Differences between B&B’s, Guesthouses and Hotels

A suggestion from Google Analytics has enlightened us to the fact that a lot of people cannot tell the difference between a Bed & Breakfast, a Guest house and a Hotel. And justifiably so: the terms are not used consistently around the globe, so one cannot draw sharp distinctions.

But we would not be far from the truth by saying that there are three key factors that differentiate these types of lodging:

1. Size

One can safely say that B&B’s and Guest houses are usually smaller than hotels. They can accommodate less people and they offer a limited set of amenities, although some of them are prized by the visitors more than the hotel ones, like a homemade breakfast.

2. Ownership and Employment

B&B’s and Guest houses are mainly family businesses, not employing permanent staff and not offering a reception desk or a concierge. By contrast, hotels are operating around the clock, employing full time staff, with dedicated roles and functions.

3. Law

In several jurisdictions the law treats differently the B&B’s or Guest houses from the hotels, requiring from hotels more strict operating standards and more wide services offered.

While the above may highlight the differences between B&B’s and Guest houses on the one hand, and hotels on the other, they do not explain the difference between B&B’s and Guest houses.
Again, the differences are not clear. Guest houses are kind of larger than B&B’s though, as most of the B&B’s historically originate from family houses that were rented to visitors a as mean to supplement the family income.
B&B’s are therefore more limited in capacity, more ‘homey’ units, than Guest houses. Apart from that the differences are blurred.