Room and board
Room and board
Room and board describes a situation where, in exchange for money, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at colleges and universities; it also occurs in hotel-style accommodation for short stays.
Definition
Room refers to a private bedroom provided
Board may refer to the food being provided, or alternatively, the table on which food is served.
With a room and board arrangement, the renter has a private bedroom and shares the rest of the house with the person renting out the room. This is different from renting where the renter has private living areas, including a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.
Two commonly encountered boards are:
Half Board, where the host provides only a breakfast and dinner meals.
Full Board, where the host provides all three daily meals.
Another option is:
Bed and breakfast, literally, a place to sleep and where breakfast is provided.
See also
Bistro, a type of informal French restaurant
Boarding house, a lodging establishment
Sideboard, an article of furniture from which food is served in a dining room
Parlour boarder, an archaic term for a category of pupil at boarding school