BudgetTravel

A problem of equal weight has been the adverse reactions of some travelers to the rates charged by B&B "inns," which are frequently higher than in a hotel. Confusing a B&B "inn" with a B&B "house," such disgruntled guests have proceeded to damn the entire movement. It is important that, somehow, both the B&B proprietors and the writers of B&B guidebooks adopt a proper semantic distinction between B&Bs that are inns and those that are homes.

A B&B inn is a multi-room structure wholly devoted to transient visitors. It is often a place of exquisite decor, down comforters, punctilious attentions, and cinnamon croissants (or strawberry-flavored quiche) for breakfast. Its prices are, often justifiably, higher than those of hotels.

By contrast, a B&B home is that of a normal, private family that has simply decided to supplement its income by setting aside one or two spare rooms--rarely more--for occasional paying guests. The family does not derive its entire income from that activity, but simply an extra $3,000 to $6,000 a year--the average earnings cited by most reports on the B&B industry (supplemented by the family's frequent ability to write off a portion of its home expenses or home purchase price on their taxes).

Places that are B&B houses as opposed to B&B inns continue to charge 40 percent to 50 percent less than comparable hotels all over the country. Yet because they are confused with B&B inns, they are suspected of gouging. The industry needs different names for different categories.

Becoming a B&B host

What should someone do who is tempted to enter the bed-and-breakfast field? If you, for instance, should have a spare room or two in your attractive and well-located home, should you simply phone up the nearest "reservations service organization" forthwith (they're listed in the Yellow Pages under "Bed and Breakfast Accommodations") and ask them to list you? (The RSO fee is usually 20% to 30% of the sums they generate for you.)

Greater deliberation is called for. If you live in a large city, check first to learn whether a local "urban independent night school" (a Learning Annex, Discovery Center, Open University or some such) is offering a one-night course in "How to Start a Bed-and-Breakfast Business." There you'll learn of additional pitfalls in addition to prospects.

Or else order a copy of one of the several books on the subject, such as Open Your Own Bed & Breakfast by Barbara Notarius and Gail Brewer (John Wiley & Sons) Its chapters ("Is Bed and Breakfast for You?" "Financial Considerations," "Public Relations and Advertising," "Working with a Reservations Service," etc.) deal with just about every question you may have.

Ms. Notarius, herself a successful B&B host, formed a consulting service that operates periodic weekend seminars January through April (costing $400 for the first person, $500 per couple) for would-be hosts of B&Bs, and also provides personal, one-on-one advice to persons contemplating the more serious step of opening a multi-room B&B inn. Contact Barbara Notarius, Alexander Hamilton House, 49 Van Wyck Street, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 (phone 888/414-ALEX or 914/271-6737, alexanderhamiltonhouse.com).

Or for a more intensive look at B&B inns, not homes, order "So ... You Want to Be an Innkeeper" ($17 through the mail from Professional Association of Innkeepers International, P.O. Box 90710, Santa Barbara, CA 93190 (phone 805/569-1853 or fax 805/682-1016 or e-mail them at: info@paii.org, or go to its Web site at paii.org) The PAII also issues an inn-keeping newsletter and will send you a list of workshops on the subject if you ask. Alternative book, alternative seminars: Carl Glassman's "How to Start and Run Your Own B&B" (for persons aspiring to let from two to 14 rooms) $15.95 from Stackpole Books, 800/READNOW; Glassman's own seminars and consultancies run $499 for one person, $550 for two, including overnight accommodations (call his "Inn School" in New Hope, PA, at 215/862-2570, or new-hope-inn.com). For slightly more expensive seminars, but scheduled more frequently and in more numerous and scattered locations, contact Oates & Bredfeldt, 886/720-INNS or 802/254-5931, or fax 802/254-3221, or Web site: oatesbredfeldt.com.

A wise man once said that Hell consisted of being condemned to stay, each night into eternity, in a different Holiday Inn. Through the judicious use of B&Bs, that need not be your fate.

They provide us with a refreshing and cheaper alternative to the stale and increasingly standard hotel.