Do DVD players or satellite TV make a difference?

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.
DivineMrsM
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Post by DivineMrsM »

We took the decision to provide Sky, DVD and Video players along with a large DVD and Video library. We also have a multi CD stereo. In the Garden Den we have a PlayStation 2 with some games and a TV video combi along with kid friendly videos. You can pick up pre-recorded videos for peanuts at school fayres and charity shops (or from friends whose kids have outgrown them). I'm sure the same will go for DVDs soon too.

We are very much a "family friendly" property and rely on being able to offer entertainment for children of all ages in addition to being in a lovely part of the world. As someone with small and young children myself I know the value of the familiar TV channels and a PS2 to keep them all happy when it either rains or is just too darn hot to be outside.

I should point out that we wouldn't NOT go somewhere that didn't have a telly, but then again, we have a portable DVD player so that wouldn't be an issue... :lol: .

It's just a shame that it's so darn complicated and *cough* dishonest to get Sky in France :roll: .
sleekitbeastie
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Post by sleekitbeastie »

There must be some mechanism related to the type of clients attracted. Our post-stay questionnaires show 90% against TV, 5% for and 5% undecided. I’m happy with that as it saves money – we don’t have a TV anywhere – even in our own home.

It can’t be geography? – we are in one of the wetter bits of France and days confined to quarters are not uncommon. We do provide games (checked and replaced frequently) and a large selection of books we (which we don’t police). Guest comments include ‘thank God for no TV’, and ‘the best collection of modern English literature I’ve seen’.

Our experience is so clearly different from most of what I read here and I can’t understand why. It isn’t because we advertise ‘no TV’; we don’t mention it at all. Some enquirers ask – I can remember too saying they would like one but they booked anyway. One of those left comments about how good it was to be TV free (even a 14 year old boy signed that one). The other brought their own TV/DVD player.
DivineMrsM
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Post by DivineMrsM »

I would love to stay somewhere without all the telly stuff, but that kind of thing is very much part of my kids' life at home. Until they are older, it wouldn't be a holiday for me to go somewhere without it. I'd have to work so much harder!! At least this way I get a chance to read a book which only happens once in a blue moon these days :lol: .
Lynne
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Christine Kenyon
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Post by Christine Kenyon »

I thought long and hard about whether or not to put a TV in our cottage. Personally, I'm happier without a TV - give me a good book, a radio and some music. But in the end the thought of harrassed parents got the better of me and there is a TV.

The only good thing is that in our part of the Lake District they are spared the joys of Channel 5 as we can't receive it!

Christine
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MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL
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DVD Player

Post by MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL »

My guests were very happy and want to return but mentioned our neighborhood Blockbuster doesn't have any selection of VHS movies for them to rent, only DVD's....so I had to switch the VCR out & put in a DVD player. So I guess in today's world...DVD is the way to go!
My Beach Cottage..make it YOURS during your vacation!http://home.earthlink.net/~mybeachcottage/
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Welcome to the forum, MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL (is that your real name?!) Image

I think you're right, and also people are more likely to pack some DVDs than videos. I have had a couple of renters ask if I have a DVD player, so in my experience it could be that little detail that gets you the booking. I see DVD players for as little as £30/$50, so it's a very minor investment.
Paolo
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MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL
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Post by MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL »

Yes...that's my real name...My Beach Cottage Florida! :wink:

Thank you to you & the rest of the members for a warm welcome and all the great tips! We bought last summer, renovated and started welcoming our first guests in October. I have a degree and work experience in Hospitality Management but I never dreamed while staying home with the kids I would own a beach rental property to rent out! I am having a blast..keep all the good info. coming!
My Beach Cottage..make it YOURS during your vacation!http://home.earthlink.net/~mybeachcottage/
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Sue Dyer
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Post by Sue Dyer »

Oh, when I get to the States I head straight for Wallmart for cheapie DVD's (I have a multi region player at home) Being able to watch them straight away on holiday would be great!

I wish these entertainment things were more wire free though. I have a combo TV/VCR then a free view box too. In the same corner I have a portable CD/Radio cassette player and an uplighter. Where do you put all the wires and plugs without looking a total mess? I'd get a DVD but it will just be wire city there....

Anyway, welcome MBCF or can I call you "beachcott" for short :) ?
MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL
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Post by MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL »

You can call me whatever you prefer! Yes...we have the same cabling issues. You mentioned a portable CD/radio player....I've debated getting one that the guests can take to the beach...but do you constantly supply batteries or are they on their own? Pardon my ignorance, but what praytell is an "uplighter"?
My Beach Cottage..make it YOURS during your vacation!http://home.earthlink.net/~mybeachcottage/
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

I would be terrified to provide a portable DVD player to guests, since the deposit probably wouldn't cover it if it were stolen/broken, and if it did, not much else would be covered by the deposit.

When we were buying electronics, we wanted to get an all-in-one player, and the store didn't have any all-in-ones that could play multi-region DVDs. So we settled on a TV/VCR combination. I'd like to get an inexpensive multi-region DVD player, but so far we haven't had any problems with just the VCR. There's a video store across the street from us that occasionally sells VHS movies for $2 each (especially kids' movies), so I've got quite a few collected that I'll be bringing over with me next time.
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Sue Dyer
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Post by Sue Dyer »

Hi again! You know I'd never thought of batteries for the cd player, it runs off mains so I kind of expect people just to use it indoors. Usually younger folk bring their own portable CD's/MP3's. I constantly feel constrained by lack of power points and don't like using those double plug adapters for safety reasons, extension boxes look a bit unsightly too....

Language thing again!! Uplighters are floor lamps as illustrated. We have the same 2 the rest of the world seems to have from Ikea as they were under a tenner!

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MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL
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Post by MYBEACHCOTTAGEFL »

Uplifters! Got it...thanks for the visual too. Yeah, I think I won't provide the radio at all...we have a "cozy" Cottage and I don't want to clutter it up.
My Beach Cottage..make it YOURS during your vacation!http://home.earthlink.net/~mybeachcottage/
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

Wow -- the language thing continues. In the US, that's called a torchiere lamp or a floor lamp...

Under a tenner? I'm guessing that means under ten pounds/euros?
Brooke
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Sue Dyer
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Post by Sue Dyer »

sorry, yes £10 sterling!! I know Ikea has it's share of knocking on here but I found it great for bits and pieces for the cottage. I think the lamps similar to illustrated were about £8 each.
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

Oh, I'm not too negative on Ikea at all! It's great for bits and pieces -- lamps, alarm clocks, and some of their towels are quite plush, actually.

I admit that even some of their furniture isn't too bad -- but on that subject you have to be very choosy.
Brooke
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