A bed and breakfast is a smaller lodging facility that offers overnight accommodation much like a motel but usually includes breakfast as part of their package. The typical bed and breakfast is in a private home usually with 10 or fewer bedrooms available.
Most of the time the guests are placed in their own room with their own bathroom, but often times there is only one bathroom available for a few rooms. Breakfast is served either in the guestroom or in a dining room or sometimes even in the kitchen.
Many owners of bed and breakfasts operate them as a secondary source of income or often times depending on their popularity they can become a primary source of income. Typically it’s the owners themselves that prepare the meals as well as cleaning the rooms. Although some of the larger bed and breakfasts may hire a staff to help with the cooking and cleaning.
However if a Jersey bed and breakfast hires a professional management company, they are no longer able to be categorized as such and must enter the designation of inn or hotel.
A lot of bed and breakfasts operate on a niche level. Seattle or instance features floating bed and breakfasts which are accommodations on a house boat and many bed and breakfasts in North America cater to the historical buff by converting old historical properties with antique furniture into bed and breakfast facilities.
Recently a trend has emerged where B and B owners have been offering more upscale amenities in order to cater to a broader demographic and attract more of an affluent crowd.
Now it is not uncommon to see spa services and evening happy hours added to B and B itineraries. In their attempt to compete with the larger luxury hotels, B and B owners have also started offer conference facilities as well as offering complete wedding packages.