Inn or B&B

I know there is a difference by definition but what about public perception? I will have 4 guest rooms and no restaurant so technically a b&b...but somehow inn seems more hip/elegant. I'm finalizing my logo and have to make a decision. Thoughts?

What is the price range?
And where will you be located?
Did you google to see what is around you?
If everyone else is B&B I would go for Inn. You can be an inn with four guest rooms. or a guesthouse. Is there another B&B/Inn with the same name in another state that comes up in google? You will battle for placement on the internet with them. There is a B&B with our name in Texas and we get calls and even people booking the wrong place about once every couple years. Call and are angry when they can't find us! Yes, and we have our state name EVERYWHERE for SEO and other purposes.
Hope these comments help.

Inn generally connotes a place with dining options. (I know as my B&B has 'inn' in the name and people assume we serve dinner, even tho they think we DON'T serve breakfast. Whole other thread...) Then again, Holiday Inn here doesn't serve dinner. Hampton Inn doesn't either. But people know those brands.
How about 'boutique B&B'? That way you get the vibe you want without the confusion.
"Magnolia Inn ~ A Boutique B&B". Something like that.

Think of your sign. Inn is easier to fit than Bed and Breakfast. Or you can just put B&B if you want. Our official name is just one name but we advertise under guest house, and inn. We have a strong web presence on both. And no we do not rent room by the month and no we don't serve dinners. We refer to it as our inn. We don't have a big breakfast so that's why we don't use B&B.

Yes that perception thing
Inn seems to be preferred by innkeepers. Bed and breakfast seems to have lingering 1990s wallpaper associations.
We started as "________Bed and Breakfast" in 2007 and added "Inn" officially to the name last year.
we are licensed for - and do serve dinners by request.
We may drop "Bed and breakfast" off of the name next year.

The new ones in our area skew to using "Inn".

Anon Inn said:

Yes that perception thing
Inn seems to be preferred by innkeepers. Bed and breakfast seems to have lingering 1990s wallpaper associations.
We started as "________Bed and Breakfast" in 2007 and added "Inn" officially to the name last year.
we are licensed for - and do serve dinners by request.
We may drop "Bed and breakfast" off of the name next year..

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I will say that 90% of the B&B's here in town call themselves inns.

We inherited a "Bed & Breakfast Inn" and decided to keep the name. The inn next-door is so desperate for business they call themselves a "Boutique Bed and Breakfast Inn and Hotel" which helps prove there's a reason "kill" is in the word "overkill."

If you have a name you like...use it...doesn't matter which you use these days. though I think the alphabetically listing thing is still applicable.

PhineasSwann said:

We inherited a "Bed & Breakfast Inn" and decided to keep the name. The inn next-door is so desperate for business they call themselves a "Boutique Bed and Breakfast Inn and Hotel" which helps prove there's a reason "kill" is in the word "overkill."

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PhineasSwann said:

...a "Boutique Bed and Breakfast Inn and Hotel"...

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I don't LOL often, but that one almost did it!

JBloggs said:

What is the price range?
And where will you be located?
Did you google to see what is around you?
If everyone else is B&B I would go for Inn. You can be an inn with four guest rooms. or a guesthouse. Is there another B&B/Inn with the same name in another state that comes up in google? You will battle for placement on the internet with them. There is a B&B with our name in Texas and we get calls and even people booking the wrong place about once every couple years. Call and are angry when they can't find us! Yes, and we have our state name EVERYWHERE for SEO and other purposes.
Hope these comments help.

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Yes, similar names will sometimes catch you, there is a motel in Canada that has our name, you'd think folks would notice that they were booking a room in the wrong country, but have had a few mix ups in the last couple of years, I've learned to ask if they are from that area.

In Europe "Inn" is not very common, I know that because I'm Dutch, so I guess your potential customers from outside the US will not find you quickly enough when you only use "Inn" and no BNB.

jjwverhees said:

In Europe "Inn" is not very common, I know that because I'm Dutch, so I guess your potential customers from outside the US will not find you quickly enough when you only use "Inn" and no BNB..

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Our sign says both 'inn' and 'bed and breakfast'. I have taken to adding 'bed and breakfast' to all online and print info. Hoping it helps.
One place has the old, old name of the real inn, which was also a pub. When I recommend them guests ask if they are staying in a bar!
It's hard to know exactly what something means across the pond. Or what guests are looking for.
I used to use the word 'bath' to refer to the bathroom until one English guest said they thought they had a tub because 'bath' means 'bathtub' in the UK. Had to fix that one. 'En suite' is an expression Americans apparently don't understand. So I use both 'en suite' and 'attached bathroom' so everyone gets it.

Our name is The Forsyth. I am leaning toward B&B, sort of warms it up.

There is another B&B with the same name in Yellowknife, NWT. We get a good number of Asian people that want to see the northern lights and book with us. Especially through the OTAs. I make my confirmation email very clear as to which one they are booking (in a nice way) with explicit directions and what they can expect as to their arrival in regards to the airport and stuff.
More than a few whoops! have taken place, with one poor young woman calling from a payphone in Yellowknife to cancel her reservation. Did I charge her? I'm not a cat lady for nothing. I'm just a softy at heart. When I heard the operator asking for more change to continue the call and she was trying to explain in broken English that she booked the wrong place, I couldn't.
But, without trying to hijack this thread, do you look like an inn? I wouldn't want to drive up to a spot and expect 'Inn' , and I do have a vision in my mind. We're only a four bedroom, I serve a small menu in the off season, crab suppers when we're at full tilt, but I would never think of myself as an inn.

Morticia said:

Inn generally connotes a place with dining options. (I know as my B&B has 'inn' in the name and people assume we serve dinner, even tho they think we DON'T serve breakfast. Whole other thread...) Then again, Holiday Inn here doesn't serve dinner. Hampton Inn doesn't either. But people know those brands.
How about 'boutique B&B'? That way you get the vibe you want without the confusion.
"Magnolia Inn ~ A Boutique B&B". Something like that..

Click to expand...

I haven't had people assume dinner is served though I've had a few ask if breakfast was open to the public.
We have "inn" in our name. Our sign says, "a Bed & Breakfast Inn" under the name.

Tamelon said:

Our name is The Forsyth. I am leaning toward B&B, sort of warms it up..

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Tamelon said:

Our name is The Forsyth. I am leaning toward B&B, sort of warms it up.

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I agree. Softens it a bit.
The general population doesn't know the difference between what the names define as.
Had a call last night, (mine is B&B) asking what times we serve dinner. Taken off guard as we do have a dinner package, certain times of the year, I at first did not know what to say. Hesitated then said we do not serve dinner as part of our rates.
She then said she was not staying just wanted to have dinner here. Told her we do not offer meals to the public.

"Oh! So you no longer do that" "No, we never have"