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Do you run a B&B in the UK?
if so, we are here to help, support, inform and represent YOU...
"B&Bs are one of the glories of the British tourist industry...
the antidote to the claustrophobic uniformity of chain hotels.
Britain’s vast network of B&Bs is something that foreigners envy
but appear unable to emulate."
The Times, 12 June 2008
"In 2008, British bed and breakfast is hot."
The Guardian B&B Directory, May 2008
The "Bed and Breakfast" sector in the UK is a vibrant one. The best of the new generation of B&Bs are everything tourists now look for: small-scale, individual, high quality and with one-to-one personal service. The total "bedstock" of independent B&Bs makes up a fifth of the total 'serviced accommodation' sector in the UK, and so underpins the £86 billion that tourism contributes to the UK's GDP - the third largest foreign exchange earner after oil and vehicles.
A recent study commissioned by the Tourism Alliance and VisitBritain suggests that inbound and domestic tourism supports over 1.36m jobs and is worth 3.7 per cent of GDP.
The B&B sector is 28% bigger than the 'budget hotels' sector, and is 35% of the size of the UK's hotels sector.
£1.7 billion is spent staying at B&Bs by just UK residents alone (ie excluding incoming tourists).
Yet until recently, there has not been a trade association to represent and support the owner-managed UK B&B.
That is one reason why the Bed and Breakfast Association (BBA) was formed.
The Association exists to inform, support and represent its member B&B owners throughout the UK (scroll down to the foot of this page for our full Objectives). Read more...
ADVERTISEMENT
 Membership of the Association now includes FREE membership of The Special Offers CLUB, which rewards members with a wide range of offers, discounts and promotions from top brands. These cover both deals for your B&B business, and consumer deals for you and your family. These include deals (typically 5% to 15% off) from Apple Store, HP, Laithwaites, Esso, Tom Tom, Axa PPP, BT, Europcar, RAC, Viking Direct, Royal Mail, House of Fraser, Npower and many others. Membership for a typical family B&B can yield potential savings of many hundreds of pounds annually. Full membership is now included FREE with your B&B Association membership subscription.
There are many other reasons to join.
Subscribe now for only £54 a year, or join us on a no-obligation trial basis for only £15 for up to four months - read more...
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Recommended guidebooks, available now from Amazon at the best prices:
"Out with hotels, in with B&Bs" The Times, 12 Jan 2008
"British bed and breakfasts are set for a revival as hotels are now so expensive that most families cannot afford to stay in them" reports The Times on Saturday 12 January. Adam Raphael, editor of the Good Hotel Guide, is reported as saying that "B&Bs offer the best value", and that B&Bs "offer the best breakfasts in Britain".
We call on the Government to reverse its tourism funding cuts
The Bed & Breakfast Association is part of a united industry-wide campaign by tourism trade associations under the banner "Take Tourism Seriously" to persuade the Government to reverse its recently-announced 18% funding cuts for VisitBritain's promotion of tourism to the UK. Tourism is an £85 billion industry and raises £18 billion a year in overseas ("export") revenue, despite the UK placing the second-highest tax burden in the world on tourism visitors. The Government should be encouraging tourists to come to Britain and spend their money here, thus helping reduce our huge national payments deficit (of which the UK's tourism deficit is now 40%). A meeting is being sought with the Prime Minister on this issue.
BED AND BREAKFAST: "the delights of a great British tradition"
Shazia Murza, "My Brilliant Britain: B&Bs", 17th March 2009, Blighty TV
Shazia Murza is "Britain’s best-known female Muslim comedienne" and "an expert on the much maligned British Bed and Breakfast". She presented a TV programme in celebration of the British B&B on "Blighty" TV on 17th March 2009.
During her years of gigging on the comedy circuit, Shazia says she endured "hundreds of dreary nights in characterless chain hotels until the magical night when she stayed in her first B&B and discovered the delights of a great British tradition".
She has become a champion for the cause and is "on a one-woman-mission to dispel the myths that have attached themselves to this distinctly British brand of personal service. The popular image of chintz curtains and avocado bathrooms may not have vanished entirely but it’s more than compensated for by the charming eccentricity of some of the country’s friendliest establishments; and far from being stuck in a 1950’s world of lace doilies and lumpy pillows, Shazia finds that nowadays there is a B&B to suit every lifestyle – from the most upmarket to the most eco-friendly".
Are you thinking of starting a B&B?
A comprehensive and practical book,"How to Start and Run a B&B", has been published by How To Books and is already on its third printing. It has been written by BBA Chairman David Weston and his wife Louise, based on their experience starting and running a four-star B&B in Dorset, and David's 20 years experience in travel and tourism. Read more...
"If you're thinking of buying a B&B or you've just started in one..buy it.
Solid advice, well written, good, up to date info especially on marketing"
The Times Online, Book Review March 2007
Do you run a B&B in Scotland?
if so, are you happy with visitscotland.com? Please tell us more...
VisitScotland has subcontracted the handling of enquiries via the visitscotland.com website to a company called eTourism Ltd. Many B&B owners in Scotland are unhappy with the results of this policy.
We want to help tackle this situation in the interests of Scottish B&B owners and of tourism to Scotland - especially its rural areas where B&Bs represent the only accommodation.
We are very keen to hear from any B&B owner in Scotland who can help us compile a body of evidence about the effectiveness of visitscotland.com.
Contact us today to give us your views.
"Bed Tax" threat now successfully averted!
The Lyons Inquiry final report was released on 21 March 2007 just before Gordon Brown's Budget. The report itself was not very helpful - it recommended introducing a power for local authorities to levy a tourism tax where there was a strong case to do so.
However, there has been a quick and emphatic response from Local Government Minister Phil Woolas, at the Department for Communities and Local Government stating that:
"Sir Michael examines the case for a tourist tax. He concludes that there is not a strong evidence base for the introduction of such a tax. He puts the case for a consultation on this issue, we are not, therefore, inclined to focus on this area. The Government does not intend to introduce a tourism tax."
So this looks as if it has effectively ended the debate.
Excellent news for all of us as B&B owners - and perhaps this time the Government has listened to the industry!
 New official B&B rating system nationwide in 2006
From 1st January 2006, B&Bs have longer been officially rated using the "Diamond" scheme, but are using a new "Star" scheme, with gradings from one to five stars. The new regime will be operated by jointly by VisitBritain, VisitScotland, the Wales Tourist Board, and the AA. Inspections are carried out using the new scheme's criteria by Quality in Tourism and by the AA, and the tourist boards use the new rating scheme in their promotion of accommodation. For further information, contact us.
B&Bs on Television
- some exciting opportunities for B&B owners
We have been contacted by several TV companies who have different projects in hand concerning B&Bs. Read more...
Give us YOUR views
- take our free online survey now
We have a short online survey on this site to gather your views and to help us make the Bed and Breakfast Association as relevant and valuable to you as possible. To take the survey without cost and without obligation, click here.
The Bed and Breakfast Association
The Bed and Breakfast Association is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with the following objectives on behalf of its members (who are “bed & breakfast” owners in the UK):
1) To represent the interests of members, and to campaign on behalf of those interests (for example, to Government and regulatory bodies);
2) To provide information and support services to members, to enable them to improve and develop their businesses;
3) To facilitate and enable the continuous professional development of the independent bed and breakfast sector in the UK, and promote best practice;
4) To promote to the public the advantages of staying in independent “bed and breakfast” accommodation.
The Bed and Breakfast Association defines “bed and breakfasts” as independent, owner-managed establishments not recognized as hotels, and offering overnight accommodation and breakfast on a “per night” basis to paying guests.
Subscribe now for only £54 a year, by secure online payment.
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