What are b&bs shit at?

“I honestly don’t know anyone with a family who would choose to stay in a BandB”

Hard agree for all @Wampwhad ’s reasons.
Who wants to stay in someone’s else house if they don’t need to.
I’d call it a family run hotel just to get rid of the b&b image. And someone made a good point about lunch and dinner - are there kid friendly places within walking distance?

If it’s genuinely well suited to kids - gardens, space and large rooms then possibly but personally other people’s kids are hard work to please.

We never stayed in a B&B when our children were young, always self catering, for all the reasons others have given. I think a guest house full of families with small children would appeal to very few people. Now there is just the two of us we would look at nice B&Bs but we’re unlikely to be visiting a seaside resort. I’m not sure what market guest houses appeal to now. Round here there is a huge market for golfers, but that’s pretty niche to this area.

I thought this too, by trying to make it family friendly they may alienate their existing guests without attracting new ones.

Its really hard to make a small place family friendly as you have different needs across different ages. Cot beds and facilities to warm up milk / baby food. Baskets of toys for toddlers. Rentable beach toys for children. Access to a games Console / chill out space for older teens.

If they were to stick with the “grey” pound what could they offer to enhance the experience? Something like a complimentary cream tea, ( homemade scone, nice jam, clotted cream and a nice pot of tea) for guests might distinguish them from the competition.
I’ve booked b&bs for this sort of thing when everything else is of a muchness.

B&Bs are very few families with children's choice of holiday accommodation. Maybe he needs to do more to appeal to the market he does have, and let Premier Inn etc take the families in bigger rooms. Llandudno needs all those older visitors, they go year-round and their needs are met easily. Maybe he needs to make himself known to a couple of coach holiday companies to keep his occupancy up.

The reason I picked the b&b we stayed at in Llandudno was because there was a small room off our room with a bunk bed in it for the kids!

I would never stay in a b&b with our 2 littles, it would be an air b&b as i value having a separate lounge for the evening.

Charging the same as a hotel. B&Bs used to be the cheaper alternative but these days they seem to be in the same price bracket which kind of makes you wonder what's the point.

Marketing is what they're shit at. They are so hard to find. I go away a lot (walking is my hobby) and I often want a cheep and cheerful b&b but I usually give up as it's painful to find them. By comparison, finding a self catering cottage is simple as you just go on Sykes/Cottages/AirBnb etc. The UK would really benefit from a single website that lists b&bs nationally. (If I'm missing something, please let me know!).

One important thing for your 'friend' would be to make sure their b&b comes up on a Google maps search. Another one is that they must have online, live availability info and booking. If I have to call/email to find out about availability, cost and/or book I just look elsewhere. I dont have time to find out if you have vacancies or not, I want instant booking.

Agree that we would never have stayed in a B & B with children, always self-catering, camping, occasionally a hotel with good facilities (pool, play area, decent grounds, restaurant etc). We wanted space for kids to run off steam outside and to be able to save money by eating in. No way in today’s climate would we want to eat every lunch and dinner out (and we’re probably an average middle income family).

I think concentrating on a good deal, quality for the adult market is likely to be best.

Too hot
Too cold
Uncomfortable beds
Decor puts me off. Difficult to get right. I wouldn't touch somewhere with tired old dated furnishings
Early check outs especially on Sunday
Later check ins. 4pm To 10am is such a piss take.
I expect good directions, good communication in advance, easy flexible check in, good breakfast.

I also like a kettle in the room and ideally some biscuits and nice shampoo and shower gel but most b&bs are rubbish at this.

My DB, SIL and their 2 young DC are the same, would avoid a b&b.

A lot of families with young kids prefer self catering, it's just easier.

Marketing - what's his social media like? And website. An ancient website would put me off. Good quality insta particularly will attract a younger market.

What booking platforms does he use currently? A lot of people automatically go for Booking.com and Airbnb and won't look further.

I live in a touristy area and owners talk of having to 'resort to' using Airbnb as they have gaps where in previous years they didn't. Equally, tourists are on our local FB groups saying they can't find accommodation because they presume all providers use Airbnb (which most of them hate being linked up to).

A B&B will be a hard sell to families as there is nowhere to eat dinner. He should include details of local restaurants in his blurb, the closer the better. But he might do better to lean in to the adult market more.

If he has a garden, make it secure and stick a couple of those little tykes cars in

I dont know if B&Bs are set up for families.

Kids are noisy, intrusive and messy, young kids need naps at certain times.

I see B&Bs as more of a base, a place to sleep, rather than a place to 'stay' during the day, which is what families need.

Does he have plenty of allocated parking for the number of rooms? That's the main thing that puts me off booking somewhere, if it's onstreet parking only and you have to take your chances, I'd be more likely to book a hotel with a private car park especially with kids. Llandudno also has loads of caravan parks nearby which families with children would probably be more likely to choose for the onsite swimming pool, arcade, evening entertainment etc.

Price will be a major point for families.

I look at a mix but if I can get a hotel for £110 for the 3 of us i’m not going to pay £150 for a b&b

I know this isn’t what he asked but my first thought was why not try to increase the number of bookings in the group / demographic that likes the place as it is. Do some marketing aimed at the elderly.

They are no more likely to be demanding or difficult than younger people. People who are like that are like that regardless of their age. They aren’t going to be haring around having accidents the way children will. They aren’t likely to be coming back roaring drunk as some younger people will. He won’t need cots and high chairs, kid menus. Unless he charges a lot extra for the children he won’t make much more money on a room.

I also think older people are often more realistic with their expectations because they’ve been around a bit more. They know what to expect from what they spend. And he already knows his B&B meets their expectations.

Just a thought

Flexible breakfast timing- we’ve just stayed in one where we had to say what time we would be down the night before- made it a bit stressful!

How about video baby monitors in the room with a place downstairs for parents to have a glass of wine?

Late check out

I just wouldn't stay in a B&B with young kids, and I know many parents who agree. We prefer the impersonal nature of larger hotels, or AirBnBs/caravans that are away from other people. I would focus on adults.

I'd binge watch 'Four in a bed' for ideas.

I honestly don’t know anyone with a family who would choose to stay in a BandB

its such an old fashioned term and conjours up images of pine bedroom furniture, dusty skirtings and dolly toilet roll covers.

I would be changing the description - something along the lines of ‘AirBnB but we make the B!’

Air BnB is always going to be main family choice because the pricing is generally so much better. So if they can position themselves as that, or as a small family hotel, rather than the term BandB I think it would work better.

In terms of what would help - a babysitting service, a bespoke, curated guide to the local area with kids, cosy reading/play nooks for the kids, little chairs and maybe their own seating for breakfast. Options like pancake stacks for breakfast. Little workshops for kids on a Saturday morning so parents can have a lie in or storytelling time.

Non-chain B&Bs are almost invariably grim - dirty, cramped and not fit for purpose.
Showers that are so weak that they're almost pointless, leaky toilets, mold, dust etc. I have stayed in one or two nice ones, but a 'nice' old building is just not always suitable for lots of people to stay in.
Keep them clean and leak free!

I would be put off by anything that made being child friendly a major selling point tbh. 😂

Does he advertise via booking.com?