TravelMole, an online community for the travel and tourism industry, released a AAA report at the end of January stating that once gas prices reach $3.50 a gallon, consumers will start traveling closer to home. According to this AAA Travel Pulse report, more than one-third of AAA members indicate they would consider altering vacation plans to travel closer to home if the price of gasoline reaches $3.25 per gallon. Nineteen percent said they would consider altering their plans if gasoline reached $3.50, AAA says. AAA says 28% report they won't change their vacation plans no matter how much gasoline costs. You can read the complete article at http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1126045.php.

So, what does this mean for you? Well, for one thing, you may want to give some serious thought to visiting a Boston Massachusetts B&B this summer season. Why?

1) Boston is just 310 miles from Montreal, 216 miles from New York, and 440 miles from D.C. Although the price of gas per mile is staggering, driving these distances certainly beats paying airfare to get your family to a vacation destination.

2) The buck ends in Boston. The city is almost completely walkable, and ditching your car and relying on the user-friendly Boston subway system is not just practical, it's advisable.

3) Boston area bed and breakfasts are typically less expensive than hotels, and you get more for your lodging dollars, with breakfast included and no taxes added to your room rates.

4)Boston has it all. Make the gas investment to get here, and you'll marvel at the city's museums, restaurants, historical sites, boating excursions, proximity to beaches (even subway accessible ones!), and so much more.

5) There's a reason both Dave Loggins and Kenny Chesney sing "Please Come to Boston."

We really wish you would.

Haunted hospitality? Close encounters over coffee? Does it get any better than that?? We've all heard the stories (and having seen a few episodes of that new show, Paranormal State, on A&E, this blogger is even more of a believer!) about shadowy figures passing through a room, unexplained energy and orbs, and strange movements in the night. For whatever reason, and perhaps it's merely because so many B&B's are friendly and welcoming and located in older homes rife with history, there do seem to be an awful lot of urban legends about ghosts stirring around getting acquainted with guests. We hear that some travelers stay exclusively at Boston bed and breakfasts and historic inns where ghostly enounters are more likely to occur! If you're one of those adventure seekers, and you're coming to stay in a Massachusetts bed and breakfast, you're in luck. You can crash in the home where the ax-wielding Lizzie Borden "took care" of her mother, join the ranks who have heard a bump in the night in quaint Concord (ask us for details on that one!), or brush up on your Civil War knowledge (ghoul-style) at our own popular Copper Beech Haunted Bed and Breakfast (http://bnbboston.com/west-suburbs/western_suburbs_3a.htm). This historic home once served as a safe house in the Underground Railroad, and a kind and helpful slave who died in one of the rooms has been known to come back to the place she was hidden to provide guidance for those struggling through difficult times. Visit if you dare!

This is the year of green, and Kermit has never been happier. The hospitality industry is doing their part in the saving of the earth by reducing, reusing and recycling materials. A TIA study showed that 25% of all leisure travelers prefer “green,” and we encourage all of our properties to be active participants in this trend. Updates will include notes in the bathroom to reuse towels to conserve energy, compact fluorescent and energy saving light bulbs, water reduction requests and low-flow toilets, cotton vs. synthetic linens or hypo-allergenic linens, air purifiers, real plants, and non-biodegradable chemicals. Can "green" and "luxury" be compatible, or will travelers view the two as mutually exclusive? An interesting trend to keep an eye on...
And to learn more about how Boston in general is going for the green, visit http://boston.com/lifestyle/green/gallery/boston_going_green_expo/

If you are bored with cookie-cutter hotel ambiance or overwhelmed by hotel room prices, Bed and Breakfast Associates Bay Colony could be of great help to you. Their personal touch gives you alternatives to hotel lodging and fits you with places that match your requirements. Since 1981, their staff has helped thousands of people in their search for Eastern MA and Boston lodging. They offer bed and breakfasts, inns, furnished apartments for nightly and monthly stays, small hotels, and home stays that provide the amenities and location you need at prices that match your budget. Visit them at www.bnbboston.com
They will save you:
- Time (when weeding through a plethora of properties)
- Money (rates at their properties are typically much lower than at hotels)
- Stress (You won't have to commit to lenghty leases at furnished apartments and they really do take care of everything!)
- Legwork (they specialize in matching guests with properties, so one phone call is all you will make!)
- Aggravation (again, they take care of everything!)
Visit them at www.bnbboston.com or call 800-347-5088. It's really that simple!

What is a Bed and Breakfast?
A bed and breakfast is a sleeping accommodation for the traveling and vacationing public located within a single dwelling which is the residence of the owner, who, most often, is the operator (or innkeeper), and may include a full or continental breakfast. Bed and breakfasts, typically offer 4-12 rooms.

A bed and breakfast homestays is a sleeping accommodation for the traveling and vacationing public located within a single dwelling which is the residence of the owner, who is also the operator (or innkeeper), and may include a full or continental breakfast. Bed and breakfasts, typically offer 1-3 rooms. Simply put, it is a home where extra bedrooms are rented out to guests.

An Inn is a larger bed and breakfast.

What is a bed and breakfast experience like?
Staying at a bed and breakfast, it is a wonderfully unique experience. Upon arrival, the guest is usually greeted by the host or hostess who will show the guest around the property. (If the host or hostess is unable to greet the guest, a note with directions and a key will be set aside for the guest.) Typically, a fully breakfast is served, but in small homestays continental breakfast foods are provided for the guests in the dining area of the home, or on a tray in the guest room. By law in Massachusetts, the home owners/bed and breakfast hosts are not able to serve a hot breakfast, as they would need a fully licensed kitchen to do so. Therefore, breakfast foods are typically made up of cold cereals, juice, coffee and toast, English muffin or assorted breads and muffins. Guests gather in the kitchen, dining area or designated common space for breakfast should they so choose.

Why Choose to Stay at a Bed and Breakfast?