What is the difference between an AirB&B, VRBO, Farmstay or Bed and Breakfast?
What is a bed and breakfast? A bed and breakfast is usually a home, sometimes a historic building like a barn, church or old mansion. Traditionally, innkeepers live in the facility and ensure guests have a safe and comfortable experience. Unlike a hotel, B&B guests aren’t expected to stay locked in their rooms, but encouraged to relax in the “common areas.” At First Farm Inn www.firstfarminn.com that includes playing the grand piano, trying international and handmade flutes and percussion instruments. Guests also enjoy sitting by the fire, rocking on the porch or wandering to the barn to meet the horses. Unlike an AirB&B or a VRBO, B&B guests do not have access to an entire empty house at any hour or kitchen facilities. However, our guest rooms have small refrigerators, cork screws and wine glasses. Our patio table is often used for picnics. Breakfast is included at real B&Bs. Like hotels and motels, a few newer B&Bs set out pre-wrapped muffins, fruit, yogurt and a coffee machine. REAL B&Bs wake you with the smells of a homemade breakfast cooking. Unlike most, First Farm Inn offers input into breakfast menus and excels at providing tasty options for those with special diets. “If you don’t like this place, then you are not happy, period. Been all across our great land and never ever found a better place to stay. I will definitely be telling folks to come here and hope to come again. God has really blessed this place. The cats and dog will tell you the same thing.” London, Ky 2024 What is an AirB&B? In 2008, AirBnB started, encouraging people to rent rooms, basements, recreational vehicles and vacation homes by the day or week at much higher profits than they could get by renting to someone who lived there permanently. Its founders began by renting air mattresses on their San Francisco apartment floors. The corporation gets a percentage of the fee for every rental. First Farm Inn has been listed on AirB&B, but with markups and fees to cover their charges. Repeated references to the fact that First Farm Inn is a real b&b prompted one guest to look us up and book directly, saving a significant amount of money. AirB&B blocks all direct contact between potential guests and lodging to ensure people book through them. Some AirB&B hosts only rent a spare bed in their own home, while some have an entire portfolio of properties in a city or region. Usually, they have been quickly renovated and are sparsely decorated. While the AirB&B site has photos, you often don’t know what the exterior of property looks like or the address until after you’ve booked. https://www.airbnb.com/s/Phoenix–AZ/ That lack of exterior photos once led us to stay in a storage pod, a tiny metal box in which every single raindrop banged as it hit the roof and the giant welcome sign on the door slammed with every storm gust. Recently, I arrived at midnight after a late flight to ski early the next day. No lights were on at any house on the street. Not a single light illuminated a house number or the dark winding steps to the door we were directed to use. At First Farm Inn, we leave the lights on for you – and have nightlights in bathrooms! What is VRBO, Vacation Rental By Owner? Vacation Rentals By Owner is a similar site, usually offering entire homes, sometimes motor homes, recreational vehicles, boats or other living facilities. Since these “booking engines” are so profitable, more spring up all the time. What is a farmstay? Common in Europe and newer to the United States, a farmstay is a working farm where guests can participate in farm activities and learn about agriculture. It combines lodging with hands-on experiences, offering a unique way to connect with rural life. Farmstays are a unique subset of the ecotourism industry, reflecting an increasing desire to enjoy the outdoors and relaxing in nature. The popular online saying “touch some grass,” encourages people to put down their phones and spend time in nature for mental wellness. Farmstays, like First Farm Inn provide that perfect opportunity. Lodging facilities vary widely from yurts and tents with cots and solar shower bags, to comfortable bed and breakfasts on farms. https://farmstayus.com “City life will never be the same when the city becomes overwhelming, stressful or just plain ugly, we now have our country home to come to. What a wonderful day, night and experience. We love ALL your critters and envy your life. Warmest wishes.” Cincinnati Why try a Bed and Breakfast? While people increasingly isolate, part of the charm of staying at a real bed and breakfast is meeting people. You’ll greet others who enjoy people, travel and exploring the world. Since sharing a B&B, particularly a farmstay like First Farm Inn, means you appreciate animals and the environment, you’ll likely have interests in common with others you meet here. We’ve had guests who just met here decide to go to dinner together, to plan a ride together the next day and even to visit in each other’s homes later. Six degrees of separation are often visible. Once we had two local (Indianapolis and Cincinnati) couples that both men regaled us with stories of working in the Antarctic! Staying in a historic home that is carefully cared for prompts sharing about family histories, reminiscing about the family farm most Midwesterners have in their background, resolving home repair and restoration issues and more. “Thank you for a delightful stay. Warm, cozy, tidy, welcoming, friendly, kind, beautiful – the house, yards farm, breakfasts. Also, beyond beautiful in many touches that make a house a home – instruments, personal art, photography… The touches of someone who cherishes life and beauty. Eugene Petyerson said, “We need creatures and community.” I agree. We need beauty for beauty’s sake as we live fully as humans made in the image of our Creator – fully alive.” West Virginia 2024 Are Bed and Breakfasts safe?
