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Bed & Breakfast - Review Directory
The history of the bed and breakfast can be traced back to the frontier days of this country. The idea of opening your home to a traveling guest goes back to the time of Christ. Opening your home to a stranger has biblical connotations. Good old American ingenuity meant that the guest would often be charged a fee for a night's lodging. An old bed and breakfast would most likely have a place for the guest's horse. The horse would be tied up and would have water to drink and hay to eat while his master inside would be given refreshment before the next day's journey. The B&B arrangement is actually a very old one; before the 20th century, it was quite normal for country travelers to spend the night at a private house rather than an inn, and this custom persists in many parts of the world. However, prior to the 19th century, this was strictly an informal arrangement constrained by acquaintance and social rank. A doctor might stay with a doctor or pharmacist, while a nobleman would only stay with the local gentry. The abbreviation of `B&B' on roadside signs first became popular in the British Isles - typically with a detachable 'Vacancies' sign swinging below. Many B&B's in North America and New Zealand often consciously seek to recall earlier days; they are frequently established in attractive older houses that have been renovated and filled with antique furniture. In some cases in North America an existing inn will relabel itself as a "B&B" to improve business and move itself `up-market'. When guests stay more than one night, in some smaller B&B's they will be expected to be away from the B&B during the main part of the day. This arrangement, however, may not be inconvenient since many popular B&B's are located in beach and mountain areas, such as Hawaii, New England and Colorado where daytime recreation and tourism activities are popular. One advantage of staying at a B&B is readier access to popular locations "off the beaten path" which may not be convenient to the city center. The term "bed and breakfast" is also used to refer to a meal plan where breakfast is the only meal provided, commonly in package holidays, in a major hotel that may provide other meals to only some customers. Due to the secularization of North American society, bed and breakfasts have expanded to offer wedding service once exclusively the purview of religious institutions. These include hosting the wedding reception to organizing the wedding rite with a clergy or non-clergy leader. Even though the history is shown here, many suspect that the first B & B's can be traced back to biblical times. Human beings have traveled from time immemorial and all travelers need a place to rest. In those days an enterprising family would get a room ready and then take in the family. A meal would be given and the traveler's animal would be cared for. In the Armenian tradition, a guest would be treated and cared for as if Christ himself was seated at your table. The fatted calf would be killed and the best bread and wine would be served. Guests would be treated in the way good hosts were mentioned in the way that Jesus instructed his disciples to stay. The disciples were taught that they could depend on others to take care of their needs and that people would be willing to do so. |