USA Today
Life, Section D
Wednesday,
September 13,
1989
Staying at a
bed and
breakfast
Approach country
inn weekends
with
reservations.
Be madcap. Be
romantic. Take
Friday off and
head for a
weekend in the
country.
But don’t plan
on staying at
one of those
intimate
antiques-and-Laura-Ashley
bed and
breakfasts.
The era of the
spontaneous
country inn
getaway is
history.
Reservation must
b e made at
least two weeks
ahead, and
during peak
periods-holiday
weekends, fall
foliage in North
and Midwest and
festival or
football
weekends-one to
six months is
advisable.
We’re always
booked two or
three weeks
ahead, says Liza
Dignan of the
Woodstocker Bed
and Breakfast,
Woodstock, Vt.,
where prime
foliage weekends
have been sold
out since June.
“Even last
winter, when we
didn’t have much
snow, we were
full almost
every weekend.”
Wherever there
are rolling
hills, hot
springs, or
seashore
settings you’ll
find a swarm of
work-weary
vacationers
seeking the same
out-of-city
experience.
“Weekend travel
is one of the
fastest-growing
segments of the
travel
industry,” says
Julie Bowers of
the U.S. Travel
Data Center.
Fueling the
growth:
two-career
couples who must
schedule
vacations
together weeks
in advance.
Practically
nonexistent in
the USA a decade
ago, B&Bs are
now in every
region. In
1976, there were
“no more than
100, if that
many,” says
Sarah Sonke of
the American Bed
and Breakfast
Association in
Crofton, MD.
Today, there are
about 15,000.
Peak seasons
are, of course,
the busiest. It
goes without
saying you’d be
lucky to find
room in a New
England B&B from
mid-September
through late
October. Hotel
space is ample,
but “the Newhart
country inns,
they’re going to
be hard to
find,” says
Christopher
Jennings, of New
England USA, a
promotional
group.
Even places not
normally
considered fall
visiting spots
are booked weeks
ahead.
Looking for a
spur-of-the
moment getaway
to Nantucket?
Try January.
Autumn foliage
on the island
off
Massachusetts
consists mainly
of the reddening
of the cranberry
bogs, but
Nantucket B&Bs
are booked
through
September
anyway.
“People who come
here in July are
surprised to
learn that it’s
just as busy in
September,” says
Jean
Heron-Connick,
…with her
husband, Gerry,
of Century
House, the
oldest B&B on
Nantucket.
Like many of the
best B&Bs the
bulk of Century
House’s guests
are repeat
visitors, many
of whom make
next year’s
reservations
when checking
out.
For spontaneity,
says Phil
Davidoff of
Belair Travel in
Bowie, MD., try
a weekend in a
deluxe hotel in
a city. “They
generally have
very good rates
for weekend
stays,” he says.
Other
last-minute
options:
Off-season in
the islands.
Book a flight
about a week
ahead. “A quick
winter weekend
in the Caribbean
is rough,”
Davidoff says.
“Right now is
easier.”
A weekend in
Europe. In
winter, it can
be arranged with
two or three
days
preparation.
Some airlines
offer weekend
packages
including
lodging for the
same price air
fare would cost
during summer.
A three- or
four-day
cruise.
Off-season,
chances are good
for booking.
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