TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The number of bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) in Taiwan has increased by 34% since 2019 to 5,891 this year, with Changhua County leading the country in B&B growth and Penghu County having the highest density, according to Ministry of Finance data.

Compared with hotels, B&Bs are smaller in scale and owners of family-style B&Bs can still live in the house, Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) lead researcher Mandy Lang (郎美囡) said. She added that the cost of running a B&B business is much lower, making the threshold for market entry more manageable.

Changhua County has had the highest B&B growth rate in the country over the last three years, with 92.3%, CNA reported. With a moderate growth rate of 53.7% in the same three-year period, Pingtung County currently has 841 B&Bs, the most in the country.

With regard to the number of B&Bs per square kilometer, the outlying counties of Penghu, Lienchiang (Matsu), and Kinmen lead the pack, with Penghu having the highest density in the country at six B&Bs per square kilometer. 

About 50% of B&Bs in Penghu are owned by out-of-towners, and most of the owners are retirees who bought the real estate to run a B&B business and live there at least part-time, Great Home Realty store owner Yeh Yu-lin (葉俞麟) said.

Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), research chief at H&B Realty Co (住商不動產), said that local government permission is required for running a B&B business, and not all areas are permitted to be used for that purpose. Running an illegal B&B is punishable by a maximum fine of NT$300,000 (US$10,200), she added.