Dordogne - Bookings: Weeks per Year

[Lars]

Hello all,

this is our first full year letting a 6 bed farmhouse in the southern dordogne, and I was wondering what we should be targetting in terms of weeks let. We're basically let from last week of june to second week of september and I wondered ...

1. Is 12/13 weeks decent for a 6 bed property?
2. How would you go about extending the season?
3. How much difference would a heated pool make?

many thanks for any advice or insight you can give

Lxx

[kevsboredagain]

I think 12/13 weeks would be fairly normal for a summer season let, although this could be extended into May and October, so over 20 weeks is still feasible. I'd also imagine the heated pool would extend your booking season and I've considered it a few times myself. The question really is will the extra bookings cover the cost of heating the pool? You'd have to make some estimates.

[Frenchlady]

I think in this climate that 12-13 weeks is pretty optimistic. We are caretakers for several gites and they are all struggling to fill weeks this year (as they were last year). May June & Sept are now very slow. The UK tourists are possibly being put off with the problems at Calais (more so last year). One of our gites has a heated pool and guests (bless them) reading heated pool thought the weather here in the Dordogne is still raging hot. They do not understand that the night temps by Oct are very low and a pool heater cannot do the impossible. It could cost you dearly heating a pool in May and Oct. I am afraid when people buy a gite now they think it will be the big money earner. Now the market is flooded with properties and guests are becoming harder to find. In 14 years in the business I think we have seen the best days ... but lets hope to be proved wrong. Wish you luck in your new venture. Remember to keep smiling, even when you are doing changeovers in temps of 30+!!!

[bornintheuk]

We have a 5 bed barn conversion in southern Charente so not to different to yourself. We added solar heating to our pool about 15 yrs ago so that we could use the pool when not booked, as the children were frustrated not being able to use the pool when guests were there.
It did extend our season so that we get May bank holiday week and end september/early october bookings. June bookings have always been a problem as its a "family" let as yours must be and kids are always studying for exams at that time of year so difficult to book from UK, where 95% of our clients come from.
We also market to the "no-children" market to try and fill those weeks with some success but with a totally different pricing strategy - better to have some money than nothing !
Whether a heating system which relies on electricity consumption would be economically viable for a return on investment and running costs would need careful consideration.

[Lars]

Thanks for your advice, really helpful

We were thinking of a different pricing strategy for the no-children market for June and Septmber. And also discounts for smaller groups.

Do you simply offer a lower price in June or do you offer a discount for smaller groups?

I've looked into pool heating and am tempted by the air-pump heaters which - on paper at least - turn 3/5kw into 15kw of heating. That gets the cost down to under 50 euros a week. How effective are you finding your solar system?

many thanks!

[Old Bill]

We have let the house from the middle of June to early September for the last three years. We charge more in July - late August but still find that those weeks get taken first. We installed air-pump pool heating for the 2014 season. We charge extra for it because it's expensive to run. I don't know whether it has made any difference to the number of bookings but a lot of people take it, despite the cost, even in the middle of summer when they don't need it. When you're working out the cost of pool heating you need to take into account the many taxes etc that get added to your electricity bill. I reckon that the total cost to us is about 10-12 euros a day. It helps a lot to have a pool cover, although we don't leave it out when guests are there for fear that it would get damaged.

[kevsboredagain]

My assumption that 12/13 weeks was normal were based on my place in Spain, which I'd assume had a similar season.

In 2008 I managed over 20 weeks but now I'm down to a dismal 10. What I have found though, is that you definitely need lower prices outside July and August and your visitors at these times will be mainly people without families, for obvious reasons. I often just have 1 couple staying in a 6 bed house.

Your other market outside the high season months is young couples with toddlers. Providing a few things like cots, baby equipment and toys can help with these bookings. Babies aren't so much of a problem but young toddlers will increase wear and tear (as I type mine is forcing matchbox cars under the living room door!!)

[bornintheuk]

Thanks for your advice, really helpful

We were thinking of a different pricing strategy for the no-children market for June and Septmber. And also discounts for smaller groups.

Do you simply offer a lower price in June or do you offer a discount for smaller groups?

I've looked into pool heating and am tempted by the air-pump heaters which - on paper at least - turn 3/5kw into 15kw of heating. That gets the cost down to under 50 euros a week. How effective are you finding your solar system?

many thanks!

As regards the no-children market we have a completely separate website and only accept bookings for weeks we cant easily fill for "families".
Be careful on the claims of heatpump salesman as their ratios are based on normally around 24 degrees air temp, not the usual outside temp you get in the shoulder months.
Very pleased with our solar system, we have 2 pool equipped now. I used to install for other people, but retired now !

[Lars]

Thanks for your advice, really helpful

We were thinking of a different pricing strategy for the no-children market for June and Septmber. And also discounts for smaller groups.

Do you simply offer a lower price in June or do you offer a discount for smaller groups?

I've looked into pool heating and am tempted by the air-pump heaters which - on paper at least - turn 3/5kw into 15kw of heating. That gets the cost down to under 50 euros a week. How effective are you finding your solar system?

many thanks!

As regards the no-children market we have a completely separate website and only accept bookings for weeks we cant easily fill for "families".
Be careful on the claims of heatpump salesman as their ratios are based on normally around 24 degrees air temp, not the usual outside temp you get in the shoulder months.
Very pleased with our solar system, we have 2 pool equipped now. I used to install for other people, but retired now !

I'd be really interested in your advice on solar too! We have a small to mid-sized pool, about 50 cubic metre pool. Do you recommend panels or domes? and how much solar would it need?

thanks
L

[petitbois]

I have friends with large gites & they would be very envious of you having12/13 weeks booked. Another friend has been advertising off season weeks for couples only on eBay with great success. We have a small family gite & Gitefor2, so we have healthy bookings this year for April/May/June/September, but struggling with July & August due to cancellations by regulars due to ill health or worse. When we were with GdF we were told to aim for 15wks/gite for a good year. Used to have 20+ wks/ gite but this year only just reached 15 wks, so guess we should be grateful considering the amount of competition now. Hoping for some last minuters once the sports events, strikes & referendum issues are over.