DUES STRUCTURE, PAYMENT OPTIONS, POLICIES

Startup Fee

A nonrefundable startup fee of $150 must accompany the membership application. This fee is in addition to annual dues and is a one-time charge to cover the costs of the initial Quality Assurance Review and related administrative costs, as well as the costs of setting up the member’s web page, subscription, and accounts.

Quality Assurance Reviews

To obtain membership status,after payment of the nonrefundable startup fee the applicant’s B&B must successfully pass MBBA’s Quality Assurance Review, an inspection designed to ensure it meets all association standards. If the B&B fails to pass the review, MBBA will retain the start-up fee in full to cover associated costs.

All member inns are inspected by an independent, professional Quality Assurance Reviewer every three years after they have attained membership status.

Two-Part Dues Structure

Part One: Dues

Basic dues are divided into three different tier options—Bronze at $35, Silver at $45, and Gold at $75 per month, 
Your monthly dues are automatically deducted from your credit card, using PayPal for security of your Credit Card. 

(*See Change of Ownership, below.)

New members must commit to a full  12 months of membership.  Should a new membership terminate before the end of the first year, MBBA will collect the dues balance determined at your tier level times the number of months remaining in the first membership year.

After the first full year, members may resign at any time with 30 days written notice.

(*See Dues Payment Terms and Policies, below.)

Part Two: Room-Night Assessments


Member inns are required to remit $2 per room night sold as an assessment to fund continuing and additional new marketing tools. (* See Change of Ownership below.)

Most innkeepers follow the recommended practice of adding it to their guests’ bills as an “association assessment” and also including it in the state taxable total. Assessments are remitted monthly, and they may be remitted online or via the USPS.

For larger inns, when you reach $2,000 in assessments, those funds paid after will be used toward a marketing plan that markets your inn directly. Those funds can also be used to pay directly for a photographer or videographer.

Room-night assessments and reports are never seen by any other innkeeper or member of the Board of Directors but are processed by the Administrative Director, a professional association manager who is bound by confidentiality. The association’s accounting firm oversees reports. Occasionally, assessments may be used without names and in aggregate amounts to generate occupancy reports.

Failure to remit room-night assessments for three months is cause for automatic termination. (*See Reinstatement below.) Inns must also be current with their assessments for Gift certificate redemptions and inclusion on our Inns for Sale Page.

Dues Payment Terms and Policies
Members who fail to remit dues payments and/or room-night assessments are terminated 90 days after the date of the first missed payment. All membership benefits will be null and void. (*See Reinstatement below.)

After the first year, resigning membership requires 30 days’ advance written notice by electronic mail or USPS to the MBBA office and written acknowledgment by the administrative director.

Other Membership Policies
Multiple Properties

In the case of multiple properties owned by the same entity, the “primary” property will have dues deducted automatically by credit card at the monthly rate; the “secondary” property(ies) will have fifty percent (50%) of the monthly rate automatically deducted. Secondary properties receive all benefits and are subject to the same membership policies and requirements as the primary property. However, only the primary property carries the right to vote on matters about the association.

Multiple properties are defined as those being marketed as separate entities and not contiguously located. Multiple properties marketed as a single unit and located contiguously are considered one property.

Reinstatement

Membership will be reactivated without penalty if a member resigns or is terminated and wishes to rejoin fewer than 90 days following. If 90 days or more elapse between resignation and rejoining, the member must again pay the startup fee and be reviewed for quality assurance purposes before the membership can be reactivated

Change of Ownership

When an inn changes ownership, the new owner(s) may assume monthly dues payments using their own credit card, which they provide to the MBBA office. The new owner(s) shall begin remitting assessments for all new room nights booked after the date of membership transfer, and they shall be entitled to all the benefits available to assessing members.

All member inns under new ownership shall be reviewed for quality assurance purposes. Not sooner than six months nor later than eight months after the date of membership transfer.

An optional “transitional” membership may be requested when ownership of a grandfathered, non-assessing member inn is transferred to a new owner. This transitional membership will allow the new owner(s) the choice of converting immediately to the room-night assessment model or to an interim transitional membership, the duration of which shall not exceed six months. The purpose of the transitional six months is to allow the new owner to sample marketing benefits that were not available to the previous owners as non-assessing members.

Ancillary Cottages, Etc.

Cottages, carriage houses, and other lodgings owned in common with the B&B are considered separate enterprises and will not be promoted as part of the B&B membership unless they are inspected by an MBBA reviewer and determined to meet Quality Assurance Standards, including offering breakfast to guests as part of the lodging fee.