Two small or one larger?

[NickyFrance]

We have just bought a property in Brittany with an adjoining barn. We plan to convert the barn into one or two gites but cannot decide which will be more successful. Just using my common-sense, I think smaller gites (targetted at couples old and/or young) are more likely to be booked for more weeks of the year but a larger gite would provide more income per week (but are also possibly restricted to families booking in high season?)
Could anyone give me some concrete advice on this subject?

Thanks,
Nicky.

[vrooje]

Hi Nicky,

Welcome to the forums!

My parents own a 2-bedroom gite in Burgundy (I run the bookings for them). In general we don't have a problem filling up for the high season. I don't know about larger properties for sure, but my sense is that you're right, they're harder to book. I don't have any concrete numbers on that, though.

Cheers!

[DivineMrsM]

We have a property that sleeps 14+. We've been in business since July 2003. The first couple of years were quiet-ish, but we were happy with it. This year we are booked through from mid May to mid September. This is largely because we have a different pricing policy (per person rather than whole house) outside of the UK school holidays. It's better to have some money coming in rather than none!

Of course, it all depends on how much you need to make, but I would say it's worth considering going with the larger property.

You could also look into making it into two gites that are interconnecting when necessary. Create a double door system between which you could sandwich a moveable insulation panel and have a bookcase you could put in front of the door on each side. No one would be any the wiser!

I can promise you that it works really well. We have a "hidden door" that opens up our owner's accommodation to link with the main house when it is not occupied. You'd never know.

Take a look at this picture - the door is behind the bookcase:
http://www.lechevalblanc.co.uk/gallery/photo_4.shtml

Hope that helps,
Lynne

[paolo]

Nicky,

I have posted something about the benefits of small, one-bedroom rentals for couples here:
viewtopic.php?t=367

This may not apply fully to your situation. I don't know Brittany and I don't know whether couples visit all year. You will be likelier to achieve off-season bookings if you are in or very near a desirable village/town. Off-season visitors like to engage in local life, eat out, see things.

If your location does receive off-season couples, you can make a fairly accurate estimate of what your earnings would be for either of your scenarios. See what one-bed rentals in the area are charging and add up a reasonable level of bookings. Then do the same for a larger rental home only in the peak months. Factor in the added cost of winter heating for smaller units. If you have electric heating this can be quite a chunk of the money you make.

Given the reported over-supply of holiday accommodation aimed at families in Brittany, I would veer towards the year-round market of couples (and couples plus toddler/baby).

[Alan Knighting]

Nicky,

My properties are sufficiently flexible that I can, and do, accommodate parties of 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10. They are not internally connected but are immediately adjacent to each other.

Over the last five years my records indicate that there is a somewhat higher demand from the larger numbers in High Season and the reverse at all other times of the year.

If it were possible I would go down the flexible route taken by Lynne.

Alan

[helene]

Hi Nicky - I am in Brittany although a rural location - which may not be the same as you. As we enter our 4th season I would make the following observations - off-peak bookings are difficult, although we do get them, and unless as Paulo mentioned you are somewhere very interesting and in a town like Dinard, St Malo, etc who have a better off-season potential. School holiday traffic looks for at least 2 beds and we have recently extended our 1 bed 1 large mezanine (sleeps 4) to inlcude another bedroom and en-suite (now sleeps 6) - it is getting a lot of attention and also more bookings than were coming through before we extended. I think the idea of flexible acommodation is the best option and that way you can attract families as well as couples.
Hope that helps
helene

[tansy]

we're adding a fith bedroom with ensuite shower room to one house as we've discovered our property that sleeps 10 + baby or z bed is booked up much quicker than the one that sleeps 8.
Our enquiries have really increased dramatically since advertising the 2nd house sleeping 10/11.

Then to counteract 5 bedrooms, in the winter I've started an offer of 500 Euros for the house for 2 persons with a 100 Euro per person per week supplement...and this seems to be working - I don't feel like Mrs Scrooge about only having the rooms required made up with the heating on - keeping the other rooms closed and unmade. (Before I was making all the rooms up and heating the whole house to make it look good even if it was for 4...then having to wash all the bedding as someone had had a lie down or the kids had played in the spare room...whatever!).

[NickyFrance]

Thanks very much for all the enthusiastic replies. I think we are going to go with 2 double rooms (with single beds which can be pushed together) and then we can attract small families and also (hopefully) couples during low season.
Thanks,
Nicky.