B&B

[Margaret]

Would it be a good idea to have a B&B topic? We seem to be getting more B&B people in here.

[Eileen2]

A good idea Margaret ...I would not be of much help to a B&B'er but your suggestion may provide new names for my 'potential places to stay list'. A list that is ever expanding due to all the lovely properties on this forum!

Eileen.

Holiday Villa Rental in Arillas, Corfu,
Greece
www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/corfu/16624

www.yourholidaymatters.com/greece.php

[pete]

I see this has fallen down the list and wonder if it could be a possibility, there is a vast amount of knowledge to share over all aspects of rental and I for one have taken a lot of good advice from people that have told their experiences on this forum.

It would be nice to hear from others doing the same (bed and breakfast) and also from you that have rental properties about your views on bed and breakfasts

pete

[pepsipuss]

Hi Pete
We have a B&B. Was there anything particular you wanted to know?

[levelsteps]

Hi Pete
We have a B&B. Was there anything particular you wanted to know?

Ditto! Huelgoat, Finistére, France.

[pete]

I guess that its not one particular thing - just the general things that are a little different from renting whole properties.

Listing sites for one, I have done at last the lmh guide after some mistakes but it is still a minefield

Do people pinch towels ?

How many towels per guest ?

We have a small sitting area for guests with my books and some puzzles - why do they want to sit in my lounge ?

[pepsipuss]

Hi Pete

So far no towels pinched, 2 years on, in B&B (only 3 in rentals over several years though, to be fair). I think it is important to have one bath sheet per person rather than the smaller size, plus one reasonably sized hand towel. We remove them and air them daily although there is a heated towel rail, and change them if they are dirty rather than just damp, or after the fourth night maximum. We supply pool towels during the bathing season which we tell our guests they are welcome to take to the beach if they wish. We tell them this before they come so it saves on luggage.

re the sitting room, it is a tricky one. Some friends who have had a very successful B&B for many years emphasized to us before we started how important it was for the guests to have a lounge to themselves (or, more importantly, for you to have one of your own!). If they keep invading your space (which is actually what it boils down to) you may need to write in your 'Notes for guests' which areas of the house are public and which are private. Alternatively put a 'private' notice on the sitting room door. I am a bit cowardly about the kitchen - a lot of guests think they are being helpful by helping to clear the table but I do not really want them in the kitchen (although I have yet to say so!) if I have just served a meal for 8 people as it may look like a bomb has hit it! Unfortunately the kitchen connects with the dining room via an arch with no door.

It is not always easy finding the right balance between friendliness and over-familiarity. When you have regular clients who become friends over time, you don't mind sharing more of your space with them, but if their visit coincides with some new ones, you have to be careful where the boundaries lie or you may end up offending everyone. One of the things we do in order to emphasize the lines is to always knock before we enter the guests' sitting room.

Anything else?

[pepsipuss]

Just one further thought - is the only tv in your own sitting room?

[pete]

pepsipus thank you

the lounge is a tricky one - cos as you say some times you have friends in and then all areas are invaded our big problem is that our son is often here so he walks everywhere and does not see the problem although we do try to tell him.

Also our guest sitting area is at the top of the stairs it is a big space and has books and puzzles but no tv, at the mo there are tvs in the rooms although i dont advertise this as if they fail I dont think ill replace them - maybe I should put one of them in the seating area ?

we are having one room decorated at the mo and no guests so the area is ful of furniture - next week i will take a photo and you could see - perhaps I could make it more inviting

thanks again

pete

ps mrs p is very worried about towels walking !!!

[pepsipuss]

hi pete

we don't have tvs in bedrooms, only in our sitting room and guest sitting room as we only have twin lnb. I don't think they are necessary in B&B bedrooms unless you are at the five star/ Chateau end. Maybe just having one in the guest sitting area would help. Is there enough room for all the guests to sit in comfort if you are full?
PP

[pete]

yes - at the mo - after next weeks guests i think i will take the tvs out as an experiment. They run french tv video andcds of which I supply if they want - in the sitting area it can only be cds and videos

pete

[Nessie]

Hi Pete

This we be our 6th year in France running chambres d hotes.. Touch wood we have not had anything taken apart from keys (which have always been returned ) or broken.

We do not have a separate lounge, the guest are free to use our lounge or the conservatory but all bedrooms have a seating areas and there is also a seating area upstairs with books and games. We don’t have TV in the rooms this was the main reason we did not get the highest rating given by clevacances for chambers d hote which is 4 keys 5 for gites. But if we put the TV in the rooms then you have to pay extra licence fees and as we only have French TV did not feel it was worth it. I have portable DVD players which guests can borrow if they wish.

A lot will depend on the guests your receive the French expect it to be more home from home and will be expected to be treated as one of the family.The English on the whole treat it as a hotel. Its funny really as we do evening meals and part of the ruling by GDF or Clevacances is that you as the host must eat with your guests. In our first year as most of our guests were English we did not do it , but now we find most of our guests are French they will expected it and in some cases will not be happy if you don’t eat with them. I now find that with guests from countries other than France I still tend to serve dinner separate the only time that I don’t is if I have French and English staying at the same time then I explain the true meaning of Table d hotes and give them the choice. I must say those that have joined in with our French guests have had a great time and really enjoyed it . It just makes it bloody hard on the host when they are still sitting at the dinner table at midnight and you have to clear away and get ready for breakfast.

As we are graded then to meet the grade we have a set number of towels we must supply and these must be changed every 2 days, for our grading if we have guests staying a week then the bedding must be changed once during the week for the higher grade its every 2 days

To begin with its all a learning curve and you will find the routine you are happy with and the ones that your guests will like, some you will find wish to talk for hours and others just past the time of day.

[pete]

Thank you nessie for your reply,

No body has mentioned to me that I will need to pay extra tv licence for tvs in the rooms - they are coming out now!!

I think what you say about french and english expectations are right also, when we first stayed at a french chambres d'hotes we were amazed and it won our hearts.

I take all your comments on board

thanks

pete

[pepsipuss]

The main reason we first fell in love with the Chambres d'Hôtes idea was the communal eating. We like it when the hosts eat with us, but in many ways the best bit is just the mix of people round the table. We came to Spain to do it because there is not enough good winter weather for us in France, or we would be there with you! Six years ago there were hardly any Chambres d'Hôtes style B&Bs in Spain but now there are quite a lot of people doing it, although I have yet to hear of any Spanish owners (ie owners who are Spanish rather than owners in Spain) who do Table d'Hôte and actually eat with their guests.

Most of the places we stayed at in France did seem to have separate guest sitting areas even if these were a section of the dining room, but whether this was for the benefit of the guests or the owners is hard to say. We did stay in one British-run house in Spain where the only place we had to sit apart from a little area in the bedroom was in the partly covered outside terrace - not very good on chilly winter evenings - and the hosts actually kept their own area locked off. We felt like second class citizens and not at all like guests. In another we were never actually told what the rules were and we felt quite uncomfortable using their lounge uninvited. This is not too bad for a one night stay but for longer I think it is important if you do not have somewhere other than the bedroom where guests can be comfortable, that they feel welcome in your lounge.

[Nessie]

No body has mentioned to me that I will need to pay extra tv licence for tvs in the rooms - they are coming out now!!


pete

The only way we were told was when we went for the grading, she told me that all my rooms would have to have a tv and the bathrooms had to have i think a power shower, to get the extra key. When i asked about the TV issue she then told me that i would have to pay an extra licence fee.

Ok now the rules are getting harder it will be interesting to see what comes about from the fact that all chambre d hotes have now to be registered with the marie. This ruling was put in place December last year.I know our local OT has been pushing for an official listing and inspection for some time now and unless you are with one of the two main bodies then they will not take your details