B & B / Hotel / Guest House

[Jim64]

Does anybody know the difference between a B & B a Guest House & a Hotel

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

There are no fixed rules but here's a (very) rough guide:

B&B establishments are usually private houses where the owner lets out one or more rooms, at a daily rate. To qualify as a 'B&B' they don't need to provide anything other than exactly what the name implies, i.e. 'bed' and 'breakfast'. It's unlikely that you'll find a bar or any public rooms. Some B&Bs might offer additional facilities, such as evening meals, but such places would probably consider dropping the B&B title, in favour of one of the others. (A few B&Bs still adhere to rules which require guests to be away from the premises during the day but this practice, which used to be common in British seaside resorts, is becoming increasingly rare).

Guest houses will often (but not always) offer additional facilities to those offered by a B&B. You might find a public lounge, possibly with a licensed bar. Some (but not all) will offer 'bed , breakfast and evening meal', while others might provide 3 meals a day, under the title 'full board'. The meals provided in such establishments might simply be the dish of the day, rather than providing the choice you'd get in a restaurant

[Buenchico]

Hotels will often (but, once again, not always) offer superior facilities to most B&Bs and guest houses. The chance of finding a bar is increased, a is the possibility of finding a restaurant (possibly open to the public) with a full a la carte menu. Establishments which offer room service (together with other 'luxuries', such as a swimming pool) are far more likely to use the title 'hotel' than either 'B&B' or 'guest house'.

However, as I stated at the outset, there are no strict rules. For example, you might look in a tourist brochure for a list of accommodation in a certain town. Under 'Hotels' you might well see an advert for the 'Ambassador Guest House: The best little B&B in town'. i.e. the owners call their establishment a 'guest house' but they're happy to advertise it as a B&B in a listing for hotels. So who knows what it is? ;-)

Chris

[WesterRoss]

My wife and I run a B&B in Gairloch, Wester Ross. We only offer one double room but it is comparable to many hotel rooms. En suite, TV with full Sky package, DVD and VCR players, tea making facilites, bottled water, several breakfast choices. We do not have a separate guest lounge or offer evening meals so we are a B&B. Friends along the road run a guest house where they do evening meals and have a separate guest lounge. So I guess that's the difference. Guest houses tend to be dearer for b&b than a B&B establishment.
Hope this helps.