If you want to attract the French market, then there are a number of French advertising sites considerably cheaper than Homelidays and Abritel that do the business! But certainly the big international listing sites bring very few enquiries (I've ditched the H-R French site).
The French like nothing better than to hear the phrase "je peux vous faire un prix". I guess that with B&B they think it is easier to negotiate as accommodation can be booked at very short notice. With gites, too, if they want a short stay I don't include bed linen/towels/heating/cleaning so there is some room to negotiate a discount if required. With B&B you can't really do that.
French attitudes to holiday renting
Finding the ideal French site is going to be different for everyone and the way I found the sites that work for me is by doing a search on google.fr for 'gites bretagne' and other appropriate phrases, so I suggest that you do a search using the keywords you think French people would use for your property and area.
The ones I use are
www.pour-les-vacances.com (79€ to be permenently at the top of the search list by département)
www.guidevacances.com (80€ to be permenently in the top 3 of the search list by département)
www.france-pittoresque.com (free)
Don't ask how they guarantee the top list spot, I have no idea, but they do and it works.
Also on P-L-V there is a limit by dept on the number of properties listed, so you may not get on there, it depends how popular your area is.
The sites are all DREADFUL in design/layout and functionality, but for my properties they all come on the first page of searches on google and bring in the business.
The French do seem to be some way behind the UK and US on advertising and selling via the internet, unfortunately!
The ones I use are
www.pour-les-vacances.com (79€ to be permenently at the top of the search list by département)
www.guidevacances.com (80€ to be permenently in the top 3 of the search list by département)
www.france-pittoresque.com (free)
Don't ask how they guarantee the top list spot, I have no idea, but they do and it works.
Also on P-L-V there is a limit by dept on the number of properties listed, so you may not get on there, it depends how popular your area is.
The sites are all DREADFUL in design/layout and functionality, but for my properties they all come on the first page of searches on google and bring in the business.
The French do seem to be some way behind the UK and US on advertising and selling via the internet, unfortunately!
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Alan Knighting
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Moooo,
Fluffy
Yes, but it could be that the French are ahead of the game. It could be that the French are buying a holiday (vacation) and not buying into the perceived quality of your listing sites?The sites are all DREADFUL in design/layout and functionality, but for my properties they all come on the first page of searches on google and bring in the business.
The French do seem to be some way behind the UK and US on advertising and selling via the internet, unfortunately!
Fluffy
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Giddy Goat
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
Sure, I've had a couple of booking from them. Lovely family but their eating habits leave something to be desired.Gascony Goat wrote:Alan, do you believe in aeronautical pigs?Alan Knighting wrote: It could be that the French are buying a holiday (vacation) and not buying into the perceived quality of your listing sites? Fluffy
Fluffy
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Giddy Goat
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- Location: UK
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We have French guests in at the 'mo! I have to admit though, they're a group of lads working on the new barn for Gérard, a mile up the lane! BUT, we have had enquiries at a steady pace (3 per year). We've booked out all our accommodation last May for a family reunion. Then we've had guests refered to us from the local hotel, when they're full. We've also had a wedding couple stay here with their mum & dad (très bizarre...). We're expecting a call this month from a local French lady re. accommodation for 20 guests at her daughter's wedding in June. Her daughter's marrying an Americain, and she thinks it'll be a plus to have somewhere for them to converse in a similar language!
To a man (or woman) all our French guests have been delightful, handing us presents as they leave, and promising to return one day! They tend not to write in our livres d'or though, and I think they're slightly intimidated by the mass of English text therein!
We don't advertise on any French sites, but we do have a good web prescence that I've worked hard to acheive over the past 2 and a half years. We're also friendly with the owners of the hotel where our daughter now works. That helps!
To a man (or woman) all our French guests have been delightful, handing us presents as they leave, and promising to return one day! They tend not to write in our livres d'or though, and I think they're slightly intimidated by the mass of English text therein!
We don't advertise on any French sites, but we do have a good web prescence that I've worked hard to acheive over the past 2 and a half years. We're also friendly with the owners of the hotel where our daughter now works. That helps!
pour-les-vacances.com scored very well when I analysed potential listing sites for my place in Provence, but I couldn't advertise with them as my area is full up. I know of other sites that say 'we will only hand-select a certain number of properties in each region', but I don't know of another that sticks to it.
Paolo
Lay My Hat
Lay My Hat
PLV bring me way more referrals to my site than any of the other sites I advertise with and the restriction on numbers must contribute to this. I guess I was lucky when I found them to live in one of the more unknown departments of France! It is nice (not to say unusual) to find a rental listing site to whom providing a decent service to its existing advertisers is more important than making a huge profit out of the maximum number of advertisers possible!