An Introduction to B&Bs
Although people from time immemorial have been renting spare rooms in their homes to transient visitors, the activity came of age in the United States only with the creation of large-scale "reservations service organizations" (RSOs) in the early 1980s. Such early RSOs as Bed-and-Breakfast Rocky Mountains, Bed-and-Breakfast Nebraska, Bed-and-Breakfast Philadelphia, and dozens more, provided the marketing efforts and all-day telephone confirmations in their respective cities, states, or regions that no individual B&B household could afford to supply on its own.
An explosion in the use of B&Bs soon followed. The cost-conscious public, on arrival in a large city, had only to look under "B" in the telephone book to find the area-wide reservations service that could recommend any number of B&Bs and then confirm space at them.
To aid matters more, various telephone companies soon created a "bed-and-breakfast" category in the Yellow Pages, enabling travelers to find those few ornery RSO services whose names did not begin with "B": Sweet Dreams and Toast, Urban Ventures, Pinellas County Bed-and-Breakfast, etc.
Suddenly, the public had a surefire means of always uncovering a nearby B&B. But more important, they were able at last to deal only with homes that had been pre-screened for suitability by a larger organization.
The single greatest dread of the traveler--arriving at an improper lodging, to be met by an unshaven and bleary-eyed proprietor--was overcome, and Americans by the tens of thousands began flocking to guest-accepting homes confirmed and vouched-for by a regional "reservations service organization."
The negative reaction
And then the reaction set in.
First from the hotel industry. Whether America's commercial innkeepers are behind the banning of B&Bs in Carmel and Santa Fe is hard to determine. But there are suspicions of their part in drafting fire regulations that impose unreasonable burdens (in my opinion) on the bed-and-breakfast industry. A recently enacted New York State fire ordinance (admittedly, the nation's most stringent) requires elaborate sprinklers, expensive extra stairs, and special fire doors of any establishment housing more than four paying visitors on a habitual basis. The application of such rules to an easily-evacuated, one-story ranch house or simple two-story home seems a bit much.
Other attempts to put B&Bs out of business have focused on residential zoning laws that forbid the taking of "boarders." But most courts have responded that the boarder ban was meant to refer to guests who were full-time residents of the city, not transient visitors, and that other significant differences also made the rules inapplicable.
Such zoning fights--the disputed interpretation of various vague prohibitions against commercial activity--are obviously the result of fears that a steady stream of B&B visitors will cheapen a residential neighborhood, attracting motor vans, backpackers, impecunious wanderers, and the like, to an area of quiet homes.
As sensitive as we all might be to such concerns, there seems no evidence at all to support the prediction. Many B&B houses have no signs outside, nor are they open to walk-in members of the public--as in a hotel--but only to specific individuals who have made reservations in advance. Far from harming a community, experience shows that a thriving bed-and-breakfast industry attracts the best sort of additional tourism: sensitive and reasonably well-financed travelers who prefer the charm of a private home to an impersonal hotel or flashy motel. It brings considerable extra income, even prosperity, to the areas in which those homes are located.
Why you're not seeking a B&B inn
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.
The leading B&B reservations organizations
Regional in scope, each representing about 100 homes, these firms perform the function of pre-screening/inspecting each lodging to ensure its suitability for transient visitors. They also have the wherewithal to advertise (a bit) and to maintain extensive phone lines and reservations personnel.
In booking a B&B, be sure to make a sharp distinction between "bed-and-breakfast homes" and "bed-and-breakfast inns." When I refer to a B&B, I mean a low-priced room in a private home--the term's initial meaning.
Important: our selections will make reservations for you in 26 of the 50 American states, plus the United Kingdom, Canada and Italy. If the state to which you will be traveling is not listed, then your first recourse is to consult a "Yellow Pages" phone directory for the key cities in that state, or to ask the information operator to consult "Bed and Breakfast" in those Yellow Pages.
The US, plus Canada & Europe
This online listing of B&Bs contains nearly 5,000 properties of all types and in all price ranges, concentrated mainly in the U.S. Owner Randy Fought has been adding 50 to 125 new listings every month since the website's founding in 1995, and recently began listing international bed and breakfasts (including such far-flung destinations as Kenya, Thailand, Estonia and Peru). Website users can search by country, state, region and city to find listings, which include photos of the properties as well as all information needed to make a reservation directly with the B&B. In addition, the website has an extensive listing of package deals and last-minute or off-season specials to appeal to the budget traveler.
Alaska
Alaska's Travelers Accommodations
4672 S. Tongos Highway
Ketchikan, AK 99901
Phone: 907/247-7117 or 800/928-3308
Web: alaskatravelers.com
Alaska Travelers Accommodations is a free service for travelers coming to the 49th state. The company concentrates on southeast Alaska, offering travelers a choice of over 100 pre-screened B&Bs.
Alaska Private Lodgings
P.O. Box 200047
Anchorage, AK 99320
Phone: 907/235-2148
Web: alaskabandb.com
Email: apl@alaskabandb.com
In business 24 years, representing almost 200 homes ranging from apartment suites to cabins throughout Alaska. The service includes not only the making of reservations, but complete itinerary planning if needed, specializing in adventure travel (kayaking, rafting, etc.) Homes range from $65 to $150 a night.
Arizona
Mi Casa Su Casa
P.O. Box 950
Tempe, AZ 85280-0950
Phone: 800/456-0682 or 480/990-0682
Web: azres.com
E-mail: micasa@azres.com
Owner Ruth Young boasts her service is one of the oldest in the country. Operating since 1981, she currently represents over 250 host homes, inns and cottages throughout the Southwest, including Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada, as well as California, Mexico and Spain. Rates vary widely depending on location and type of lodging.
California
California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns
2715 Porter Street
Soquel, CA 95073
Phone: 831/462-9191
Web: cabbi.com
This non-profit association represents over 300 B&Bs throughout the state. Victorian homes in the Napa Valley, inns in the midst of redwood forests, the former home of San Francisco's A'chbishop&CABBI can book em all. Double rooms range from a modest $55 up to $500 for the most luxurious of accommodations.
Connecticut
Nutmeg Bed & Breakfast Agency
1204 Main Street South
Woodbury, CT 06798
Phone: 203/263-4479 or 800/727-7592
Web: bnb-link.com
Email: nutmegbnb@comcast.net
Nutmeg represents about 85 host homes ranging from simple rooms to luxurious suites in mansions, with both private or semi-private baths. Average cost is $80 to $100/night. The fifteen-year-old company has homes in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts.
Delaware
Bed and Breakfast of Delaware
2701 Landon Drive, Suite 200
Wilmington, DE 19810
Phone: 302/479-9500
Email: bnbofde@juno.com
Millie Alford handles a mix of comfortable modern and period homes in the quaint old town of New Castle, as well as Wilmington and in the Chadds Ford area of Pennsylvania. Ten of her properties are on the National Historic Registry, several are near museums, and others are near or on the beach. Rooms average $75 a night for singles, $95 to $160 for couples or families.
District of Columbia
Bed and Breakfast Accommodations, Ltd.
P.O. Box 12011
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 877/893-3233 or 413/582-9888
Web: bedandbreakfastdc.com
Email: reservations@bedandbreakfastdc.com
An assortment of about 30 homes in every major area of the city; some of the houses are rambling Victorian mansions featured on local house tours. Most rates range, in this high-priced city, from $65 to $300 a night for singles, or $75 to $400 for a double.
Hawaii
Bed and Breakfast Hawaii
P.O. Box 449
Kapaa, HI 96746
Phone: 808/822-7771, or toll-free 800/733-1632
Web: bandb-hawaii.com
Email: reservations@bandb-hawaii.com
This firm pioneered in developing a broad network of bed-and-breakfast accommodations in Hawaii, at considerably lower nightly costs than are offered by hotels. Double rooms start at $65 and go up to a top of $150 in most (not all) cases. Bed and Breakfast Hawaii will send you a free listing of their homes upon request.
Be Back Hawaii
3429 Kanaina Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96815
Phone: 808/732-6618 or 877-4-BEBACK
Web: beback.com
Email: beback@lava.net
Be Back specializes in placing guests on all the islands, mainly in the undiscovered locations of Hawaii, that tend to be less "touri"ty." They"represent over 300 properties on all the islands. Average cost per room is between $75 and $125, although they can place guests for as low as $55 per night.
Bed and Breakfast Honolulu
3242 Kaohinani Drive
Honolulu HI 96817
Phone: 800/288-4666 or 808/595-7533
Web: hawaiibnb.comEmail: BnBsHI@aloha-bnb.com
Represents 410 private homes at locations ranging from beachfront to mountainside, for a flat fee of $10 per unit actually reserved. Honolulu B&B has branched out in recent years and can now make bookings not only on Oahu, but on all the islands.
Hawaii's Best Bed & Breakfast
Phone: 800/262-9912 or 808/692-0100
Web: bestbnb.com
Located on the so-called Big Island, this firm represents 100 rather upscale properties on all the islands. But while some of the rooms rent for $175 and $470 a night, the bulk range from $90 (like the private wing of a rambling ranch house, with exercise room and use of hot tub) to $105 (private cottage overlooking the high slopes of Mauna Kea.)
Liz Hey's Bed & Breakfast Kaui
Phone: 808/822-1177 or 800/822-1176
Web: bnbkauai.com
Email: heyliz@bnbkauai.com
All of Kauai is represented by Liz Hey and she charges between $65 and $400 for a double, but with 90% of the doubles available for under $130.
Illinois
Chicago Bed and Breakfast
Phone: 800/375-7084
Web: athomeinnchicago.com
Email: citybnb@sbcylobar.net
Fifty properties in brownstones, Victorians and high-rises, more than half of which are unhosted apartments with continental breakfast left in the refrigerator. Apartments overlook key neighborhood attractions, often with views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. Double occupancy rooms range from $105to $205; self-contained apartments, from $115 to $325, for the most part, but remember, many of the apartments are two bedrooms or larger.
Indiana
B & B Midwest Reservations
Phone: 812/378-5855 or 800/342-2632
Web: bandbmidwest.com
Represents more than 55 homes throughout all of Illinois except the city of Chicago proper, and Indiana. Owner Martha McDonald-Swan claims that her service offers one-stop shopping for travelers. Website includes customer comments with a rating system.
Lousianna
Bed and Breakfast Reservation Service
P.O. Box 52257
New Orleans, LA 70152
Phone: 800/729-4640
Web: historiclodging.com
Email: web@historiclodging.com
In business for nearly 25 years, Bed and Breakfast Reservation Service is one of New Orleans' oldest reservations services. It lists approximately 30 properties (over half of which are viewable on their website) located all over New Orleans, including the French Quarter, the Garden District, and the St. Charles Ave district. Co-owner Susan Smith stresses that while all of the properties are owner-occupied, they are all very private, many including private entrances. Prices in high season for the modern homes, Victorian mansions and all other properties range from $71 to $262 a night, and are lower in the off-season but higher during festivals and special events.
New Orleans Bed & Breakfast & Accommodations
828 Rue Royal, Suite 259
New Orleans, LA 70116
Phone: 888/240-0070 or 504/561-0447
Web: neworleansbandb.com
Email: nobba@cox.net
This reservation service has properties ranging from traditional bed and breakfasts to private cottages and efficiency apartments. Prices range from $75 to $400 a night, but the majority of the properties fall in the $125 to $150 range, with prices higher during festivals and events like Mardi Gras and Bowl games. A two-night minimum is normally required during the regular season, and varying by special event and property.
Massachusetts
Bed and Breakfast Cambridge & Greater Boston
Phone: 617/720-1492 or 800/888-0178
Email: bandb@gis.net
Sixty homes located mostly in Cambridge, with rooms available in Boston and the suburbs. Rates for rooms with shared bath are: $80 to $100 for singles, $75 to $95, doubles. Single or double rooms with private bath range from $130 to $150 a night.
Bed and Breakfast Associates Bay Colony
P.O. Box 57166
Boston, MA 02457-0166
Phone: 781/449-5302 or 888/486-6018
Web: bnbboston.com
Email: info@bnbboston.com
Has over 150 homes, inns and unhosted apartments, both downtown and suburban, Victorian and Federalist, modern as well. Double rooms range mainly from $100 to $160; singles, from $78 to $175. Also handles Eastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands.
New England Bed and Breakfast
P.O. Box 1426
Waltham, MA 02454
Phone: 617/244-2112
Fifty generally less-expensive homes in Boston, Cambridge or other New England towns, charging $55 to $95 double, $50 to $65 single, with no extra fees or taxes (but there's a $10 surcharge for a one-night stay). All are within 15 and 20 minutes of downtown Boston via public transportation, and always within walking distance of a subway or bus stop.
Berkshire/Folkstone Bed and Breakfast Homes
37 George St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Phone: 413/731-8785 or 800/762-2751
Web: berkshirebnbhomes.com
Represents homes in western and central Massachusetts and eastern New York. It specializes, in particular, in aiding parents with college-age students to tour schools in the area (Amherst, U. Mass., Smith, Wellesley, and others.) Homes range from Victorian houses to working dairy and sheep farms.
Mississppi
Natchez Trace Reservation Service
P.O. Box 193
Hampshire, TN 38461
Phone: 800/377-2770
Web: bbonline.com/natcheztrace
Representing about 40homes along the Natchez Trace Parkway, most properties are in Mississippi with a handful in both Tennessee and Alabama. Houses include early eighteenth century properties, antebellum and plantation homes, as well as Victorian structures and modern homes. While some accommodations start at $75, the average price is $100 a night for a single or a double.
New Mexico
New Mexico Bed and Breakfast Association
P.O. Box 70454
Albuquerque, NM 87157
Phone: 800/661-6649
Web: nmbba.org
Email: info@nmbba.org
Has over 60 guest houses throughout New Mexico, charging an average of $115 a night in high season. Choose an adobe casita, expansive hacienda or a cozy suite in a historic Victorian inn. Each New Mexico Bed & Breakfast Association inn is inspected, assuring high quality accommodations and standards. A free member directory is available on request.
New York City
Abode Limited
P.O. Box 20022
New York, NY 10021
Phone: 212/472-2000 or 800/835-8880
Web: cimarron.net/usa/ny/adobe/html
Unlike its competitors, Abode offers only unhosted B&Bs in town houses, high-rises and brownstones in Manhattan, requiring a minimum of a four-night stay. Groups can be lodged in a fashion that keeps all members close to one another. Unhosted apartments (they come with a refrigerator stocked with staples) start at an average of $100 a night for a studio, to way, way up for the two-bedroom and three-bedroom variety; most visitors rent the studios or one-bedrooms.
City Lights Bed and Breakfast
1562 First Ave., #244
New York, NY 10028
Phone: 212/737-7049
Fax: 866/513-6538
Web: citylightsbandb.com
Email: frontdesk@citylightsemail.com
Claims to be New York's olde't B + B registry, founded in 1985. City Lights represents 350 homes, most in Manhattan, but also in Brooklyn and Queens, and charges $95 to $135 a night for a double room in hosted lodgings, $75 to $125 for singles.
New World Bed & Breakfast, Ltd. & All Around the Town
270 Lafayette Street, Suite 804
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212/675-5600 or toll-free 800/443-3800
Web: newyorkcitybestbb.com
Email: aroundtown@worldnet.att.net
One of the largest of the New York City firms, representing 60 fully inspected Manhattan apartments. B&B prices range from $100 to $175 double occupancy. If those seem high, wait until you inquire about rates at a hotel!
Manhattan Getaways
Phone: 212/956-2010
Web: manhattangetaways.com
Owner Judith Glynn, a former travel writer, personally inspects each of the 100 homes she represents. Of those 100, approximately 80 are unhosted apartments. Before booking, Ms. Glynn has all potential guests fill out a detailed questionnaire so that she can better match guests with hosts. She also has abundant photos of every B&B option. Rates start at $95 per night for hosted B&Bs and can climb up to $125 for the unhosted apartments. As the name suggests, all are in Manhattan.
North Carolina
Carolina Mornings/Asheville Cabins
109 Circadian Way
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Phone: 800/770-9055
Web: asheville-cabins.com
Email: info@asheville-cabins.com
100 varied properties, which range from traditional houses to log cabins in Asheville and western North Carolina. She emphasizes personalized services for her clients. Rates average at $120 per night for two guests and $180 for cottages housing groups of four or more.
Oregon
Ashland's Bed and Breakfast Network
Phone: 800/944-0329
Web: abbnet.com
A cooperative group of more than thirty Ashland-area bed and breakfasts that will provide recommendations and availability information for any B&B in the network, as well as connecting customers to the inn of their choice to make reservations. The service lists properties of all types and price levels, from hand-crafted log cabins to Victorian or contemporary homes. Summer high season prices range from $100 to $300 a night, but a significant percentage are in the $125-$140 a night range.
Pennsylvania
A Bed and Breakfast Connection of Philadelphia
Box 21, Devon, PA 19333
Phone: 800/448-3619 or 610/687-3565
Web: bnbphiladelphia.com
Email: bnb@bnbphiladelphia.com
Represents 120 townhouses, historic homes, Victorian inns, quaint cottages, high-rise apartments, and estates in the Philadelphia area. Offers accommodations in Valley Forge and the Main Line, Brandywine Valley, Lancaster County, New Hope and Bucks County, the Pocono Mountains and Lehigh County, and Susquehanna.
Rhode Island
Bed and Breakfast of Rhode Island
Phone: 401/849-1298 or 800/828-0000
Web: bnbnewport.com
Lists over 90 homes throughout Rhode Island. Many are historic structures from the 1700s. "Yo"'re'never far from the water in Rhode Island," r"marks president Rodney Wakefield. Rooms range, for the most part, from $135 to $225 for a double.
Bed and Breakfast Newport, Ltd.
7 Park St.
Newport, RI 02840
Phone: 800/800-8765 or 401/846-5408
Web: bbnewport.com
Email: info@bbnewport.com
Lists 48 different properties largely in Newport with a few in surrounding Middletown and Portsmith, including colonial, Victorian, and modern homes in some of Newport's most central locations. Rates range from start at $85 per night in high season, but can get as high as $300 for the most deluxe accommodations.
South Carolina
Historic Charleston Bed and Breakfast
5341 Mt. View Road
Suite 150
Antioch, TN 37013
Phone: 800/820-8144
Web: tennesseeinns.com
Email: stay@tennesseeinns.com
Eighty-five member bed and breakfasts, with the average price ranging from $90 - $120. Inns located all across the state, ranging from secluded mountain cabins and gracious log homes to elegant Victorians and contemporary city inns. While this is not a reservation service, if you call the Association it will suggest B&Bs in any area you please.
Tennessee
Tennessee Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers Association
5341 Mt. View Road
Suite 150
Antioch, TN 37013
Phone: 800/820-8144
Web: tennesseeinns.com
Email: stay@tennesseeinns.com
Eighty-five member bed and breakfasts, with the average price ranging from $90 - $120. Inns located all across the state, ranging from secluded mountain cabins and gracious log homes to elegant Victorians and contemporary city inns. While this is not a reservation service, if you call the Association it will suggest B&Bs in any area you please.
Texas
Bed & Breakfast Texas Style, Inc.
6374 Ivanhoe Lane
Beaumont, TX 77706
Phone: 800/899-4538
Web: bnbtexasstyle.comEmail: info@bnbtexasstyle.com
Offers bed-and-breakfast homes in 61 Texas cities, from Austin to Wimberley, from Dallas to Waxahachie, in every important location. Rates extend from $70 to $170 for a double.
Washington
Pacific Reservations Service
Phone: 206/439-7677 or 800/684-2932
Web: seattlebedandbreakfast.com
Features a wide variety of private rooms starting at $60 to luxury suites at $350, most averaging in the $75 to $100 range. Handles more than 225 properties including waterfront cabins, private apartments, condos, houseboats, and full scale houses located throughout the state, and in Victoria and Vancouver, B.C.
United Kingdom
Bed and Breakfast (GB)
500 Chiswick Road
London W45 RG
Great Britain
Phone: 011-44-871-781-0834
Web: bedbreak.com
Email:bab@bedbreak.com
Handles over 1,000 affiliated hosts throughout Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France. Offers rates beginning at $29/night in London, and as little as $27/night outside of the capital, including B&B's in I'eland, Scotland, and Wales.
BedandBreakfasts.co.uk
Web: bedandbreakfasts.co.uk
Offers B+Bs throughout Britain and Ireland, including many close to airports. Lodging ranges from modern city hotels to manor houses and castles, and national parks, including the Lakes District, Sherwood Forest, Scottish lochs and the Yorkshire moors.
Home From Home
75 Wilton Road
London, UK SW1V 1DE
Phone: 800/748-9783 or 011-44-207-233-9101
Web: homefromhome.co.uk
Email: info@homefromhome.co.ukhout Chelsea, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, and Kensington. Rates start at 840 pounds/week and vary depending on the location. Apartments can be rented for a minimum of one week to a maximum of six months.
Canada
The Downtown Toronto Association of B & B Guest Houses
Phone: 416/410-3938 or 888/559-5515
Web: torontobedandbreakfast.com
Email: info@torontobedandbreakfast.com
Represents 30 homes, apartments, and condos in downtown Toronto within walking distance of popular shopping centers, restaurants, and tourist sights. Owner Linda Lippa believes the greatest asset to her services is its accuracy in meeting the needs of its guests. Single rooms range from $55 to $120 CDN and double rooms range from $65 to $100 depending upon property and guests' needs.
Blue Dolphin Reservations Service
Phone: 250/479-1986
Web: bluedolphin-travel.com
Email: gardencitybnb@shaw.ca
Provides a variety of accommodations in Victoria, as well as some in Vancouver, San Diego and Temeula, CA. Rates for double rooms start at $48 USD and vary depending on location.
Italy
Bed & Breakfast Association of Rome
Via A Pacinotti, 73, SC. E
00146 Roma, Italy
Phone: 011-39-0-655-302248
Web: b-b.rm.it
Email: inquiry@b-b.rm.it
A terrific service, representing over 100 apartments--hosted B&B style and unhosted--throughout Rome. The staff is efficient, friendly and all speak excellent English. Single rooms start as low as $37/night, doubles start for $62/night per person. Most B&B lodgings have a two-night minimum. Unhosted apartments (a minimum of three-night stay) as low as 42 euro/night for accommodations that sleep two, 300 euro/night for triples and quads.