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| Bed & Breakfast News | March - April 2016


Our year as TripAdvisor’s ‘Number 1 B&B in the World’


World publicity, and booked up for a year in four days - B&B Association Member Sue Burrell of Millgate B&B, Masham, North Yorkshire tells her story


Sometime in January 2015 I answered the telephone to James Kay from TripAdvisor, who said “Remember me from last year? You won an award as one of the Top 10 B&B’s in the world. Well, this year we have a special award for you”.


I thought he was talking about my scones. You see, every new guest arriving at our B&B is greeted with freshly baked scones (pictured) in their room - and most of our reviews on TripAdvisor since we had started just two years 10 months previously mentioned our scones.


I waited. “You have been voted TripAdvisor’s number 1 B&B in the world” he said. “But you cannot tell anyone”. “Can I tell my husband?” I whimpered. “I think you probably will have to tell your husband” said James. I could tell he was smiling as he said that, and I began to cry.


The next few days were just a blur. James telephoning to book in journalists from the national press. BBC Radio and TV, ITV, local press reporters, Press Association photographers and cameramen were all


booked - in total secrecy - to be ready for the day the news was to be announced to the world at the end of January 2015.


We had to stand in the little lane outside our home shaking bottles of sparkling wine (not champagne!) whilst photographers said “Just one more” for hour upon hour. Tourists passing in the street were curious and I am sure that our neighbours must have thought we were lottery winners as we stood together for the TV cameraman.


We stood in the cold for over six hours and learnt that once a bottle of fizz has been shaken, there is about half a bottle left. We drank the best part of half of the four bottles used, as we had had neither food nor drink, and at 6pm when the last photographer had left I told Andrew that I was not able to cook dinner and that we should eat out. I was by this stage twinkling after drinking on an empty stomach.


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