Coco

When someone finds the answer please let us know  This problem is one of the main reasons that we aren't as full as the enquiries would lead me to believe we should be.  The times I have t turn people away because the only way to fit them in would be to make someone else move rooms halfway through their stay.  We have a couple coming next week, for example, and if I were to put them in one room for two nights, then move them for one night, then move them back for their last night I could have had both rooms full for the whole week (therefore 14 nights worth of bookings), as it is we have ten, but I don't think I could get away with all the moving about!!!  Unfortunately, without, as Arnold says, building a new floor, c'est la vie

Well they say every cloud has a silver lining and it seems those big black ones that have been lurking over our house for the past week clearly have.  We don't have any locusts, ladybirds, chenilles noir or anything else, just lots and lots of raindrops!!!!

On a more upbeat note Fay, and to keep your hopes alive.  There is nothing wrong with lowering your sights a little, if it means you won't need to borrow to do it.  As someone else has already said, the stress of repaying that loan will soon change your views on it being a better way of life for your family. I'll tell you our experience of the last week.  There is a beautiful chateau not 4km from here (in fact a previous forum member almost bought it at one stage!)  It is now owned by some Dutch people who have just finished renovating it and have a big wedding party there this weekend.  In fact a BBC news presenter's wedding, so potential for good publicity.  We have mopped up some of the "overspill" from the chateau; an aunt and a cousin and their other halves, both quite perturbed about not having been offered rooms at the chateau.  My husband joked with them and said "oh but you'll have much more fun here".  Yesterday, day two of the stay and the wedding eve, they came back to tell us how right we are.  The others can't wait for the wedding to be over so that they can cut short their stay.  The Chateau is charging 60 euros for the smallest room, PLUS 7.50 per head for breakfast, PLUS extra for any tea and coffee that people want.  There is no room other than their bedrooms to sit and relax because they have had to turn as much space over to bedrooms, to get a return on their investment, as possible and they all feel that every movement they make is being watched by their hosts.  And apparently this wedding party is their first booking this summer and they have no others for the foreseeable future. My little farmhouse is doing much better, we've had 40 nights out of a possible 62 booked for July and so far have 35 booked for August - and everyone around here is complaining about what a terrible year it is. The important thing to make your B&B a success is not a grand house but abot getting your pricing right, not letting your guests feel they are being ripped off, and making them feel comfortable.  And the less worry you have about paying off a loan the easier you will find all of these to do in my opinion.

I don't want to sound negative either, and I'm not, I really love my life running a B&B. It's hard work but we meet some really interesting people. Would I do it if I had to pay back a loan?  Even a small loan?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!  I think I remember from another thread that you have one or two young children.  You will spend your whole time worrying about where the next meal is coming from.  Sometimes I get very down worrying about this, and there's just the two of us.  So far, thank goodness, it has all worked out OK, but the first year we supplemented our B&B income with my salary from my old job in central London that I continued to do via the internet 3 days a week.  That all went pear-shaped after six months and the second year we dipped into about £4000 of the money we had left from the sale of our UK house.  This year, so far, we're doing fine, living off the B&B, but I anticipate that we will still end up supplementing our income with a bit of our savings again.  Hopefully about half as much as last year, but nevertheless - it would be a hell of a lot more if we had to make regular loan repayments. I really would strongly advise against it if you can't at least pay for the house outright.  Don't forget that you will have alot of other outgoings.  We only have two rooms but you will need to frequently replace pillows.  There will be at least 3 sets of bed linen and 6 to 8 towels per room.  Crockery and glasses to buy and replace when they get broken.  In doing evening meals I realised I needed another fridge and freezer.  Our standard washing machine is just about going to see us to the end of this season but then we are going to have to replace it with something a bit more substantial, and it's only 3 years old!!  But in the summer it is being used about 3 times a day!  Then there's advertising to pay for - you won't get any bookings without PLENTY of advertising. Like Chris, Charente if far enough away for me not to have any personal reasons for trying to deter you but think hard before doing it without cash to back you up.

Lets wait until all the info comes out but lets also remember that murders who want to blow up Londoners and perhaps those in other cities in the UK are still out there, still planning murder - innocent people are going to get hurt on both sides - it just seems to me that more fuss is being made over this one case than those still in a tunnel waiting to be identified. Support our security services or the world will degenerate into a far worse place - no one is perfect and imagine how you would feel if you left home and family each day knowing you might be shot and might not return - but perhaps most of us simply could not do the job. All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Wise words Di

Thank God that some men are brave enough to do this terrible and horrible job to at least attempt to control what is now a disastrous situation and one that looks like it can only get worse. Accidents will happen and we did not start it. We just attempted to train brave men who get paid a simple wage to serve and protect us and ours in the UK. And who would be prepared to swap places and guarantee that they wouldn't be "trigger happy"?  I know they're professionals, I know they've been highly trained, but, as our wonderful government constantly tell us when they make errors "They are only human". An ex special forces guy was commentating on a clip of news footage this morning.  It showed two armed officers approaching someone at one of the stations in the last few days.  One was standing some 10 feet away from the guy they had cornered.  The other went right up to him to search him.  There were 3 "ordinary" uniformed policemen, moving passers-by on and away from the scene, they were about 30feet away.  As this guy pointed out, had the person they were searching been a suicide bomber he could have detonated his bomb at any time in that 60 seconds or so from when they said "stop, armed police" to when they realised he had no explosives on him.  For that period of time all 5 of those policemen, as far as they were concerned, were liable to be blown to kingdom come at any time.  They're not trigger happy, they're very brave men and I'm surprised that more of them don't get jittery. Perhaps Charles Clarke would like to give up his holiday and let one of them (perhaps the poor guy who now has to live with having killed an innocent man) go in his place.    Nahhh, poor old Charles needs a break, after all, he's only human.... and he's only the Home Secretary, who should be on the ball 24 hours a day during this crisis.  What kind of message does that put out, that he can go on holiday and let others get on with it

I don't think I'd book at gite with dogs at it either, and I know my husband most CERTAINLY wouldn't.  We run a B&B and we don't allow dogs either.  I know that we have lost several French bookings this summer because of it but we just don't want them.  At the moment we have an old cat so it just wouldn't be possible, but even if we didn't have him we wouldn't take them.  That's what we have chosen and that's the way it is.  We may lose some bookings because we won't accept dogs but there again, we may have some unhappy customers staying with us if they discover other guests have a dog on the premises.  You just can't please all of the people all of the time, so you have to decide what is right for you and go with it. Personally, I have decided that next year we are not taking people with children between 1 and 7.  I know I will lose business but quite honestly I find them more hastle than they are worth.  We originally said we would not take children but then realised we would lose a hell of a lot of business, especially in August.  However, having taken them (reluctantly) for the last 3 seasons I find that they are noisy - disturb other guests; parents let them run riot in the garden - makes me edgy in case the fall and hurt themselves; throw up all over the brand new bed linen (Friday night), mum cleans it up with two white bath towels, which even after two washes at 90 degrees still have a couple of stains on!  I know that you have to expect this kind of thing if you are running a business involving the general public, but I have decided it's not worth the hastle.  When we let our house out as a gite, we had this same age restriction and the couple who did our turnround always said how lucky we were with our guests; our house never needed the cleaning that the others they looked after did, and never had the damage that others incurred.  At the time I put it down to the fact that we didn't take children (and we were never down on our bookings, just appealed to less, or a different clientele).  Now I'm convinced that for us it is the right way to go. So back to your dogs Mrs MDW.  I don't think you can really do any more than you do.  If it deters a few people but doesn't have too much of an impact on your business then I shouldn't worry.  You've got to have a life too!

Absolutely Catalpa.  Couldn't agree more!  Sh1t happens, as they say. 

I think there's probably a bit too much "unconfirmed" reporting on all this at the moment.  I listened to News 24 most of yesterday and three different eye witnesses came up with three different versions.  There were 3 undercover polcemen chasing this man........ 5 plain clothes policemen ran onto the train and then shot him at point blank range in the head 5 times........ there were about 20 plain clothes  policemen on the train....... the man grabbed a passenger and was then shot........ a policeman tackled him to the floor...... he tripped as he got on the train.  How can we possibly get a clear picture?  And it must be so difficult for the police when eye witness statement differ so greatly. Only one other person has commented about the after effects on the policeman too.  I'm absolutely sure they are not "trigger happy"  The policemen may be highly trained but I bet it's the first time this poor man has killed anyone in such a way and I'm sure he will need counselling himself.

I think it's been widely enough publicised now that suicide bombers will probably be carrying a bag/rucksack of some kimd, or tend to be dressed in clothes possibly unsuitable for the weather, that anyone who innocently fits this description would most certainly not run away from the police and not stop when told to whilst the capital is on such high security alert.  When I was commuting in London, especially in the summer, the underground was full of travelling students who would fit this description, so it's obviously an extremely sad state of affairs that young Asian men are going to be under more suspicion than their white counterparts but it's something that they are going to have to live with for the time being, the same as the rest of London are having to live with the fear of possibly not getting safely to or from work each day! A couple of the TV news  interviewers have been trying to suggest that the police were being a bit heavy handed, but this guy must have been under surveillance or he wouldn't have been chased by plain clothes gun carrying policemen. I agree with those that say that a shooting in the arm or leg is no good if he's a potential suicide bomber.  Just imagine what would have been said had it come out that he WAS under surveillance/suspicion, was being chased by the police and yet STILL managed to detonate his bomb and kill innocent bystanders.              

Only thing about shallots (and all onions/garlic type food..) they may contribute to your having to pay a tax on your green-house-effect gases emissions! Lots of fresh spear/peppermint finely chopped over strawberries (or other fruits) in some yogurt that helps offset the tax! Now that's what I call a handy tip!

Radishes are REALLY easy as well.  If they don't work I wouldn't even bother trying anything else!!  Parsnips are good too, and essential in my opinion.  I think you might be a little bit too late for them now, ours went in back in April - but someone may be able to tell you different.

I know what you mean Alexis, the one we went to was 4 initials and I can't for the life of me think what they are now!!!  Anyway Ron, this was in March of this year here in Manche - don't know if it's only for a limited time period, there was no mention of that.  I suppose it could be, as at the moment they're pouring a lot of money into this area, both for residents and to try and improve tourism.

Looks like the Mods are getting quite a bit of praise for their hard work now on this thread, so worth keeping perhaps?

There are no grants as such for an ordinary domestic residence owned by non-french nationals. This obviously varies from departement to departement because here in Manche we were eligible for a grant and we fit into exactly this category!  I mentioned this a few months ago and got shouted down for being a foreigner prepared to take away a French person's grant.  However, we went for the meeting in Saint-Lo and because we had completed tax returns for the previous two years (min requirement) and didn't earn above a certain amount (sorry, can't remember what it was) we would have been eligible (nationality not coming into it at all).    We then had to explain what we wanted it for.  When I said it was for a bigger kitchen to be able to run our chambres d'hotes the man (in typical French style) said that I wouldn't be able to get a grant to improve my property to run a business, so therefore he would just put on the form that we needed a bigger kitchen because ours was too small.  In the end we decided not to proceed because we would have only got the grant for the kitchen bit and it would have slowed down the whole renovation of our barn.  But the offer was for up to 33% of up to 12,000€ worth of work, so certainly worth having if you don't have adequate bathroom or kitchen facilities. We were given the info about grants and the phone number of the association offering them from our Maire.  So that would be my first port of call if I were you.

I think the rules apply, as has happened in the B&B in Normandy or Brittany thread.  Russethouse (a Mod for goodness sake!) has said that she has personal knowledge of mine and Miki's B&Bs. That's a third party recommendation and therefore acceptable.  I have in fact responded to Paul and Carin, but by private email offering them my website address to take a look, or pass on to the person actually seeking a B&B.  This does not contravene the advertising rules, it is responding to a request for help by a member of the forum.  I don't actually include my website in my signature, as although it was always offered as an exemption, I still believe that in principle that it IS advertising and therefore contravening the code of conduct, even if Living France administrators don't think so themselves.

Coco, 4 night stays for Americans, now that is rare, even Paris and PACA struggle to keep those fast moving (if it's Tuesday etc) peeps that long but of course the war and its historical places, mean that Normandy is worthy for them, of a longer stay. Yes indeed it is rare.  They normally think they can do Utah, Omaha, St Mere Eglise and Mnt St Michel with one overnight stay!!!  In both these situations they originally wanted two nights to do all of the above but by talking to them, (via the toll free phone:cool I have convinced them that to do justice to the beaches and Mt St Michel they really need longer here.  The first lot have already been, and thanked me profusely for persuading them that they needed longer (and even left a 20 euro tip in the bedroom!)  The others are due in a  couple of weeks.  Hopefully they will feel the same! BTW  I'm sure I'm being dim, but what is PACA?

Americans are quite low in their numbers that will use B&B's in much of France. Chasing them is not the way for us. I guess for Coco, she is in the best area, along with Paris and the Cote d'Azur for American tourists but any costs per head gained, has to be in unison with the number she gets. Coco said around $5 per month, you are saying $2 per month. I just checked and I got it wrong!  We pay $2 as well, so for me it has been a good investment.  We've had two 4 night bookings from it, so that's 400 euros worth of rooms plus 135 euros worth of dinners that have also been booked for an investment of (so far) about $10.  If the enquiries stop coming I can always terminate the number.  However, as Arnold also said, it does make you look "North American friendly" and I have to say that when I questioned some of our guests about this being the first year since 9/11 that we have seen Americans we were told that although many got their courage to fly back quite quickly, they personally (and many people they know) wondered what sort of welcome they would get in France, following all the Iraq stuff. And you're spot on about where they go Miki, this year the Americans and Canadians are not only putting the jam on our bread but the butter as well!!!  UK bookings seem to be the ones that are down for us.  And all of those who come here have already "done" Paris and are then either heading off to London or the cote d'Azur!!!!  We also had a French guy here last week who said he finds it amazing that all the Americans he has spoken to when in the States who say they have "done" France have in fact visited cote d'Azur, Paris the D-Day beaches and Mont St Michel.  COming from Alsace he was most put out that they felt that with these 4 stops they had "done" France!!

There are some things I will miss about France as I find in general people are very honest. Deby   You're not leaving are you Deby?  I thought you'd not long been set up

Just one other thing.  YOou say you are in Bresse but according to two French maps we have there is no such place as Bresse.  Do you mean Bourg en Bresse?  Presumably you do, and it may be referred to just as Bresse locally.  I vaguely know the Burgundy region (that's where I want to retire to) so I had a pretty good idea of where you meant, which is why when Bresse didnt appear in the index I looked up Bourg en Bresse, but for the stranger to that part of France, not only can they not currently see a picture of your house on the web but they can't even find the town on the map. The other bit of advice that Arnold gave me was to have a toll free US phone number, less than $5 a month but it has certainly helped (I think)  We've taken two bookings this summer by phone from the States, which perhaps we wouldn't have got if people hadn't been able to phone direct on a toll free basis.

I very much agree with Arnold's comments as to why this thread should not be deleted.  I know that at the start of the thread I strongly disagreed with a couple of the Mods but I think the thread has developed, as has any normal conversation, and as Arnold says, gives good explanations as the workings "behind the scenes".  I think it would be much more inflammatory to delete it.  It would make it look as though the Mods and Forum Admin are not prepared to accept any kind of criticism.  As long as people are not being abusive I really don't see the problem with such things being discussed on open forum - it makes everything much more transparent. And the fact that it has nothing to do with buying property in, moving to or  living in France is not reason alone to delete it surely.  Considering we have a thread on the London Attacks and in the past on UK football, the UK election and many other non-French but current affairs subjects that are clearly of interest to people, at least this thread is ABOUT the forum. As an aside, as far as Arnold not "advertising" his own websites earlier in the thread.  Well they're not really HIS websites are they.  They are one of the excellent things that has evolved from this forum.  People wanted to know where to advertise their B&Bs and Arnold offered to set up a site for us all to contribute to.  He has not asked for any money, and like the Mods, I am sure he has put in a lot of time behind the scenes updating and improving the sites for the benefit of others.  Thanks Arnold!

I used to live around that area Paul.  The Hertfordshire Moathouse at Markyate is quite good (it's a few miles from the airport but runs a regular shuttle service).  There's an excellent Indian restaurant within walking distance too!  Alternatively you could go further afield, say St Albans, my home town and MUCH MUCH nicer than Luton.  The train journey is 11 minutes to Luton Parkway with a free shuttle to the airport but I'm afraid I can't recommend any hotels as some have come, some have gone and others have changed hands since I knew them well.

Not had her micro-chipped then Ray?

The French papers are a good idea.  Presumably because they don't have the hastle of ferries or flights the French often book at the last minute.  Two weeks ago I had only 10 nights booked for the whole of July, now I have 34.  Last weekend, (French holiday weekend) I had three lots of people phoning up for accommodation for that same night but had to turn them away because we were full with people who had booked only two or three days earlier!  So there's still hope for August.  Also, do a search on Google for free websites, many will give you an introductory two or three months free.  Do it again with the keywords in French to see what French websites pop up - these are invariably cheaper than the UK sites.  I've just had a quick look at your website and may I make a couple of suggestions?  You don't have any photos of the house or rooms - as our current guests said this morning "we like to know what we're getting ourselves into"  so this could deter some people as often no pictures means it's not that nice (not that I'm suggesting your place isn't of course!!!)  You also say you have two bedrooms with private bathrooms and a third with shared facilities.  Who are they sharing with?  I know that certainly Gites de France do not allow guests to share your own facilities and I'm not sure if that's a general ruling or specific to them. Your pricing is a little ambiguous in that you say prices are for full board, breakfast, lunch and dinner (God, you're going to be busy! Breakfast and dinner usually keeps me pretty fully occupied) but then you say that you "suggest" people eat out at local restaurants at least twice, so is it full board or not? The dates for all your specific breaks also run back to back more or less.  So this is going to deter anyone who wants to come independently for one or two nights - and certainly now at this time of year you'll get a lot of those. Finally, on your booking page you ask for full payment at least 8 weeks before arrival.  And cancellation must be at least 8 weeks before arrival or the full amount will be charged.  I know you're doing activity holidays but this is most unusual for B&B and again, could deter people and will certainly stop any last minute bookings. Please take all of the above as constructive criticism and not just knocking you.  They are all things that could hinder your bookings.

I have a supply of an excellent map, provided by our local tourist office, giving all the markets in Manche, both regular and summer.  List below of the area you're interested in: Barneville-Carteret - Saturday.  Summer market Thursday and Sunday Portbail - Tuesday La Haye du Puits Wednesday St Germain sur Ay - Thursday. Summer market Sunday Lessay - Tuesday Creances - Sunday Pirou - Sunday.  Summer market Wednesday and Friday Gouville - Friday.  Summer market Sunday Coutainville - Tuesday and Saturday Le Passous - Thursday Montmartin sur Mer - Wednesday Hauteville sur Mer - Sunday.  Summer market Tuesday to Saturday Coutances - Thursday Hope that's useful.