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11/03/2008, 10:59 Panda Joined on 29/01/2008 Charente (16) and Vienne (86) Heading For Seez (73 Posts 391 Re: Gite Bookings!! Hi You are not alone, this is a bad year for bookings for many, over supply and under demand seem to be the issue as others have pointed out. I would advise spreading your net as far as possible, get friends and family in the UK to spread the word around at their work and social events, you may have to give some big discounts but better that you get something. Panda    Report

11/03/2008, 11:09 jon Joined on 29/12/2007 Gironde Posts 328 Re: Gite Bookings!! oohps bad typing again...    Report

11/03/2008, 11:52 Quillan Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 3,866 Re: Gite Bookings!!  Panda wrote: Hi You are not alone, this is a bad year for bookings for many, over supply and under demand seem to be the issue as others have pointed out. I would advise spreading your net as far as possible, get friends and family in the UK to spread the word around at their work and social events, you may have to give some big discounts but better that you get something. Panda Or, something I learnt a long time ago don't put all your eggs in one basket. The English speaking world should not be your main (and for some people their only) source of income. You should look at joining some sort of organization not because it's nice to be a member but because they advertise elsewhere and not just France. We are in books (as well as the Internet) in about 5 countries and it's all part of the their service. GDF and some others also sell their lists to other people. I believe the AA book of Self Catering and B&B's in France is actually all GDF for example. Great to be with Alistair Sawday (or whatever), nice to feel you are in a up market book but it does not put a lot of bums in your bed and that's what it's about at the end of the day. Make use of the facility on some sites and your own to see how guests find you as well as keeping a personal tally of where they came from advertising wise. A couple of the bigger Internet advertisers often appear to give poor value for money because the guest is actually referred on to your own website that's why you need to check these website logs. Many a person has been paying twenty quid here and there and never got a booking. Not much money individually but if you have four or five it becomes a few bob. One thing France appears to be doing now is sorting out the quality issue with regards to B&B's and Gites. There are some very big changes in the wind this year and next with things like compulsory hygiene courses (for B&B's), registration and grading etc so the cowboys will disappear (well in theory but we will see). Those that feel they don't have to register because they only advertise in the UK (or their home country), receive payment there and not here are going to be in for one hell of a shock. If you think people don't think this I can assure you that there are some idiots out there that do, I know personally of one Brit and a Dutch person who think exactly that. If it's in France then it's run by French rules and regulations. Rant over - Lets hope things improve and we all have another bumper year. http://www.chambresdhote.com    Report

11/03/2008, 16:51 nimportequoi Joined on 15/11/2005 Posts 512 Re: Gite Bookings!! Just a couple of points on your post Quillian, Alistair Sawday are not necessarily 'upmarket' at all, they are properties that are inspected and approved subjectively rather than objectively, as per G de F. It doesn't matter to them that a beam is 199cm from the ground instead of 2m, if a bedroom is 1m2 too small or that you haven't got a pressure cooker in the property, they go on charm and quality of the accommodation and it's owner, rather than what criteria boxes it ticks. I don't know B&B, G de F may be useful for bookings there, but for gites I do very nicely for bookings by using interntet rental listing sites than I would ever get from G de F. I can also charge what I want without joining the organisation. More and more French people seem to be booking through the internet now, as do guests from other nationalities - they can get a far better idea of the quality of the accommodation offered by the photos and website content than by one photo in a brochure.    Report

11/03/2008, 17:53 Ian Joined on 04/07/2007 Posts 389 Re: Gite Bookings!! We are overall up on last year (in Alpes Maritimes) but last year was down on 2006 and saw a lot of "last minuters".  Don't know if this is a trend but we are getting more couples this year and fewer families.  I am getting more long-term requests from Americans...typically looking for 4-6 weeks...which I can never take because I have clashes Funny old game isn't it.  Hang on in there! Holiday and Property Guide for Nice and the Cote d'Azur    Report

11/03/2008, 18:04 Quillan Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 3,866 Re: Gite Bookings!!  ltf wrote: Just a couple of points on your post Quillian, Alistair Sawday are not necessarily 'upmarket' at all, they are properties that are inspected and approved subjectively rather than objectively, as per G de F. It doesn't matter to them that a beam is 199cm from the ground instead of 2m, if a bedroom is 1m2 too small or that you haven't got a pressure cooker in the property, they go on charm and quality of the accommodation and it's owner, rather than what criteria boxes it ticks. I don't know B&B, G de F may be useful for bookings there, but for gites I do very nicely for bookings by using interntet rental listing sites than I would ever get from G de F. I can also charge what I want without joining the organisation. More and more French people seem to be booking through the internet now, as do guests from other nationalities - they can get a far better idea of the quality of the accommodation offered by the photos and website content than by one photo in a brochure. We were invited to join AS a few years back and to be honest for the price paid (including the cheap accommodation and meal for the inspector) it does not give as much coverage as the Internet or books. Books take about 2 years before you start to get any response. Last year 15% of our trade came via people phoning or arriving clutching one of the many books we are in. Also AS is for the English speaking people which does somewhat limit your audience. I do agree with your comments about the Internet in that our own website is probably our biggest income generator. Ours is in both French and English. Over the next few years you will be forced in to being inspected by GDF, Clevacances or your Office of  Tourism to French standards whether you like it or not. Forced registration is very much on the cards and AS (neither will be Thomas Cook) will not be one of the approved inspection bodies. In fact in some areas/regions it has already begun.   http://www.chambresdhote.com    Report

11/03/2008, 18:13 nimportequoi Joined on 15/11/2005 Posts 512 Re: Gite Bookings!!  Quillan wrote: Over the next few years you will be forced in to being inspected by GDF, Clevacances or your Office of  Tourism to French standards whether you like it or not. Forced registration is very much on the cards and AS (neither will be Thomas Cook) will not be one of the approved inspection bodies. In fact in some areas/regions it has already begun.   How can they 'force' you to be inspected? Can you some proof of this statement? And how is this going to be any guarantee of quality - to be honest, most French guests who stay in my gites, who have previously stayed in G de F accommodation have said mine is far superior. So I guess I'll just have to lower my standards (and raise that bloody beam...) Unless there is goverment regulation, how can they force it, if you are registered with the ch de com/hotel d'impots and pay all your dues, are they really going to shut successful businesses down just because they don't conform to G de F or Clévacances? Most guests who stay with me would rather have a swimming pool than a pressure cooker.    Report

11/03/2008, 20:21 Quillan Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 3,866 Re: Gite Bookings!! In our region we have to have been inspected to be able to be listed with the tourist office and publicise by way of roadside signage etc. Initially this was a voluntary thing, the incentive was to receive substantial reductions on any advertising in France. Last year inspections became compulsory for anyone starting a B&B or Gite business (no all regions have implemented this yet due to lack of resources) and as you know you have to be registered with the Mayor. This is French law, there are fines and you had till 31st December 2007 to register. The next 'phase' is for all owners to attend the Chambres de Commerce. This I believe is being done in groups, we HAVE to attend on the 29th March. These meetings are to inform you of the new and future legislation, to check you are properly registered for tax and cotistations and no doubt an attempt will be made to get even more money out of you. Having not attended yet I am not 100% sure about all this but will report back on my return. You can have a basic inspection done by the Office of Tourism which is in reality Clevacances or you can select GDF if you wish. If you look through the forum you will see several posts about the new laws and what is required. As is normal in France it has not been particularly well organised. There is now a official form that you can download to send to your mayor and you are obliged by law to ensure you have a receipt. To imply that you will have to 'down grade' your accommodation is simply stupid. What they want to ensure is that you meet basic requirements, how much beyond them you go is down to you. Of course the more you put in will increase your grading with GDF and Clevacances if you wish to register with them. The French holiday maker does like to see that you have some form of registration with a body, it guarantees the standard and gives them somebody to complain to that has 'teeth' if they are not satisfied. There are already laws and fines in place with regards to certain aspects of running either a B&B or Gites and there is a booklet available from the Ministere de L'Economique des Finances et d L'Industrie which you should find of interest. There is a lot of information around about minimum requirements by French law of what a Gite or B&B has to include, you just need to look around for it. It has been discussed and links have been supplied in this forum over the last 12 months, you just need to search through it all. Of course if you are a member of GDF or Clevacances and registered with your Office of Tourism you will get a lot of this stuff posted to you as a matter of course. Hope that helps. http://www.chambresdhote.com    Report

11/03/2008, 20:52 Clair Joined on 23/08/2004 ------- Forum Moderator ------- Lot (46) Posts 7,702 Re: Gite Bookings!! As a gite owner, I have asked the préfecture to rate the accommodation under their "independent" label. This means I can leave leaflets at the tourist office and link to my website on the tourism website for the department and region. As Quillan says above, it also gives clients reassurance that a certain standard of accommodation and facilities is provided. Clair Real Virtual French Person    Report

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France Forum » Owning/Running ... » Gite Owners » Re: Gite Bookings!!

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