Like others, I suspect, I’ve watched my UK guests for this year cancel or postpone yet again their bookings for our cottage. That means my empty high season weeks are attracting French enquiries.
I took my first booking last night for last 2 weeks in August - couple with 13-year old daughter.
This is the first time I’ve taken a French family and I’m wondering if there is anything they absolutely will expect to find in their gite that might be different from British guests?
Two things come to mind - a pressure cooker and those little dinky individual serving dishes - neither of which I have.
Any thoughts / suggestions very welcome please. Thanks.
In my experience, a gite equipped for Brits will already be equipped to and possibly beyond the expectations of most French guests.
Do you have French terrestrial TV?
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We have a smart TV which seems to get a number of French channels. Hopefully that will be enough. What do others think?
Not in my experience! I find some British owned gites sadly lacking.
Many of our French guests like to have completely dark bedrooms - after several comments in our first year we swapped all our curtains in the gîte for ones that provided blackout. And since we don’t have that in our own house when French friends come to stay there are eye masks.
In the kitchen a salad spinner and a bread basket are appreciated. Pressure cooker I don’t feel essential, but we provide a big fait tout type pot instead.
Small coffee cups
Washing mitts
Nothing else comes to mind right now…will be cleaning gite over weekend as have people booked next week so will think what else might fall into this catefory …a raclette, but might be more wintery than summery.
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Thanks Jane, that’s very helpful. What is a fait tout pot?
As its name suggests it is a big ol’ pot in which you can do anything from cooking boeuf bourguignon to washing the baby 
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One that is big enough to “fait tout” 
like a marmite.
This is a bit small perhaps bit they call it a faitout…
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Bowls for breakfast drinks rather than cups and mugs.
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Good one, I forgot those!
I’ve got those big round mugs with handles. Has it GOT to be a bowl with no handle?
No, just has to be schlurpable. They will no doubt find the quaint habits of the British quite charming.,
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What about square pillows + bolster (which I hate!) ? At the moment every bed has the option of two oblong pillows per person, and they can be either down or synthetic - whichever they prefer.
We provide square pillows, but most of our guests are French. I really don’t think they will quibble if you are also providing the bedlinen to go with them! And traversins not necessary if the bed allows you to sit and read happily.
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I provide teas / infusions / selections of types of coffee (senseo / instant in individual sachets / ground for 2 types of cafetiere) plus the chocolate drinks in individual sachets. Any other type of beverage I should provide?
I’m coming to stay!
Ours just get tea and infusions and that’s it! We provide different size Bialetti, a cafetière and a tea pot. We are eco-gîte so no pods even if recyclable as people won’t put them in right place.
We also explain that our water comes from a local source , so provide a water bottle in fridge to encourage people not to buy plastic bottles of it.
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You’d be very welcome. 
Mind you, I like the sound of your eco-gite, so you may get a return visit.
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Yes, a bottle of wine in your welcome basket.
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i think that goes for any nationality! i’d be gutted if there was no welcome bottle of wine! 
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We took a decision this year not to give alcohol p, especially to families with children - we always used to leave a bottle of local crémant. So they get home made jams, local honey, and local cheese. And sometime home made bread. All of course extremely good for one’s health 
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