Interview Questions for your Bed and Breakfast

One of the secret weapons you have for your wedding are area bed and breakfasts. You can use them in a number of different ways. They can be used by the groom as a place to stay before the wedding, they can be used by the couple as a honeymoon suite for their wedding night, they can be used for out-of-town guests that enables them to make your wedding weekend as a romantic getaway for them, and in addition a number of bed and breakfasts in each city are set up to handle weddings and can provide most vendor services that a beautiful wedding needs.

Innkeepers, take pride in their bed and breakfasts. They take pride in creating a special experience for each of their guests. Many bed and breakfasts have rooms specially decorated often designed to a theme so it becomes a memory so that guests cherish the experience and will want to come whenever they are back in the area. Rooms generally range from sweet and cozy retreats to large spacious rooms with all the trimmings. Often rooms at a bed and breakfast will put emphasis on their bathrooms or have a hot tub on the premises so that a honeymoon couple can enjoy their privacy in a large whirlpool bath, hot tub, or an extra large shower.

Bed and breakfast come in many variations, some are created from historic homes, some are created from unique restored houses, and some are designed in a very contemporary style. Many innkeepers take pride in decorating their bed and breakfasts adding a personal touch adding expensive antiques, knickknacks, and personal hobby decor. Many inns are geared to romantic adventures and not so much to families with children.

A number of bed and breakfast in each city are set up for weddings. They will have a ceremony site area on their property, they may have an area to handle a wedding reception or they may have an area where you can pitch a large tent. They may have connections for all the services you need, they often have contacts for caterers, wedding cake bakers, florists, decorators, musicians, DJs, wedding photographers, and videographers.

Many bed and breakfasts are also called inns, these places offer a lot of amenities not found in a typical hotel. The bed and breakfasts usually provide a special breakfast for their guests. Some provide unique other services such as afternoon tea, offer a three course meal, a lavish buffet, offer wine, cheese, and hors d'oeuvres, offer a coffee bar, and provide luxurious bath products such as bath oils, body creams, shower gels, massage oils, and bubbles for bubble baths. They might offer fluffy pillows, down comforters, and provide his and her over-sized bathrobe along with fluffy towels.

Some bed and breakfast even have a library and offer a quiet area to read a book. Some even have DVDs to choose from that allow you to watch a movie either from your bedroom, a lobby, or entertainment room. You want to question local bed and breakfasts, find out what each provides and decide which one's for you or you may want to pass on what services they can provide to your out-of-town guests. You want to focus on finding bed and breakfasts that are convenient to your home or near your ceremony site and reception venue.


Interview Questions to Ask your Bed and Breakfast
1-Get a business card or brochure from the bed and breakfast, what is the name of the bed and breakfast, plus the address, and phone number and website of the bed and breakfast?
2-What is the name of the innkeeper or bed and breakfast manager along with their phone number and contact information such as their email?
3-Does the bed and breakfast have rooms available during the time of our wedding? (if not, do they know of other bed and breakfasts we might try, interview over)
4-How long has the bed and breakfast been in operation?
5-How long has the innkeeper or manager been working at the bed and breakfast?
6-How many rooms does the bed and breakfast have? how many rooms are available at the time of our wedding?
7-Can you tell us about each of the rooms? how many beds? what size beds? do the beds offer a hard, medium or soft mattress?
8-What are the bath arrangements? does each room have their own bathroom? is the bathroom our own bathroom but down the hall? is the bathroom down the hall but shared with other guests?
9-Does the bed and breakfast offer a jacuzzi, whirlpool, hot tub, steam room, or sauna? are they private or public?
10-Does the bed and breakfast provide bedroom televisions, lobby televisions, or offer a special television entertainment room?
11-Does the bed and breakfast offer internet connections from the bedroom or offer a special area for internet connections?
12-How is phone usage handled at the bed and breakfast? are land lines available? how well does cell phone usage work at the bed and breakfast?
13-Are there suites available at the bed and breakfast? Is it possible to get a suite instead of just a room?
14-Does the bed and breakfast have air conditioning and heat? what type of heat does the bed & breakfast use?
15-How is breakfast handled at the bed and breakfast? what time is breakfast offered? what type of breakfast is offered? can we see a menu? is it possible to have breakfast early if we must leave before breakfast is scheduled?
16-Can special dietary restrictions be handled at the bed and breakfast?
17-Are we expected to interact with other guests at breakfast?
18-Can breakfast be served to our room instead of having it in the dining area?
19-What are the parking arrangements for the bed and breakfast?
20-Is public transportation nearby? subway or train? bus stop nearby? is it easy to get picked up by a taxi or limo? is there a taxi or limo service you would recommend?
21-What happens if we need to arrive early or leave late?
22-Does the bed and breakfast accept children?
23-Does the bed and breakfast accept pets? do any pets live or stay at the bed and breakfast?
24-Are there laundry or kitchen facilities available at the bed and breakfast? is an iron and ironing board available?
25-Is smoking allowed at the bed and breakfast?
26-Is there an elevator available in the bed and breakfast?
27-Is there a place, closet or room to store any extra luggage?
28-How much privacy do we get in our bedroom? can we hear other guests through the walls? how is the street noise at the bed and breakfast? are there neighborhood areas we should avoid?
29-Can the innkeeper develop an itinerary for our visit? what are the best places to visit?
30-Does the innkeeper know and can he/she provide us or our guests with the history of the bed and breakfast?
31-Does the innkeeper know and can he/she provide us with the best and most affordable restaurants in the area?
32-Does the innkeeper know of any romantic spots to visit in the area?
33-Where does the innkeeper sleep? who would be contacted in the event of an emergency?
34-Are there any time restrictions? is there a minimum amount of nights we have to stay?
35-At what time is check in and check out?
36-Are there any special amenities offered by the bed and breakfast that might influence our decision? (might be bath products, bathrobes, tea time, evening meals, hors d'oeuvres, wine and cheese, other)
37-Does the bed and breakfast do weddings? (if the bed and breakfast does weddings, what vendor services can the bed and breakfast provide?)
38-Can we arrange for a tour of the bed and breakfast and see the rooms we are interested in when you are less busy? also a tour of the property for wedding possibilities?
39-What are the basic costs for each room we are possibly interested in?
40-Are there any additional costs we may get charged for? any hidden costs?
41-Are there discounted rates offered? if so can you explain how we might get them?
42-What type of payment arrangements does the bed and breakfast accept? (credit card, debit card, personal check, certified check, cash, Paypal, other)
43-How far in advance do we typically need to book to secure a room?
44-How are tips handled by the bed and breakfast?
45-Are there any other important matters worth mentioning?
46-Can we take an unsigned contract with us to review?
47-Can we get 3 referral from other guests that stayed at your bed and breakfast in the past year? (try to contact at least 2)

Often, innkeepers provide a lot of information about the bed and breakfast on their website. Experts say a little trick to evaluating bed and breakfasts is to look how they handle their bedding needs and if they provide unique bath creams and oils in their bath. Bed and breakfasts that provide more luxurious bedding and bath needs with nice bath products and with nice sheets and luxurious comforters, blankets, or covers tend to be a better choice. The better bed and breakfasts tend to have a very friendly innkeeper who likes to talk and puts the guests at ease.

A good bed and breakfast tends to be cheaper than luxurious four and five star hotels but a little more expensive than cheap motels, innkeepers take pride in making their guests comfortable and memorable, they want you to come back and visit again. Make sure the bed and breakfasts are convenient to your wedding venues. Most offer delicious homemade breakfasts hence the name bed and breakfasts.

Bed and breakfasts, a little secret to help you out for your wedding!

See you on the other side!