Good morning, my wife and I are looking to move to France and we would like to start a business as chambre d’hôtes. Please feel free to post any suggestions or even your business if you are thinking to sell it. Thank you very much.
Yes ...but also...
A bit special...because so many people are doing it!
Do it well...or do not do it at all!
Totally agree could not have put it better myself
I believe there are 3 main points to remember !
Location, location, location !!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck, but do keep in mind that one of you might need an outside income .
You have just described mine, sleeps 12 plus a bed settee for extra two, 2.5 acre gardens with stream large veg plot that feeds us , fruit trees in Sornac, Maison Brigoulet you can see it on air Bnb in the Corrèze, Limousin, book a room and come and see us, not sure what you call an income?
Because my husband is a lot older than me and he would rather not be involved in the Pods development and would prefer peace and quiet! I of course think there is great potential here and would rather develop it ourselves but it involves some money which I will have to find.
Best wishes
Virginia
Sounds brill, why are you selling ?
Hi Peter
Yes you are I THINK. We live near the south of Le Mans so although we are in the countryside we are very near a city so that helps with all the race tract events, plus we have many contacts in the UK and will be running various specialised retreats from a pilates weekend to a Xmas special. People in the UK really appreciate having a weekend break here.
We are also having weekends for parents and children with difficulties i.e. autism, ADHD etc as this is prevalent in our family so we have many contacts around this and the Steiner schools.
This is also horse country and there is always a shortage of places where people can come with their mounts and ride through the woods etc. plus they stage quite a few horse events around here.
In France it is popular for the French to have large family gatherings so this would be perfect for this as 10 Pods could accommodate 30 + people.
I hope that helps you Peter. Advertising with various groups who prefer to come out of season such as ramblers is the key .
Virginia
Virginia, do you believe you will ever be able to have regular income the whole year round ? We spent thursday in and around the Sarthe (from Château du Loir cross country to Sillé le Guillaume) and came across hardly any traffic, and it's mid-september ! It must be absolutely dead from october through to april ? How can any leisure activity hope to have year round clientele ? Or am I missing something ?
It might be. I did sent you a private message
We live in the Sarthe 72 15 mins south of Le Mans, and our farmhouse and most of the fields and woods are a designated leisure area. We already rent out our Gite and are about to establish a gamping site here with little wooden "hobbit" type structures called Pods. We are in the very early stages of development but have got the go ahead we just need to iron out a few details re costings etc. We have a huge ancient barn and many outbuildings so there are many possibilities.
We have 18 3/4 acres here of fields and woodland which supplies the house with logs for the wood burners.
Let me know if you feel this is something you might be interested in.
Regards
Virginia Holland
Yes, of course.
I have no problem with that.
Maybe many other people just want to get on with their already busy lives Barbara ?
Funny you should ask that Peter.
I have tried...
and I have tried to work with other owners to develop what we have
and, in turn allow it all to flourish.
I AM NOT sure why but they seem to prefer to work in isolation....and some of
them are just so very competitive.
I have to give up now and just work alone.
But it was not my question relating to associations....
I AM a people person and love to help and make friends....
when it is possible!!!!
There must be dozens of B & B s in your immediate area Barbara, do you ever get together with them to discuss business etc ?
And there is some activity on here too.
But there is a definite lack of local associations....
Could be great to have an occasional meet up with other
people who run vacation homes....b and b.
Gardening clubs could be good too....
But people can be strange.
When you try to bring them together to entertain them or help
them ...they get funny ideas.
And nothing ventured......nothing gained.
The whole point of any forum is to share and exchange views. This topic concerns Chambres d'Hôtes so the ideal place to share such views. What you are suggesting already exists.
Actually this is alive and well....
Lay my hat.com
Wouldn't be a good idea to assemble a list of Chambre d'Hotes owned by English speaking people so other English speaking people can sort of keep the business within the Clan? It seems this website would be the logical site to collect that info.
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But even without mountains my life gets some high notes and a bright
outlook. We have Americans coming on Friday and they will need to
know about the local area and restaurants.So a provider of rooms needs
also to be someone who has good local knowledge.
I always think before I recommend anything....no 2 sets of clients are the same.