Leisure and Land - Gites and B&B

Gites and B&B	As the specialist agency selling income-producing properties in France, Leisure and Land offers a wide range of gîtes, B&B’s and hotels for sale throughout France. Hotels are dealt with in a separate section of this website.
	The principal difference between gîtes and B&B’s is the work input required and the contact with the clients. Gîtes – by definition are self-catering and self-contained offering an independent unit with its own living area, kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. In theory, you hand the keys over on a Saturday and clear up the following Saturday. The original concept was Gîtes de France, created by the government to supplement the income of farmers in France (now referred to as Agri-tourism) and thousands of foreign visitors to France have discovered the French countryside with this style of holiday. Unfortunately, in many cases, the animals on the farm were more comfortable than the tourists! Today, agri-tourism is the one sector of the gîtes network which is under developed – but quality is essential.
	Our experience in the sale of vineyards and farms in France confirms the potential of a property offering comfortable family accommodation within the activity of a vineyard, riding centre or farm. Apart from this, the gîtes market generally in France is saturated and we try to dissuade clients from creating new units unless targeting a specific clientele (painting, language, etc) B&B’s – is just what it implies – a bed and a breakfast, and is available in numerous styles and locations throughout France. Foreigners moving to France often offer B&B as a way of keeping in touch with their country of origin, meeting people and supplementing their income. The emphasis should be on ‘supplementing’ as although B&B’s can be profitable, 4-5 units are needed to generate a reasonable income.
	The contact with the client is the key to success – together with comfortable beds and en-suite bathrooms. It can be enjoyable and rewarding – undoubtedly harder work than gîtes but requires less capital investment as the spare room is an instant B&B. Under French law, more than 5 letting bedrooms is considered an hotel which means draconian regulations re fire, health and safety. Leisure and Land have sold both gîtes and B&Bs for over 15 years in France and have a wide range of properties to offer. It is important simply to do the sums based on a realistic occupancy, bearing in mind the competition and not investing too much until one is sure of the potential.

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