By Renee Huang
Bed and breakfasts offer a level of personalized and intimate service not found at larger hotels and resorts. Often converted from historic buildings such as banks, old estates and turn-of-the-century mansions, bed and breakfasts are full of unique charms that set them—and their clientele—apart from a traditional hospitality experience.
SIZE: Bed and breakfasts are usually small, family-run affairs. Rooms typically number under 10, which means that people have ample opportunity to get to know their fellow guests. Room décor can be more novel with better quality offerings due to the small size of inventory, minimizing the need for mass market designs that can be replaced easily.
GUESTS: The type of people drawn to bed and breakfasts are adventure seekers. They enjoy discovering the quirks that define each property, from the dogs that have the run of the house to finding out where the owner buys her jam. Bed and breakfast guests seek the “local” perspective and want to become more immersed with the true essence of a community than a hotel guest seeking the typical tourist sites. Loyalty is high among B&B guests—forging friendships with owners means a lot of them will return multiple times. With staycations on the rise, bed and breakfast guests are often locals, too. Couples and families can escape without leaving their own backyard.
PERSONALIZED SERVICE: Savvy bed and breakfast owners offer guests a level of service that they cannot find at a larger hotel. One Park City bed and breakfast owner explained that although breakfast is normally the one meal she’ll serve to guests, if she has a buy out of all six rooms she will often arrange a family-style dinner or other specialty catering. Owners are usually well integrated within their community—they often serve as personal concierges, offering insider tips on the best sites and shopping, or arranging coveted reservations at local dining hotspots.
INTIMACY: Bed and breakfasts by definition have owner/proprietors who live onsite, so guests are treated to an experience akin to living in someone else’s home. Because of this, an after-hours check in sometimes means you walk yourself to your room because the owners have already turned in for the evening. The instant trust relationship formed almost guarantees a certain level of intimacy and authenticity that guests are hard pressed to find at a larger hotel.
Bed and breakfasts offer a magical type of vacation, one that is defined by a unique, insider glimpse into a community that many travelers find appealing.
[box title=”Cooper’s Cabin“]For property management and concierge services, Park City has a one-stop shop! Cooper’s Cabin distinguishes itself as “the new kind of concierge.” Owners James and Lindsey created the business as an all-inclusive resource for visitors to the area who want their vacation plans realized without doing all the work! Cooper’s Cabin’s services range from the basics of booking accommodations to organizing group outings from start to finish. Its concierge services include luxuries one wouldn’t expect when renting a private residence, such as child care and grocery deliveries, but that’s what makes Cooper’s Cabin special![/box]
