We already run a gite (separate building, own pool) and I'm planning to open 2 rooms for chambre d'hote next summer in our house.
I'm pretty sure the rooms won't impact on the gite (parking & entrance on the opposite side of our house, not visible from the gite, no sharing of pool or garden) although if I decide to go ahead I'll let the gite renters know so they can decide if they still want to come.
What I'm concerned about is whether it will affect gite bookings if I show cdh on the listing sites (HL & HR) or should I choose completely different listing sites for the cdh? My gut feel says go with the separate listings but I'm still pretty new at this.
Any of you have both gite & cdh running at the same location and willing to offer an opinion? All input welcome!
Sheesh
New CdH, existing gite
When we added B&B (in the house) to the website/advertising for the gites (in the grounds) some enquirers (for the gites) did ask if we had B&B bookings for the period they were wanting to book. It did seem to worry them that their privacy, holiday would be compromised. We're on site anyway so gite guests don't have the place to themselves but whilst they accept we're here they obviously didn't always want to have to 'share' with other guests. As you say, you have to make it clear to everyone who's on site - some will mind, others won't. I suspect gite guests would expect to pay less if B&Bers are on site.
Gillian
Gillian
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Hells Bells
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I've stayed in several CdH where there were also gites guests, wouldn't bother me in the slightest, nor would I worry if it was the other way round. If you are exepcting an owner on-site, it shouldn't be a problem. However, if you offer private facilities to those gite guests, such as swimming pool etc, I think they should (at least for the time being), remain that way.
Hi Helen
I agree re: gite - I don't want to dilute the offering at all. I think that as the buildings and entrances (I hesitate to call them 'drives') are separate, we can keep the two aspects of the accommodation apart.
The pool is accessed directly from the gite through a patio door, and only a third of the water area is visible from the house - all of the seating and sunbathing area is hidden by a 5m high wall. So long as the cdh guests stay on the terrace of the house and don't go wandering through closed gates, the gite guests would never see them.
The trick is going to be getting that across to potential gite guests, isn't it? I need to change the listing site details to reflect this before I take any more bookings for next summer. For the people who have already booked for next summer, I'll let them know and refund their deposit in full if they wish to cancel.
Any more suggestions or comments are welcome!
Sheesh
I agree re: gite - I don't want to dilute the offering at all. I think that as the buildings and entrances (I hesitate to call them 'drives') are separate, we can keep the two aspects of the accommodation apart.
The pool is accessed directly from the gite through a patio door, and only a third of the water area is visible from the house - all of the seating and sunbathing area is hidden by a 5m high wall. So long as the cdh guests stay on the terrace of the house and don't go wandering through closed gates, the gite guests would never see them.
The trick is going to be getting that across to potential gite guests, isn't it? I need to change the listing site details to reflect this before I take any more bookings for next summer. For the people who have already booked for next summer, I'll let them know and refund their deposit in full if they wish to cancel.
Any more suggestions or comments are welcome!
Sheesh
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Hells Bells
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I thinkjust emphasising that they will still be private and separate should do the trick. I really wouldn't be too worried about cancellations, it is only two rooms not a hotel-full, so if you can emphasise this to the guests I don't think you will have a problem with it. A 'private' notice on the closed gates should get the message across to B&B guests, particularly if you make it known in thir information that the pool is not available for their use.
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French Cricket
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I don't think you have an issue, sheesh - you live on site already so people who want a completely self-contained, separate, owner-free rental aren't going to be booking with you anyway, however much you stress the independent nature of their accommodation. And a couple of rooms with - what? 4 people in them? - isn't really going to change the nature of their stay.
As far as listing goes, we found early on that on 'mainstream' English language listing sites like OD - the only one we're on - we got loads more hits by just listing our barn, which is closer to a gîte (ie it has a kitchen, though we still include breakfast). We do mention our separate cdh suite in passing on the listing, and if the barn is full we offer the cdh suite as an alternative. But most of our bookings for the cdh suite come from French listing sites and indeed are French guests, so I'd say it will be important for you to have a presence on those too.
As far as listing goes, we found early on that on 'mainstream' English language listing sites like OD - the only one we're on - we got loads more hits by just listing our barn, which is closer to a gîte (ie it has a kitchen, though we still include breakfast). We do mention our separate cdh suite in passing on the listing, and if the barn is full we offer the cdh suite as an alternative. But most of our bookings for the cdh suite come from French listing sites and indeed are French guests, so I'd say it will be important for you to have a presence on those too.