kazzo

Can anyone recommend good places/websites to advertise gites and chambre d'hotes?
Thanks

mentalist

You could try this one.
http://www.gitesdefrance.info/index.html
or this one, assuming it's not the same organisation
http://gitesoffrance.com/default.asp

wetwang

Google Adwords
Holiday lettings
Owners Abroad
VRBO
Your own quality web site.
Trip Advisor for B&B . It's free . 95% of my guests use it. However if your business does not deliver a quality product it can kill you.

Ka Ora!

We used Homlidays kept us busy most summers. Always take a deposit anyone that moans about paying a deposit hold your ground because if you take their booking they will be the ones not to show up. We also factored in the price of a little welcome basket local wine cheese and Loo Roll Make it clear gite is to be left as found but a optional end of stay clean can be paid for.

kazzo

Thanks for the advice. I have booked through Homelidays so may try them. Hadn't thought about Trip Advisor for the B & B - again a site we use to book through so may be a good idea; this will be our first year doing B & B but we think we have a good product. We have been using a couple of sites but feel we need a change as our product has changed a little so we want a new advertising place.

Thanks for the advice Ka Ora - we do do ask for a deposit even when they have been colleagues who have booked, as they can be the ones who procrastinate most! We also charge for cleaning if they don't leave it as they found it or we offer that they can pay up front for this service, as you have suggested.

grannybunz

Our daughter who owns the house next to ours uses this site:

http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk/

and has found it fine for what she needs.

Totally agree about insisting on a deposit. The only problems we had last summer were from a group who somehow managed to avoid paying a deposit.

We too provide a welcome basket containing bread, milk, home-made jam, a salad, fruit or veg from the garden and a bottle of wine from the village. Everyone has been thrilled and grateful.

wetwang

Google your own area and local gites/B&B s etc. see which portals come up on page 1 . They will be the better ones to use.

Ka Ora!

Once in a blue moon we would get someone insist that they never normally paid a deposit for holiday bookings. So we would politely say that they should use one of their previous holiday locations If you have a washing machine in a gite then run it's 15 min cycle between guests, Our's blew up one week with guests in the house pretty much making that week a total loss On a plus we sold the Gite just afterwards and our machine at home died as well

KateMason

www.cheznous.com. We've advertised via this site for the last 7 years and have been pretty happy with the number of bookings.

grannybunz

The other option is to contact the local tourist office who hold a list of local gites etc which have been approved for safety etc.

The problem with this is you get folk turning up on the doorstep - not the most ideal of situations.

Garonne

Just as an aside, do you have your licence 1 clearly displayed inside and out at the chambre d'hôtes? I'm sure you do, but just a heads up

wetwang

What licence is that. I have had my B&B for 6 years and have never heard of a licence.

Ka Ora!

Probably the licence for serving Alcohol with meals or petite licence groupe 1 to enable them to do breakfasts.

http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/p...s/F22379.xhtml

beigey

I was running 3 holiday apartments near Avignon for 4 years (until Sept this year - now I just handle the marketing) this summer we were fully booked from April (minus a couple of weeks in one apartment which got taken at the last minute)

30% of bookings came from Holiday-Rentals.co.uk without International upgrade
35% of bookings came from OwnersDirect.co.uk (paid upgrade from Holiday-Rentals)
10% of bookings came from AirBnb.com
25% of bookings came from Facebook and our own website (but as a marketing consultant I do know how to work that!)

Garonne

Oopsie, terribly sorry, Licence 1 to serve non-alcoholic drinks was cancelled as a requirement in 2011, slapped wrists (You should have had one back in 2006/7 wetwang! )

You need a Licence 2 to serve meals with alcohol, even if it's just wine offered free and included in the price 'licence petite restaurant 2). To apply for this you have to do a 3 day formation for a 'permis d'exploitation'.