We get plenty of scam enquiries for our gites, although I’m pleased to say we have never yet been caught out. But we have come close so I thought I’d post details of a recent scam in case it helps someone else avoid being tricked. The general idea of these scams is that the person [...]
Every year brings a new selection of legislation relating to gites and holiday rental properties, none of which has ever been officially communicated to us so usually we happily drift along in ignorance – an approach which never seems to do much harm and tends to save money. But one new regulation caught my eye [...]
Getting bookings for holiday rental properties this year is harder than ever, especially if you are relying on visitors from the UK (the Dutch seem to still be travelling, where do they get their money from?!) However, by looking at all the enquiries that people listed with us receive it is clear that there are [...]
A while ago I made a post about the idea that people were sometimes put off coming to France for a holiday because it was ‘no longer French enough‘ – the suggestion being that France is becoming more ‘generic European’ and less like the traditional France that made it so interesting. True or not, the [...]
I thought I’d best issue a note of warning to owners of gites and holiday rentals in France today, pointing out a little bureaucratic requirement that might have passed you by – and will perhaps end up costing you money if you do nothing. I have no idea how many people know about the rule, [...]
It’s usually my favourite day of the year – the first one where the sun is shining, the temperature is warm, and it at last seems like spring is on the way. Unfortunately this year I got so excited by the lovely weather that I rushed out and started moving around some oversized plant pots, [...]
In our gites we have the usual challenge when things go wrong – our window of opportunity to put things right only lasts from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on a Saturday, and only then if the problem is spotted quickly. Unfortunately people don’t always rush to tell us that the dishwasher is playing up [...]
I received an email a couple of days ago, the second of its type I have received in the last week. : Hi, I wonder if you can help. Family friends are currently in France and are extremely disappointed in the gite they have currently booked and do not wish to stay until the end [...]
A lot of you will have heard of the recent scandal in Spain where someone had advertised villas for holiday rental which didn’t really exist. They took the bookings on the non-existent properties then disappeared with the money. This makes everyone nervous – people booking vacation rentals, for obvious reasons, but also owners because if [...]
One thing that troubles me as a gite owner is the lack of good cheap advertising for holiday rentals, chambre d’hotes etc. Owners of gites etc are pretty much forced to pay an arm and a leg to be listed on the main holiday rental sites, and even then there is no guarantee of results. [...]
The following is a note of caution to anyone owning and renting out holiday rental property in France. The story will undoubtedly make 90% of you think we’re idiots, but it might just help the other 10%. So be gentle on me if you’re in the 90%. When we first started renting out gites about [...]
In a shock move to many owners of gites in France, the charges imposed on them by the government next year will increase by more than 500%. OK so everyone knows that owners of gites and holiday rentals in France have a pretty easy life, sitting around in the sun and waiting for the money [...]
I’ve just got back from my travels around Avignon and the Luberon to find that today is ‘traffic free’ day in our local town. It is the same in quite a few towns across France apparently, with town centres blocked to cars. This is a great idea I think. I’ve previously written that I like [...]
We have some friends who come and visit us most years, and stay in various gites, chalets etc in the region. This is always interesting for us, because we get a chance to see the competition and pick up useful ideas. We also get to see the faults of places. So here is a whistle-stop [...]
The gite booking season for 2008 is more or less finished now, and it’s time to turn your thoughts to 2009. Apparently bookings are down this year, and if the state of the economy is anything to go by next year will be no easier. So now is a good time to make sure your [...]