Room and board explained

Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for money, labour or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals. It commonly occurs as a fee at higher educational institutions, such as colleges and universities; it also occurs in hotel-style accommodation for short stays.

Definition

Room refers to a bedroom provided, sometimes private and sometimes with an ensuite bathroom.
Board refers to the food being provided.

Two commonly encountered boards are:

Half Board, where the host provides only breakfast and dinner meals.
Full Board, where the host provides 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
Boarding school
Parlour boarder, an archaic term for a category of pupil at boarding school
Sideboard, an article of furniture from which food is served in a dining room

References