B n B & Gites for fun and profit
Bonjour à Tous,
In France there are several thousand ‘etrangers’ (foreigners) who own and operate holiday accommodation, usually either Bed and Breakfast or Gite/Apartment/Cottage accommodation on a self-catering basis. Owners cover a diverse range of nationalities. We personally know of English owners, Scottish, American, Australian, French, German, New Zealand, Canadian, Egyptian and Belgian. No doubt there are many, many others.
Accommodation owners spring from a variety of backgrounds. The most common thread amongst us being our love of France and the French, and our desire to change our traditional lifestyle. (more on that latter misconception later!!) Offering holiday accommodation is also one of the few income earning activities that can be achieved without the need to be fluent in French.
We always take a very open attitude and provide detailed information willingly to anyone who has quizzed us on the ‘ins and outs’ of operating holiday accommodation. Now that we are entering our 5th season of offering both B n B and self-catering accommodation we feel we have a number of helpful experiences to share. We tell ourselves we have operated successfully but in reality we dont really know. We have tried a lot of different methods; some have worked well, while others have been a lot of work for little return either economically or in relation to the needs of our guests.
It occurs to us that there could be much benefit in establishing a forum where existing and potential property owners can exchange views, ideas and observations. Additionally as these Posts will be read by guests and potential guests it can also act as productive interaction between owners and clients. We will certainly be sharing what we have learnt in some detail. We wont claim it is the ‘best’ way, but more describing what has worked well for us and perhaps just as usefully, what has been a waste of time, effort and money. So we will give this a crack and see how it goes!
In our next Post in this category we will discuss the pros and cons of Bed and Breakfast accommodation versus self-catering holiday accommodation.
A Bientot,
Bruce.