We are looking at a property in Nevers, it has the makings of a great property to run a gite business. They already have one thats operational, but there is another building (basically an empty shell) that we would want to renovate and convert into a further 3 gites, these would be 2-3 bedrooms each.
I understand Nevers is a good location for historical, nature and wine, fishing and boating, also the train connections to Paris are great, but its neither near mountains for skiing or the coast.
My question is, are countryside gites harder to let? Are they only seasonal lettings? And is Nevers a good location, or more risky against the investment we’d have to put in to renovate the building into Gites?
It looks like they stopped letting it in 2022. Its an MH listed property so I am not sure if they opened it to satisty any grants (it is just a guess just based on what I have read about MH grants), I have asked the agent and am waiting for them to come back to me. We havent been to see the property yet, but its the only one out of hundreds I’ve looked at online that fits the bill for our family - everything except the question marks on the location.
We have a countryside gite and OH really doesn’t understand how we make a success of it.
Some of the reasons why I think ours is successful:
It is tranquil - really tranquil so people who lead stressful lives have a haven for two weeks
We’ve had guests who just drive from the centre of Bordeaux, two hours away, so they can have the tranquillity of the countryside
We have beautiful surroundings so our guests just breathe in the scenery and begin to unwind
We have a swimming pool. There is a group of guests called “fly and flop” and we see these. They get on a plane, hire a car, park the car alongside the gite and spend the next two weeks by the pool - all day every day. The furthest they go is Lidls
Our gite is roomy and very comfortable, so guests are only too happy to spend all day - making their own lunch, having a barbeque in the evening, lounging on the terrace.
Yes, we are seasonal - from April/May to October. It is possible to open all year - cyclists, walkers, on the shoulders of the seasons, but it is a challenge to charge enough to cover the costs of heating. Christmas/New Year is always a possibility
So, think about what makes them want to come back. Are 4 gites going to be noisy / too busy? What will you have onsite to entice them? Will you be family orientated? How will you manage pets? We have a big info pack so they find out from us all the local sites/restaurants/etc
There are literally thousands of gites that are nowhere near coast or mountains - just start googling them, see what they have to offer.
We would definitely do that as there are other buildings that we want to re-purpose and we are still yet to establish if the entire property or only part of it is MH listed. I want to get some of the questions answered before we visit.
Hi we are UK Citizens but would be applying for residency. I know of the 90 day return rule until this is granted, my son is still at Uni in the UK, so we will be back and forth anyway for at least another year.
Beautiful location, If I could move the property from Nevers to your location it would be perfect! I’m just wondering how much benefit we’d get from a pool weather wise as from what I’ve looked at its around 26 degrees in summer there, it would have to be at least 30 degrees for me to get in a pool. My husband says he doesn’t mind the seasonal side of things as he’d quite fancy a few months off However, I’m pretty sure with a place that size I could always find a few jobs for him!
P.S I already scoped out the supermarkets and there is both a Lidl and Aldi!
You cannot undertake any work in France until granted a Visa which allows work (which will become a Carte De Sejour, and has to be renewed annually, except for some CDS which have a longer validity). You will also have to submit a business plan, which may also have to be approved by local officials where you will be buying.
Before taking the jump, I would suggest making enquiries locally to where you will purchase, certainly with the Maire, if your project has viability in the area.
What are other gites around you doing? The benefit is not for you but your guests. I’ve had guests go in the pool when it was 18 degrees. Dutch, German, Scottish, have no problem with pool in low 20s.
Put a cover over the pool and extend the season.
You need to disabuse your husband as to the “few months off”. There is always work to be done and the more one can get ahead in the early months of the year the better. January this year has been a disaster - at the moment we have acres of long grass that need mowing, apple trees that need pruning, two dead trees (poplar and cherry) that need cutting down, shutters that need repairing and treating, swimming pool tiles that need cleaning and protecting, a rose hedge alongside the pool that needs pruning hard and acres of borders with weeds in them.
We have been running a successful gite in the back end of beyond for 14 years now. We are open all year, and have very good bookings despite refusing to use AirB or Booking, half of our bookings are now repeat guests - the gîte owners dream.
We are not near major, major tourist sites, but are equidistant from several. And the special bit here is outdoor tranquillity (our clients do not fly and flop, but are very active!). You need something special but doesn’t have to be nationally renowned.
When we first bought this place and renovated there were very few gîtes in the area, now there are maybe 60!
So look at what is currently in that area and try to get a feel for their bookings. As an example, we are now already booked until end September (except for weeks here and there). So if all the places nearby only have booking in the 6 week high season you will have to work hard to get your occupancy to a profitable level
Our experience is that Tourist Offices are very variable. Ours bases a lot on a questionnaire they send out to all gîte owners with about a 5% return - so not reliable stats!
A gîte complex will attract a very different client than an isolated gîte - requiring more careful management (aka potential headaches). Prepare a very careful business plan - which you will need to get an avis favorable for a visa anyway - and test a couple of options. Such aiming for groups versus individual unit bookings. But will need different facilities. Or going for the gîte de Groupe approach (cheap and cheerful) versus haut de gamme. Or a special offer such as having studio space available - I know several art groups that book gîte complexes for their course in the shoulder seasons because they have a covered space with water and electricity that can be used for workshops.
If you do your research carefully, and identify a viable market that you can target then I see no reason why you can’t make it work.
@JaneJones I know what I am going to be doing tonight! Thank you for your info regarding your bookings, that is really helpful… I have looked at some but you are right I need to do a deep dive. I do have another business that could be based anywhere, a website selling custom horse tack, which customers design. About 60/40 split UK and USA, with the odd few other countries worldwide. So the gite really is a secondary income. The property we are interested in has hosted Artists and I think we could also do Fishing holidays.
@SuePJ I feel for you on the jobs, we do live on a 15 acre plot here in the UK, we have one pony who makes it his mission to destroy our fencing and we cleared some large areas of bramble last year and have been unable to re-seed the grass due to constant rain, so currently looking out at 2 very large (probably half acre) of mud!
It has been my experience that sometimes when someone has a cross-border trading type of business that could be based “anywhere”, it can become remarkably complicated when they decide to base it “somewhere” and especially when that “somewhere” is France. Hopefully this will not prove the case for your business.
On the more general issue, if I have understood correctly then the property will also become your home, so another question I would be asking myself in your position is, Is Nevers where I want to live? For me, having a profitable business would not compensate for spending my life in a place that did not suit me.
Nevers is a sort of non-destination, I’m a southern French person and I’ve never met anyone who has moved there willingly, but I have met plenty who have had to go because sent by the state for work. They didn’t stay. No idea why, it looks inoffensive enough when you drive through the area.
When you apply for a Visa/CDS, you can only have one activity, and you cannot top up the first activity with the second. You will be refused a Visa if the business you want to start cannot reach the required income annually on its own.
Running the horse tack business from France will require you to set up a French entity, and it will not be acceptable as a part time activity alongside the Gîte.
Maybe one of the couple could run the gîte and the other the horsey thing?
Although then there are the complications of what legal status each would have if they worked in each other’s business, it would need setting up carefully, preferably with professional advice, so as not to risk falling foul of URSSAF.
However, I’m pretty sure with a place that size I could always find a few jobs for him!