The original idea of CdH, like good old British B&B, was a simple and relatively cheap way of finding accommodation. In the past, you could find yourselves using the host's bathroom. Even guests in small hotels shared bathrooms and loos. Over the years, people have liked the idea of staying somewhere a little more informal than a hotel, but have gradually sought a little more comfort, ie an
en suite bathroom. It wasn't so long ago that many B&B rooms in France shared a bathroom and loo which could be found down the passage. The accommodation was usually simple, clean and comfortable (though there were certainly exceptions....!).
Nowadays, many if not most, B&Bs offer better accommodation than the cheaper chain hotels, and the prices have begun to reflect this. We have a guest room with its own bathroom which we occasionally use for B&B and we have always been asked if it has its own facilities. This is what people now expect and take for granted.
The owners of a small, extremely comfortable hotel/restaurant in a village nearby said they were surprised that B&Bs these days didn't have to conform to hygiene requirements, particularly those that offered meals. I can't be specific about the number of rooms, but over 5, I believe, and you are obliged to have fire doors and heaven knows what other obligations and inspections.
It was inevitable, I suppose, that CdHs today were going to be dragged into the bureaucratic net. After all, many of them are really quite luxurious and offer far more than most of the small village hotels. A CdH is no longer somewhere you can have a simple night's accommodation, and share your host's dinner for a few francs. There are very few B&Bs today that charge less than 45€ for the room with
breakfast included. The competition for attracting customers has increased and CdHs are offering all sorts of extras - use of swimming pool, jacuzzi, bicycles - to attract customers.
The whole concept of CdH/B&B has changed from and informal, often cash-based business, to something far more commercial and the bean counters in Paris have seen yet another possibility for a layer of bureaucratic red tape.
Thank you for your posting, Coco. It was very interesting and informative - and just adds to the complications already brought about by the obligations introduced last year or the year before. Why keep things simple when you can complicate them?
