How to Choose Your Bed and Breakfast Name
Your bed and breakfast name sets the tone for what your guests can expect. A good name says a lot about an inn. You want the name to be memorable and give a great first impression.
It is important to take your time and come up with a long list of potential names before deciding. Get a talented group of friends together and just start randomly calling out names. Have someone write down all the bed and breakfast name suggestions.
Permit your gathering of people to suggest whatever name comes to mind. By allowing everything to be spoken, eventually you will have a list of great potential bed and breakfast names.
Only after you have generated this list of names should you then start to evaluate them. Make sure that your bed and breakfast name is:
- Simple to pronounce aloud by others (have others repeat the name aloud)
- Spelled like it sounds (makes it easier to find)
- Without an unintended meaning (think of the words in various contexts)
- Not too common (make sure it is fresh)
- Appropriate to your local surroundings (e.g. do not have beach in the name unless there really is one)
- Not too funny (this may suggest you do not care about your hospitality business)
- Easy for guests to remember (name recognition)
Other words for bed and breakfast include:
- B&B
- cabins
- cottage
- country inn
- estate
- farm
- garden inn
- guest house
- hideaway
- house
- hotel
- inn
- lodge
- manor
- mansion
- oasis
- palace
- place
- ranch
- resort
- street inn
- suites
- valley
- village inn
Visualize how your business name will look in a logo, outdoor sign, and on your website. Be sure to get your own email address to be something like:
innkeeper@yourbedandbreakfastname.com
When you know what you want to call your bed and breakfast, you must make sure that the domain name (website address) is available before you register your business name. If there are already bed and breakfast inns with that name, it is best to choose a different name to avoid confusion.
Above all, make sure you absolutely love your name since you will likely say it over and over throughout your time as a bed and breakfast owner. Smart innkeepers ask for ideas from others and take time when they choose their bed and breakfast name.
Image by Marcus Berg of Unique Angles Photography