The Bed and Breakfast industry has changed dramatically in the last 15 years. It is no longer renting a spare room, but rather an intimate and often elegant experience at a professionally run establishment. Many travelers prefer the personal attention, privacy and uniqueness that only a B&B can offer. That's why the 1982 edition of The Complete Guide to Bed and Breakfasts, Inns and Guesthouses, by Pamela Lanier had 1200 listings and the 2001 edition (now at press) has blossomed to over 20,000 properties. This is a clear indicator that innkeepers and travelers alike have fallen in love with B&Bs.

A recent study produced by Lanier Publishing and Lodging Resources Workshops and published by the Cornell Quarterly revealed that the B&B industry has grown to account for 31% of the total lodging properties in the USA. That translates into the nearly $3.5 billion that the inn industry grosses annually, not including ancillary expenditures such as restaurant meals, flowers, champagne, and shopping excursions.

A large part of this increase is due to the fact that many affluent travelers have taken up this mode of travel, fallen in love with the lifestyle and decided to take it up as a mid-life or career change opportunity. Others have turned equity in their own homes into an opportunity to own and live in the mansion of their dreams operated as a bed and breakfast.

Opportunities exist in the market for the development of business oriented inns, especially serving the burgeoning high tech corridors around the country. Another target group, traveling businesswomen, favor inns for the increased comfort and safety level, making areas with large health facilities and educational centers excellent candidates for new inn development.

The question now is, is the market saturated? The study reveals both the top 10 areas by number of existing inns and the top 10 areas with the least number of inns. The Bed and Breakfast industry is still expanding, and opportunities for opening inns exist all across the country. The Northeast and the West have the largest concentration of inns by region. There are possibilities from Texas to Illinois, and Florida to Nevada for potential innkeepers to discover this profitable and rewarding career.