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"The Bed & Breakfast Association helped us achieve B&B success within 10 months of opening." Sue Burrell
Read how...
"I can think of no better support system than that provided by the Bed & Breakfast Association."
Alastair Sawday
"I am so impressed by the support and advice that you are providing us. I cannot thank you enough."
TC, member in London
"The Association is a wonderful organisation - keep up the good work!."
AR, member in Cambs
"The B&B Association was a lifeline. Brilliant! Couldn't have done it without you.
Thank you."
JH, member since 2008
"I think you do an excellent job in protecting the interests of B&B owners
in a harsh world dominated by those who have muscled in to the hotel and B&B scene
and offer nothing in return"
RW, member since 2011
"Thank you for the regular newsletters - always full of great and useful info."
HG, member & TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Winner 2015
"Very useful getting your helpful magazines and articles and you do wonderful work on behalf of the B&B owners. Thank you very much."
RW, member since 2012
"I would certainly recommend membership for anyone involved in B&B, or considering like ourselves."
PB, member in Stoke-on-Trent
"I do appreciate all you're doing for the B&B industry."
Mrs R, member in Scotland since 2009
"Very glad we joined - all the important information we need, all in one place."
KC, Glos, new member in 2017
"Thank you for all the useful information and support."
PA, Yorkshire, member since 2008
"I am very pleased with the information that you provide."
CT, member since October 2012
£40 off a case of wine worth £59.99 or more with Naked Wines.
"The Bed & Breakfast Association provides information and support to B&B owners,
and it is also a good resource for would-be owners at the research stage."
The Times, 22 Oct 2011
Our members can save hundreds of pounds on their printing needs.
Read more...
Winners of the prestigious
Trade Association Forum
'Sector Representation'
Award 2010
The Trade Association Forum has published a leaflet called "The Benefits of Trade Associations", with an introduction by the Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform.
Click here to read it.
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Why join the Bed & Breakfast Association?
Are you running (or starting) a B&B or Guest House in the UK - or
letting rooms in your home to paying guests?
if so, we are here to help, support, inform and represent YOU...
"Being a member of the B&B Association is probably the best value for money and most practically useful thing I have ever been part of"
MH, B&B owner in Sussex and member since 2009
"We can't say enough good things about the B&B Association and how beneficial being members has been for us!"
B & A, B&B owners in Somerset and members since 2013
"It was a fantastic saving. Many thanks for your hard work. It would not have been possible without you."
Rob, B&B owner in Cornwall, who saved over £650 with our member insurance ofer (Sept 2022)
We believe our subscription is excellent value from only £60 a year, or just £1.15 a week. It is due to go up shortly, having not risen since 2010. Your membership gives you, amongst other things:
Members can register (free) for our Purchasing Group with savings at Screwfix, Makro, B&Q, Booker and many other suppliers - save back more than the cost of your subscription with this benefit alone!
Members in Scotland get membership of the Scottish B&B Association included
Save up to 30% on household appliances through the Hotpoint Privilege Purchase Club
Save up to 40% on all your printing needs with our member portal with Vistaprint
Save 50% in 2024 on the card payment processing solution offered by our partner provider
Access to a comprehensive online information resource on legislation covering letting to paying guests
Access to an online Fire Risk Assessment tool
Member discount at Naked Wines on any case of wine of £59.99 or more - saving £40 [customers new to Naked Wines only]
A new partnership on B&B Insurance with Marsh Commercial
Save £150 on an EV Charger for your business with our member offer
news bulletins about latest tourism industry developments & statistics
15% cashback with AIMS Accountants - saving at least £75
SAVE with our Theatre Club - saving up to £52 per couple, per show
member briefing documents on new regulations and how they affect you
England & Wales B&B fire regulations guidance & risk assessment template
Scottish B&B fire regulations guidance
access to the BBA's panel of experts to answer your email queries
representation as your trade association in any dispute you may have with a regulatory body
eligibility to attend BBA events and meet other B&B owners
advance notice of specialist seminars & webinars on marketing, online payments and many other topics
inside information, offers or member rates on B&B services and supplies
Support our campaigns on behalf of B&B and guest house owners
Coming Soon: an all-new member website and online "community"
Access to all specialist information is limited to subscribing members only.
To see your joining options in detail, click the 'Join now' button below:
"We have really benefitted from being members - you offer an extremely valuable service,
and have always been an excellent source of information. Thank you, in particular, for
all you are doing to level the playing field in terms of regulation for Airbnb type accommodation.
We hope your association continues to grow, and send you our thanks and best wishes."
HA, West Sussex [member since 2014]
"Personally I would just like to say a big thank you to those of you who are working
so hard on our behalf and giving us a voice"
FA, Powys, Wales [member since 2011]
"I would like to thank you for a simply excellent service the B&B Association runs.
I always enjoy the articles and helpful literature put out in the magazine and website,
and the always cheerful, positive and common-sense approach you take to serious matters
like fire regulations. I hope you are able to continue for years to come!"
AR, Cambridgeshire [member since 2008]
"I was just reading some past [member] magazines on line - very interesting I must say.
In the very short time (4 days) since joining, I have had my eyes opened and
this has helped me so much. We move into our guest house the first week in july,
this is a new venture for us both, so once again thank you for your excellent service."
JU, Tyne & Wear [Joined March 2013]
"Amazing - the B&B Association really helped me! I saved over £1000 by going to the right
B&B specialist insurer. When I started out I found the right policy but a year later when my
previous insurer was taken over by a big multi-national, I needed a further review as they
amalgamated B&B policy with Hotel policy so the rules were no longer appropriate for
tiny business like us.
Yet again the B&B Association's advice helped me so much, so they are really on the pulse with
good information: I got a deal for £411.00 a year, very helpful for such a small and seasonal
business."
AP, Norfolk [Joined June 2013]
"We're in the process of setting up a B&B and joined the Association over 12 months ago.
It's been very useful and interesting to read the magazines and e-mails."
SK [Joined 2012]
"May I also quickly say thanks for all of the information we have gleaned from
the Association and your book, as we enter our third month of our first B&B ownership.
Though I would have to say, as prepared as we thought we were, it has been quite a ride -
especially in the pre-ownership days of business plans and trying to get finance.
However we have learnt a lot on the journey, which continues on."
DJH, Worcs rejoining member
This new member in Swindon has just saved over £1,400 by joining the Association:
"We have only been a member of the Bed and Breakfast Association for a month and have
already been extremely pleased with the saving that we've made on our B & B
Insurance.
We asked a Business Link Adviser about B&B insurance brokers and he pointed us
to your association as a starting point. All we can say is 'Wow'.
Our current insurance broker was a local company and because we'd been with
them for more than 5 years, had never queried our premium. However because our
business has been dramatically affected by the Honda and BMW closures, when
the renewal premium came in at £2260.51 (9% increase since last year and we'd
not claimed anything), we thought time for a change. It's not that easy though
as very few of the brokers deal with our type of business.
Bearing in mind that we are only a small B&B with 4 rooms and then reading
your member's testimonial we decided to try your insurance brokers.
Their best quote came in at £848.64 and that included our personal bits plus Yellowtag security
tags. That's a saving of £1411.87.
Their customer service is excellent and we accepted their quote and have
already received all our documentation. We told them that we found them via
the Bed and Breakfast Assocation.
So already saved my subscription - many thanks."
This new member in Somerset has just saved £850 by joining the Association:
"I have just saved myself £850.00 on insurance through the BBA info, thank you"
This new member in Devon has just saved over £800 by joining the Association:
"Thank you... I have been thrilled with the result. I originally had [B&B insurance] quotes
from one insurer of £1,300 and from another of £1,200.
I contacted [member contacts] and they have quoted me just under £400!
I have taken up their insurance quote, and informed them I had got their details from
the Bed & Breakfast Association. Many thanks."
And this new member in Wales has just saved £400 by joining the Association:
"I wanted to thank you for savings already made in the month or two since joining.
One was the advice concerning [TV/radio licensing],
and the other was a reduced insurance bill of around £400 for the coming year."
Award from our members: Our chairman David Weston was touched and humbled in August 2020 to receive this lovely 'Award' of thanks to the B&B Association for "consistent and dedicated support for all small B&B owners up and down the land during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic".
The award was organised by B&B Association members Roy and Jayne of Chyheira B&B in Helston, Cornwall.
Until recently, the B&B "sector" has been largely ignored by the Government and regulators, because we did not have a "voice" - ie a trade association representing B&B owners throughout the UK.
Now we do have that "voice" - the Bed and Breakfast Association.
The Bed and Breakfast Association is a member of the Trade Association Forum, the collective organisation for British trade associations established by the CBI and the Government (DTI, now BIS - the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, which "works with the Trade Association Forum to develop and communicate best practice among trade associations").
The Bed and Breakfast Association is a member organisation of the Tourism Alliance, along with the trade associations for each other sector of the domestic tourism industry (self-catering, hotels & restaurants, holiday parks, attractions, etc. etc.), and this grouping allows the industry to speak with a united voice on issues of common concern, without compromising the dedicated focus of each trade association on the needs of its own sector.
There is plenty of lobbying to do, with consultations and planned regulations in the pipeline on many areas which affect B&B owners.
We have also held meetings with Government ministers and their shadows, and forged links with UKinbound and VisitBritain - all on our members' behalf.
Besides representing your interests to the Government and regulators, our aim is to inform B&B owners of developments which will affect you, and support your businesses with advice, information and guidance. If you find you are being treated unfairly by your local authority, for instance, and are unsure whether they may be exceeding their powers or misinterpreting the legislation (which sadly is all too common!), the BBA is here as your national trade association to fight for your interests.
We have been running an online survey on our website, and the results to date show that 96% of respondents agree that "there is a need for an independent trade association to represent B&B owners in the UK". As to the most important functions of the association, 90% of you told us that "championing my interests" was important or very important, and 91% said that "impartial information on relevant issues" was either important or very important. The next most valued function would be "the chance to talk and network with other B&B owners", which 26% rated "useful", 32% "important" and 40% "very important".
All these benefits will of course cost money, which is why we have to ask for a membership subscription. We are a non-profit making trade association, with no funds of our own, so can only serve you with some financial help from you.
We are taking all prudent steps to minimise our costs, and to obtain commercial sponsorship in ways which will not compromise our independence, but the fact is that to do the professional job that bed and breakfast owners deserve, your national trade association needs at least a minimum level of funding.
Without any of the sponsorship we have received, we would have to ask an annual subscription of over £100. This is of course not unusual for an organisation like ours, and indeed many similar trade associations charge their members well into three figures.
However, B&Bs are small businesses, and budgets are tight. We are determined to keep subscriptions to an absolute minimum so as to maximise our membership. This is important to ensure we serve the widest number of members and are truly representative.
By subscribing and giving us your email and postal addresses, you are granting permission to the B&B Association and to its contracted database manager, Special Publishing Ltd. (established 15 years and registered as a Data Controller by the Information Commissioners' Office (ICO), Registration Number Z1079141), to contact you with information relevant to your membership and to your B&B business. Your details will not be passed to any third party, but carefully selected, relevant advertisers may sponsor clearly-defined sections of our website or of Special Publishing's email newsletters or magazines. This is in line with our key objectives of providing relevant information and offers to our members, and keeping membership subscriptions as low as possible.
If you are not yet ready to join or don't qualify (perhaps you are only at the early research stage), do in the meantime register free of charge to receive email information updates.
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