with Hilton so not only do I get free breakfast but in most cases I get free finger food throughout the day and in some cases wonderful selection of warm food(depends on the hotel) and free top shelf booze (limited to 2-3 hours in the evening) when I get upgraded for free to the Executive level rooms. So, if I have to pay $200 for a Hilton room that I know has a wonderful executive lounge or $150 for a B&B, I will chose the Hilton.

bnbtraveler

Very interesting thread here. I am glad that innkeepers have piped up too! I think the bed & breakfast of the Newhart show was the norm back then, but bed & breakfasts have evolved very much over the 15+ years I have been open. No fru-fru, stuffed animals, chintzy stuff here... I have fine amenities in the bathroom, flat screen and/or big TV's, movies to watch, elegant robes...washed after every use....comfortable linens...washed on a very regular basis, free wireless internet, etc.... I have 3 tables in the diningroom and parlour for 3 rooms to have breakfast. Sometimes guests enjoy each other so much that they move to be together at the larger table! We never flop around in the guest area watching TV or anything like that. Our private area is very private, on site and in building, but not near guests. I think all of us innkeepers can recount good and bad experiences both at B&B's and at hotels. Why is it that all the scathing hospitality reports about bedspreads and glass washing are about hotels? Our reputation is totally on the line if we are a small place and we are overly vigilant to make sure things are clean and perfect. No two guest rooms walls touch each other here either. I hate being at a hotel where they have the headboards back to back. We have had several occassions where we could hear every snore, sneeze, lovemaking, groan, etc...AT A HOTEL!!! Like others said, we are glad you don't choose us as we want every guest to be comfortable. If in your mind you will not be happy at a b&b, please don't come! With over 50% repeats here, including many business travelers, honeymoon couples, people visiting this gorgeous area...that's OK you don't come. Here this morning my guest took a long walk by 3 lakes, a couple parks, and beautiful neighborhoods, thoroughly enjoying herself and getting a great feel for this area. A hotel parking lot doesn't quite do the same thing....JMHO!!!! I am not saying we are all perfect, or even all good, just that we have to be exceptionally vigiliant to stay in business so most of us work very hard to do so!

Daniel_Williams

It's fascinating the different tastes people have. I've enjoyed most every B&B I've been to (usually well-researched), and have appreciated interactions with owners & staff, sometimes have gotten some great last-minute advice or interesting thoughts on what it's like living in place X. I love the old wooden bookcases with thumbed-through books from the early 20th century, portraits of ancestors with Chester Arthur sideburns in Civil War gear, heirloom desks. I even like the floral patterns and lace doilies if it's the indivduals' taste .

A chacun son gout

ME_Innkeeper

To toedtoes:

I live in a separate space in the same building. You could think of it as an apartment.

So, the guests have the B&B side of the place to themselves, separate living room, porch, etc.

I have my own entry and all of my own stuff, including a kitchen, so I don't make my dinner in the inn kitchen, or watch TV in the inn living room.

I do sit on the inn porch because it's a good spot to chat with neighbors.

Many of the B&B's we looked at to buy had ONE room the innkeepers could call their own. I could not live like that. I want to be able to make a hot cocoa in my jammies at midnight without interrupting guests who are chatting or playing board games in the inn.

ME_Innkeeper

To AAFrequentFlyer:

Ah, the $100 B&B room. Mostly a thing of the past on the coasts. Still available in the midwest.

If I had 80% occupancy like the hotels do I could charge $100/night and do well. If I had 100+ rooms, I could give special travelers such as yourself, the kinds of perks you get.

As it is, I offer a 'Frequent Sleeper' discount to my repeat guests. And they sometimes find chocolates or other special treats in their rooms.

But, $100/night and I'd be broke.

artandorchids

There are as many different types of B & Bs as there are innkeepers. If you do research and talk to the innkeeper in advance you won't be surprised or disappointed. If you don't like communal dining, stay at a B & B with individual tables. If you don't like sharing a common area with the innkeepers, don't stay someplace like that.

You may want to stay in a hotel if you are very busy and just want to check in and out without talking to someone. If you are on vacation and want to find out more about the area, where to go, where to eat, etc. you will probably really like a B & B.

Brittany90

I am baffled by this conversation. It sounds like many of you have never stayed at a B&B/inn or have formed an opinion based on a visit or two. I have traveled almost exclusively at B&B/inns for the last 20 years both here in the States & abroad, and my husband and I recently opened an inn.

We have: high thread count 100% cotton pressed sheets, free secure Wifi, 3 course gourmet breakfast made with fresh ingredients from scratch(served at our guests' choice of times), fresh ground organic free trade coffee, complimentary soft drinks, bottled water, iced tea, afternoon snacks, high grade mattresses and freshly laundered linens from the mattress to the comforters, jetted tubs, steam showers, fireplaces, beautiful furnishings & Oriental rugs (no doilies in sight!!), and much more. We also provide concierge services, print boarding passes for our guests (just today I printed up information on a National site that our guests wanted to travel to & had it waiting at their place at breakfast), and much, much more.

I personally have never received that level of service unless I was staying at a 5 star resort! (Or some of my friends' B&B/inns).

I think that many of you are quite misinformed. And some of those stories are really bizarre.

toedtoes

Thanks for clarifying Me_Innkeeper.

Brittany - I don't think anyone is saying that the accommodations aren't up to par (or above par) at B&Bs, simply that for some of us it's not what we want when we travel.

I also think that while there are several of us here who don't like B&Bs, we wouldn't turn someone else away from staying in one. At least I wouldn't. I have friends that I would happily suggest a B&B rather than a hotel for their travels because I believe THEY would enjoy it. When I've had B&Bs recommended to me, I thank the person and then continue looking for a budget hotel that meets my needs. I don't need to stay in any more than I already have to know it's not MY thing.

Brittany90

I'm glad that you clarified how you feel about B&Bs. Frankly, I personally am not fond of the smaller homestay places where there are no common areas that are exclusively for guests - I don't want to have to hang out in my room ALL the time I also need to have a TV in my room & hopefully something that plays music (all our rooms have TVs, DVD/VCRs, and either have CD players or iPod dock clock radios). I agree that there are some places out there where there's not enough privacy for the guests, but that is usually in the smaller 1-3 room places.

Thomas6

Ah, toedtoes - but that is exactly what many of the original posters were saying about B&Bs - that they were subpar lodging choices for a myriad of reasons. Then we have the 'experiences' that sound like they were written for a men's magazine letters column. And you'll not find a room at my place for $100 but what I charge is still a way better value than the luxury hotel in town. C'est la vie - for every story told about bad B&B experiences, we can match them with guests from he** experiences. Maybe an innkeeper should write a tell-all about bad guests ... lol, am I being negative?

Scarlett

Author: cd
Date: 05/31/2008, 11:13 am
I don't like people in the morning, I really don't even like my husband in the morning ...

LOL!!!

I used to want to own an Inn..we saw one for sale in the Berkshires one summer.
Then the idea of all that work, upkeep etc kept us from going farther than just a What If conversation..

I don't think there are so many misconceptions here, unless someone is posting about staying in a B&B and has not done so... I have and I don't want to again.
For all the reasons stated.
I also think when people refer to "hotels"..they are lumping a lot of different sorts of hotels together.. Maybe the Holiday Inn in Great Barrington smells like chlorine, but the Hotels I generally stay in smell good.. and then there is the issue with the cute little pet, cat / dog that so many B & Bs have .. you cannot bring yours but you get to share theirs.. ah, if I miss my dog, yours won't make me happy.
And the cat hair on the bedspread just does not do anything good for my black outfit lying there.

Anonymous

Yes, the B&B pets will never substitute for our own. But my son who has never owned a dog certainly had a wonderful time playing with the owner's dog at a B&B we stayed at on a New Hampshire farm, the year he was 9. The dog was clearly thrilled to have a playmate with an unending capacity for playing "fetch," since adults are known to have short attention spans in that department.

toedtoes

Thomas - You're right, there were some comments generalizing like that, but I think it was similar to saying "XX hotels are dirty" because you've stayed in 3 of their hotels and they were all dirty. You're going to generalize from your sampling that they all are similar.

While one can argue that a sample that small isn't accurate, it is realistic. People aren't going to continue going someplace that they've tried several times without success because someone else says "but you just haven't gotten a good one", or "not all of them are like that", etc.

If they're asked "what do you think?", they're going to base their answer on their experiences.

I do think B&Bs get a bad rap simply because they are all independent and B&B owner 1 can't control B&B owner 2 from making B&Bs look bad. I also think that B&Bs stay better because they are not "for everyone" - the big corporations aren't buying them out and trying to turn them into an enterprise.

Thomas6

There have been dozens of 'misconceptions' listed here - including yours that the innkeepers' pets have free run of the inn and that no B&Bs allow pets. Neither is true - many B&Bs have pet-friendly rooms, and while we have cats they stay entirely in our private quarters and never go into the guest area of the inn. Except, occasionally, when guests who miss their own cats want to meet ours - and that does happen. Then my one friendly cat is held in my arms whilst being petted by strangers.
As I said before, I'm just as happy to have guests like you stay away - you've tried a B&B and don't like them for whatever reason, and really we have better things to do than convince you otherwise. It is the misconceptions posted here that may lead someone to never try a B&B that we innkeepers take exception to. As any individual hotelier would, I suspect, when he/she is accused of not sanitizing glasses and using cleansers that reek for hours, even though those exposes routinely make the news.

Thomas6

toedtoes - see my response to Scarlett above. Really, I have no quarrel with someone who has stayed at a B&B, even only once, and not found them to his/her liking. I have not loved every B&B I've stayed at. And I most certainly have not loved every hotel I've every stayed at. Yet I don't generalize that all hotels are bad. If you are choosing lodging, then know yourself well enough to know what you want and don't want - everyone will be happier.