Guest list cost

I sold my old 8-room B&B to "right size" for this time of my life (to 3 upscale rooms). So we are starting from scratch again. When I sold the old place I could not bring my guest list nor can I contact old guests. That's OK - we're a different style/cost B&B anyway.
An upscale B&B about 2 miles from me will be closing in November. I want to ask for their URL (for a redirect to my website) AND their guest database.
My question is how much should I offer/pay for his quest list? I have no idea how many names are there. I could request just the names from people who have stayed within the past 2 or 3 years to limit the cost.
Ideas? Suggestions?
THANKS so much!

Interesting concept. To me our guest names and contact info are confidential.

Joey Bloggs said:

Interesting concept. To me our guest names and contact info are confidential..

Click to expand...

Joey Bloggs said:

Interesting concept. To me our guest names and contact info are confidential.

Click to expand...

Will that info transfer to the new owners when you sell...notice I said when, not if
I have my privacy policy posted on my website, saying I'll never share contact info. But I assume I'd pass it all along to a new owner. It opens up another area of discussion regarding selling the list if I just close. I'd have to think long and hard on it, but probably would not sell the contact list.

Arks said:

Joey Bloggs said:

Interesting concept. To me our guest names and contact info are confidential..

Click to expand...

Joey Bloggs said:

Interesting concept. To me our guest names and contact info are confidential.

Click to expand...

Will that info transfer to the new owners when you sell...notice I said when, not if
I have my privacy policy posted on my website, saying I'll never share contact info. But I assume I'd pass it all along to a new owner. It opens up another area of discussion regarding selling the list if I just close. I'd have to think long and hard on it, but probably would not sell the contact list.
.

Click to expand...

Arks said:

Joey Bloggs said:

Interesting concept. To me our guest names and contact info are confidential.

Click to expand...

Will that info transfer to the new owners when you sell...notice I said when, not if
I have my privacy policy posted on my website, saying I'll never share contact info. But I assume I'd pass it all along to a new owner. It opens up another area of discussion regarding selling the list if I just close. I'd have to think long and hard on it, but probably would not sell the contact list.

Click to expand...

This is the same B&B, not a new or different one, everything in this business conveys. Thank you for saying "when" Selling a guest list is not staying with the B&B.
Buying a URL, I have seen others do that, and redirect or perhaps put a note on there saying since we are now closed "We recommend ABC B&B" as the home page.
You could pay the B&B that is closing to send out an eBlast recommending the new B&B in town. That is fair enough, saying thank you for the memories, we recommend Joe and Suzie's new B&B, they will take good care of you!
Edited to add: If I sold this B&B as a private residence, and there is a New B&B in town (which there is and will open shortly) I would not give them the guest list, at any cost. If a guest googled or searched they would find the new B&B. But rather than just shutting down the URL or letting it 303 I would definitely put a THANK YOU to our guests and leave that up. So would recommend the new B&B as a polite gesture on their behalf at NO charge.

If you already have a collegial relationship with that other place you have a better chance.
I know if we were closing I would definitely want to know there was a similar place to send all of our guests.
But it would need to be a joint email from both of us to the guests. Hi, we're closing and we want to introduce you to this wonderful place where we know you'll love to stay. Then you pipe in with your blurb and a link for the guest to sign up to be on your mailing list.
You can check the time remaining on the website ownership online and then either offer to buy the domain name from them or wait until it expires and buy it. But you could get skunked on that.

Madeleine said:

If you already have a collegial relationship with that other place you have a better chance.
I know if we were closing I would definitely want to know there was a similar place to send all of our guests.
But it would need to be a joint email from both of us to the guests. Hi, we're closing and we want to introduce you to this wonderful place where we know you'll love to stay. Then you pipe in with your blurb and a link for the guest to sign up to be on your mailing list.
You can check the time remaining on the website ownership online and then either offer to buy the domain name from them or wait until it expires and buy it. But you could get skunked on that..

Click to expand...

Madeleine said:

...wait until it expires and buy it. But you could get skunked on that.

Click to expand...

Indeed, very risky. GoDaddy and other big companies immediately buy up many (perhaps most) domains that expire, because they can buy them so cheaply, and charge hundreds to sell it back to the original owner who let their domain expire by mistake.

I like Maddie's idea of a joint email introduction coming from previous place.
There is an implication (and maybe a formal agreement) that email information will not be distributed or sold I think some guests might get miffed to find that their info was shared.

I agree with everyone's comments on this. The attention has to come from the inn that guests gave the information to. Buying it and contacting guests would cause more trouble than it would help.

Timber, I am with the others. Go meet the innkeepers if you do not already know them, invite them to see your place. And speak to them about giving their previous guests another option since they no longer will be taking guests in.
When we opened many years ago, there was another B&B closing. She came to ME to introduce herself, came by to visit and then invited us over. She was going to send her 'farewell' letters via snail mail as the internet was not what it is today and asked if she could share the good news about the new B&B in the area. We were overjoyed and it did help provide a needed jolt to get us off the ground.
And best wishes with the new B&B.

When the inn that I partnered with for an inn-to-inn package closed, they said nothing about telling their regulars about us (we are 10 miles south of where they were). That would have been nice.