I need help with a phrase (in French)

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Pirou
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2017 12:02 pm
Location: A bit north of Pirou, Normandy (50)

I need help with a phrase (in French)

Post by Pirou »

This month, I've had two sets of people turn up "on spec" at the cottage while holidaymakers have been in residence asking to see round with a view to booking for themselves or family next year. :shock: You know the sort of thing I'm sure. I'm don't live nearby and our caretakers are within shouting distance but not there all the time and can't see the cottage from their house.

This sort of spontaneous visit is unacceptable of course and I want to try and nip it in the bud so I want to add a note in French on the sign at the end of the lane and on literature at the OdeT like flyers indicating that you can't turn up without an appointment and expect to see round the cottage.

But I can't come up with a suitable phrase that is pithy but gets the point over. Has anyone had to solve this problem and has got any suggestions?
Dusty
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Post by Dusty »

How strange, a little worrying also as you don't want unknown people wondering around. You could try "Visite sur rendez-vous seulement".
Pirou
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Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2017 12:02 pm
Location: A bit north of Pirou, Normandy (50)

Post by Pirou »

That sounds good, Dusty. I was getting myself into far too much detail trying to avoid putting paying guests off - didn't want them to think "does she mean me?" but that's just me being over-complicated (in English and in French!) and something as brief and to the point as your suggestion will be fine I think. Thank you. :D

I don't think there's anything suspicious in it. I have heard of it happening to other people but this is the first time its happened to me. And I don't want our guests being bothered because you know how it is, if you're in a strange place you're suddenly a bit uncertain as to what is expected of you in an unexpected situation. We charge higher end of market prices and there are some very poor quality rentals around which aren't that much cheaper than us so I think people are trying to estimate whether they get value for money. Well I hope that's the motivation!

I've just sent a bunch of flowers to the people that did take on the guided tour duties and apologised that they were disturbed during their break.
Circé
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Post by Circé »

I'd be dead suspicious!
Are your guests mainly English or French, and where do you advertise? If mainly for the UK market, why would French folk turn up on spec?
Did they ask lots of 'innocent' questions about when the property is let?
Why not simply have your guests tell them to contact the caretakers, who can then assess them, take their details and show them round when it suits them and your guests, IF they think it's a genuine enquiry?
We recently had wannabee buyers for a property clients were selling, they'd seen it advertised on the internet and identified the property, spoken to the neighbours and approached us as caretakers direct. I showed them round, but asked for ID and took their Carte d'Identité details. They were quite happy with this as they were genuinely interested, and I was 'covered'.
GillianF
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Location: Dordogne

Post by GillianF »

This set some quiet alarm bells ringing with me too!

Only once has this happened to us. About ten years ago a chap booked for a week in our small gite for August. Early in the year (Spring-time), as I remember a chap turned up on my doorstep and introduced himself as the bloke who had made the booking. He was on a solo holiday and wanted to see around the property etc. to make sure it was going to be good enough for his holiday with his girlfriend later in the year.

I politely explained that we weren't at that time open for business and that nothing was as it would be in Summer: pool open, accommodation clean and 'set', flowers in bloom etc. etc.

He was quite persistent and I was very uncomfortable. Eventually, I showed him around the garden etc., pointed out the village etc., offered him a cup of tea.

He left. A week later (when he was home) he wrote and cancelled his holiday. I have to say I wasn't surprised - or disappointed.
Jensen
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Post by Jensen »

We have had this a few times in the last 20 years, nothing but sightseers, other gite owners wanting to have a look at the competition or just time wasters! Never turned into a booking, needless to say nobody set's foot on the property since !
Pirou
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Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2017 12:02 pm
Location: A bit north of Pirou, Normandy (50)

Post by Pirou »

Jensen wrote:We have had this a few times in the last 20 years, nothing but sightseers, other gite owners wanting to have a look at the competition or just time wasters! Never turned into a booking, needless to say nobody set's foot on the property since !
Oh now that makes sense. I think you've may have enabled a hammer vs. head of nail interface Jensen. :lol:

Thanks for the replies. Good point Jenson. I look at other peoples availability calenders reviews and this year for our size/location/price we have more bookings than others and no negative reviews. A couple of points knocked off because the house should be nearer the beach :roll: but no misrepresentation in our advertising so tough. So as I keep an eye on them it could be owners wanting to see what we're doing. Caretakers have lived in the village since birth though and they'd probably recognise other French owners. But still, that might be it. Good call.

Circé, this is our third year and British bookings are reducing in number but Belgian, Dutch and obviously French bookings are increasing. I advertise on a number of sites but I think both these people came from the local Office de Tourisme - I leave postcard flyers at the local tourist offices in the hope that people pick them up and pass them on to friends or remember us for another time. One set of drop-in visitors said they live in the area and wanted somewhere for family to stay next year - or so they said. Which is possible.

As far as I know, no one was casing the joint and if they were the our availability calendar is on the website for all to see so its obvious when the property is empty. Funnily enough, having been very concerned about a (definitely dodgy) family who wanted to book earlier in the year, I am not concerned about these two visits over and above I don't want resident guests being bothered. That's what I want to prevent. I'll add a note to the house book that if someone asks for a guided tour then don't! give them our caretakers phone number but of course I don't want them turning up on spec in the first place which is why I want a short and clear phrase for the advertising.

It happens that the guests who gave the guided tour were British but they spoke a bit of French. Or the other way round*. The second lot of viewers encountered French guests who referred them straight to the caretakers who refused (rightly) to take them round the occupied cottage. The caretakers offered to let them see the cottage at changeover day but they (the French couple) weren't available. But they have our email and website addresses.

Maybe I'm being a bit too relaxed about these visits but I think when you're putting lots of phtos of your home out there, its location and telling people when it is empty you are taking a risk and if you worried about everything you'd have to stop renting out or go mad. I guess what I really want to say is we analyse the risks (thank you Giraffe for the risk analysis point earlier in the year) and in this case I can see where the "enquiries" might have come from - my pub in the OdeT and/or nosy competition.

But we have good shutters and multiple locks several of which guests never get keys for. At the end of this season we'll probably go over to a keypad code system so we don't have to give keys out and M. Caretaker can cancel codes as soon as the guests leave. Another tip I read on L M H I think so thank you whoever that was.

* I mean the French drop ins spoke some English
Pirou
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2017 12:02 pm
Location: A bit north of Pirou, Normandy (50)

Post by Pirou »

Pirou wrote: It happens that the guests who gave the guided tour were British but they spoke a bit of French. Or the other way round. The second lot of viewers encountered French guests who referred them straight to the caretakers who refused (rightly) to take them round the occupied cottage. The caretakers offered to let them see the cottage at changeover day but they (the French couple) weren't available. But they have our email and website addresses.
This French couple came back today during changeover to see the cottage and they've booked on the spot for 2 weeks next July. :) They've even paid a cash deposit of 50% to Mrs Caretaker. So it was a genuine visit a month or so ago and they told Mrs C that they've been staying with family for many years and as their extended family got bigger and they got older its too noisy andcramped for them so they wanted to stay somewhere comfortable where they could control when their day started and finished.

Result! :D
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