Bed & Breakfasts in Italy: The case of the Emilia-Romagna Region

The extra-hotel accommodation sector in France includes a broad range of solutions, including: the Gîte Rural, a rural house or independent housing in the countryside/seaside/mountains, the Gîte d'Enfants, a country house that welcomes children during school holidays, and the Gîte d'Etape, a welcoming place for sports groups. There are also the Châlets-Loisirs, small groups of chalets surrounded by nature with associated sports activities. All these solutions (except for the Châlets) provide overnight stay, a small breakfast, and the other meals.

Then we have the Bed & Breakfast, which in France is called Chambre d’Hôtes, namely the guest room. Despite the different definition, the services offered are the traditional ones. The national body Maison des Gîtes de France et du Tourisme Vert provides 55.000 addresses of non-hotel accommodation structures throughout France, among which there are also the Chambres d'Hôtes. Here again we have an identification mark testifying quality, which in this case is a little house.