B&B s

No.

First, you need a consistent definition for Bed and Breakfast. In Germany and Austria, except for big chains that try to conceal the real price on booking websites by leaving off breakfast, big and small hotels and especially Privatzimmer include breakfast with the room. I understand that this is not universally true in other countries. If you are looking for the intimacy of a room in a private home, I don't think you will find one on a booking website. They are most likely listed on the town websites, www.town_name.de under Unterkunfte, Übernachten, or Hotels.

I agree wtith Lee that it is not a good idea to rely on only one source; that goes for practically anything, including places recommended by Rick Steves. Use different sources and do more research on any places that look interesting. And never book through a clearing house when you can contact a place directly. But you have to start somewhere.

No list will cover everything, but, for a start, try this website: http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/europe.html I have used this one for Germany: http://www.bed-and-breakfast.de/galerie/index_e.asp Also, check the city websites of the towns you are interested in.

I agree that I don't know of one yet, and agree with Lee that a clear definition would be needed. Are you intending to write one? Would you do a website or book? That will be quite a project. I bet by the time its done you will have to check each one again to see if it has gone out of business or new ones have come on. How many people will you need to check them all? Will you give ratings?

That first reply was certainly abrupt and not really correct/helpful. Here's another idea/website that's very easy to use. Just type in the city name (Ghent, for example), click search, and view the results returned...B&B, small hotel, and even some apartment options anywhere in Europe....looks to be a fairly comprehensive resource. http://www.bedandbreakfast.eu/bed-and-breakfast/ Nigel: Are you asking Lee or Dirk if he is interested in writing a guidebook – where did that come from?

Yes Michael. He asked if there is a website or guidebook. That might be because he wants the information from one. OR it could be that he wants to write one and wants to see what the competition is.

I answered the question. We have stayed in B & Bs that there not listed anywhere, and became aware of them from a neighbor or some other local source. There is no one source that even begins to list them all. It would be an impossible task. There are hundreds of thousands. It is just not done. There is no one source, or even two sources.

Hmm. A guidebook, if the author did a complete listing and did not charge the properties to be listed, would be the only effective way. But a website that does not show the URL and email address so you can contact the property directly, but handles the booking and takes a 15%-20% commission won't work. I've extensively compared town websites that don't make a profit from bookings, with booking websites, and the booking websites show only a fraction (1/3 to 1/2) of the places available, and mostly the more expensive ones that charge enough already to afford the commission.

If someone asked for a list of hotels in Europe, would we refuse to mention TripAdvisor, booking.com or hotels.com just because not all hotels would be listed, and "hotel" would not be defined?

It's just not a good idea to rely only on them, because the selection is so limited and the prices tend to be higher. In fact, in Germany if you are looking for a true B&B (i.e., a Privatzimmer) you probably won't find many, if any. It's like looking for train tickets on RailEurope.

Realize, too, that the term "bed and breakfast" isn't really used on the continent. What is known as a B&B equivalent could be a Gasthaus, Privatzimmer, or most commonly, simply "hotel". The closest you might find to a B&B guide are the various Michelin books. However, there is no Europe-wide Michelin guide.

We've used Karen Brown's B&B guidebooks for years and have always found them reliable and accurate. Her guidebooks are individual by country and are available for several - but not all - countries in Europe. http://www.karenbrown.com

A room search at tripadvisor.com gives you a B&B option.

During my last four trips to Europe (Germany/Austria), I've stayed in 22 places, most of which are either small, family operated places or Privatzimmer. There has not been one that I would not recommend. Almost all of these places can be found on town websites. Exceptions: one in Munich that I knew of from a business trip in 1987. Note: Munich does not have a true town website; there's is only a link to HRS. The other was in Hall, Austria, where all bookings have to be made through the Tourist Information Office. The average price of all 22 of these places is €35/nt (EZ/F) Only seven (less than 1/3) are shown on Tripadvisor. Their average price is €42. The only information about two of these places is a postal addresses - no way to book. These two places have a total of 3 reviews, 1 in English. Seven are what I would call true Privatzimmer. None are shown on Tripadvisor. Their average price is €24/nt. This experience is consistent with what I have seen in comparing town websites with booking websites. Hence my claim that Tripadvisor shows only a fraction of the available places and generally the more expensive ones.