betoulle

very sound advice as always Quillan.....we do watch the show but only because we are in the same business....if we were still in the UK in our old professions would probably not be interested as we tend to avoid watching reality shows normally......  I do however, know of a place in France which was featured on Grand Designs approx 8 yrs back who are still fully booked due to constant re-runs of the show.......so maybe it can be beneficial....  However, another well know B&B which had its own mini-series a few years ago has some dreadful reviews on TA from possibly the sort of people who watched & then visited to deliberately 'pick holes'........ it takes all sorts & one nasty review can ruin you....  Will watch the 3 in a bed series in France however, as it will be interesting to see who does agree to take part.  If the long, hard winter we are forecast does materialise though, the programme will not sell some regions of France to the viewing public.

best soup recipe ever is HFW's Butternut Nutbutter soup - am convinced its addictive.......

we have just heard from a Ch4 researcher & reading between the lines of her questions they are looking for people who are going to be competitive, bitchy, picky, critical & a general pain in the proverbial.....plus they want to film during the winter months, so we are not interested, but it should make good viewing.....

& further to my posting in July the guests did not bring a portable grill, but did use the microwave extensively - they ate in for the entire 11 day period - mainly microwave meals...... had such a wonderful time they are coming back next year for more of the same....

quite agree - generally if you treat the guests with respect they will treat you the same - hate Cd'H with signs everywhere, we like our guests to feel at home with us....... any little quirks we have (blue towels are pool towels, try not to leave wet towels on the ends of the antique, upholstered beds, use trays from kitchen to room) we mention when we show them the room.  For the most part we just let them do what they want & during the summer months very few of our guests leave the premises as they feel so relaxed.   Hope you have all had a good season - we are starting to unwind as the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter.....pool cover goes on soon, one less thing to worry about......shame about the pile of ironing getting ever higher as each day goes by......

we learnt early on that guests these days (in all the years we were B&B guests we have never done this or even thought about it) will arrive with food & drink to have in their rooms, & after various incidents (chicken carcasses in bins, mouldy milk down drains, bags of cheese hanging on door handles & baths full of beer) we set up a coin cuisine with 2 large fridges, microwave, enough crockery, cutlery, glassware, microwave dishes etc for 8 people & I would say the majority of our guests now picnic on their terrace.  It is certainly one reason why we have so many repeat bookings.  Have never had any fights between guests, though at times the kitchen turns into a student squat which does infuriate me as I have enough to do without doing peoples washing up..... & I find when we are full I do need to empty the bins several times a day.  It really bugs me when the trays provided are not used & drinks are spilt all along the corridor (this happened this weekend & have spent the day steam cleaning the carpets.....)We do not allow BBQs or offer access to our kitchen facilities - have some guests due next week who have asked if they can bring a portable grill - to which we have responded no......with a wooden upper terrace, strong winds & drought we are a high fire risk....fingers crossed they dont sneak one in.... There will always be guests who push you to the limit, but vast majority are no trouble.

we attract a lot of families during the summer & despite the cold & wet it does get used a lot - last week's family were in there every day - in wetsuits - & have reserved to return next year.  So I guess it depends on your market, location & other facilities on offer.  Like Quillan it is not used much outside of July & August, our tennis court is the main attraction which is available year round.  A tip we were given by GdF - only declare it for the months of July & August, then you only have to pay for 2 inspections - the price goes up every year...

in answer to the 3 questions: yes yes yes surely if you have paying guests they have to be allowed to use all your leisure facilities...it would be a very severe B&B owner who had a pool & didn't allow guests to use it - certainly wouldn't get any repeat custom which those of us who have been doing this now for 10 years/more will tell you is the secret to success...

le parc de l'Abrègement à Bioussac is a beautiful garden to visit;  2 great restaurants in Nanteuil;  the nearby village of Verteuil;  the chateau at La Rochefoucauld; Angouleme.....that should fill the 3 days easily

Apologies on behalf of myself, Quillan & Catalpa but we have all been doing this for several years & May/June is the time when each year we think 'Oh God, no more free time till October...' at the risk of being a little Pythonesque - Quillan you have it good - a 2 hr siesta??  you're lucky.....  the bottom line is only do it if you are used to working with the public & have experienced the more quirky side of people's behaviour & attitudes to who is generally perceived as being their slave for the duration of their stay with you - it takes all sorts & we have met some great people who return every year & are now our best friends, but every once in a while you will get the guest who takes advantage, treats you badly & who you are glad to see the back of.  In these days of Trip Advisor we always have to be nice, so a relaxed & slightly detached attitude is needed together with a love of people.  I agree it is nothing like having friends to stay, but having said that they do pay, which the friends generally don't, so some positives to having paying guests, but it is no picnic & extremely hard work being 'on call for 24/7' for 5 months a year.....  rant over..... you caught us all at a bad time...back to the 56 pillowcases waiting to be ironed, prep for tomorrows breakfast (we dont offer evening meals, but do offer a more extensive breakfast than necessary probably, but it brings them back every year....) last quick check before next guests arrive (probably late...) etc etc....

well if you charge that amount, you will be permanently full & will have no more spare time at all....especially if you get back to back 1 nighters for 3 rooms, you will spend your summer cleaning, washing & ironing, though thankfully with only the 1 toilet to clean...... sorry for appearing cynical, but we have 4 rooms & 2 gites with 9 toilets for guest use between them - spending most of my time working as a glorified cleaner at present, so touched a nerve.... dependent on your area & what else you have on site as to what you charge, but certain nationalities will love it if you charge that much & doubt you would make much profit......... if you followed my previous suggestion & offered 2 rooms + a private sitting room with cooking facilities would have thought you could charge double that rate, with less work involved & possibility of offering self catering if there is a demand, or when you get tired....  Good luck..

Have to admit I agree with Quillan's suggestion bearing in mind they have 3 bedrooms which would be sharing a bathroom/WC might be stretching the rules a little, & personally while I would probably be OK sharing a bathroom with one other couple, the potential of sharing a bathroom between 3 couples, possibly with children as well would put me off staying.  The queue in the morning could be a nightmare.  I would turn the rooms into a 2 bedroom apartment with the 3rd room being a kitchen/diner/living space.  It would give some flexibility as B&B would still be an option off season as many guests particularly in the cooler months like a private sitting area with some cooking facilities.   Breakfast could be served there - I have stayed in just such a place in Provence & it was proving to be a very good money earner for the owner.

my colleague (ex president of GdF for the region) in the village has a 3 bedroomed 4 epi chambres d'hotes.  Out of interest her 2 king size rooms share a bathroom & WC, so she only makes them available to couples/family travelling together (allegedly...)  She is at the top of the market listed with Michelin, Bienvenue au Chateau, Sawdays etc.  Now it may be because of who she is, I do not know...but when we have our inspections GdF have always been very pleased with our en suite facilities, saying that shared bathrooms are interdit for anything over 2 epis.  With all the regrading things will probably change & more rules will be brought in & of course costs will escalate..

not at lunchtime - they have a selection of formules starting at 10,90 euros.....& a lovely setting.

no great restaurants in Confolens, but on the N141 en route for Oradour there is the Vieux Moulin at Etagnac which offers a very good formule at lunch time & the excellent L'Auryvan near St Junien http://www.lauryvan.fr/

look at the last series of Raymond Blancs Kitchen secrets website - fantastic cherry clafoutis recipe....

we are in the Charente & when the bees came into our roof & under the tiles last year, the pompiers came to blast them - cost was 80 euros.

there is another very nice vet (good with pets) between Benest & Champagne Mouton.  We have several friends who use him when taking pets back & forth.

ask at the Mairie - our local office works out of a tabac in the nearby town.  The Gendarmes came to inspect & do the paperwork for them.

Paul Clarke of Arbres & Abeilles is running beekeeping classes & holding regular keepers meetings at their nursery near Civray - highly recommended - google their website for details

look on eBay

Wait till the fruit is red in colour & you will find it much nicer to eat.  Can also make a fruit butter/cheese with it - delicious...

oops, forgot to mention that if catering for just a couple in the B&B we do find that the majority of our guests like to drink, so need somewhere to store wine, beer, tonic, coke etc...  Before we set up our coin cuisine we had baths full of beer bottles, bottles of milk in the showers, mouldy cheese in dressing table drawers, empty pizza boxes & chicken carcasses in the waste bins & needed to offer our guests access to our fridges which did not work out as invariably they spent a lot of time in our kitchen & some of our food & drink went walkabout...  If concerned about having guests in your home, then the secret to everyones happiness & comfort is to give all of you privacy.  Those who don't want to be in a family home & object to you having children or pets etc won't come & stay in the first place.....  Those who are OK with it will not cause you any problems (fingers crossed) & as with the gites the secret to success is happy guests who become regulars & hence friends who you look forward to seeing every year.

Further to Quillan's excellent responses (though how many of us actually sit down to have breakfast with our guests as stipulated by GdF is debatable.....it would be impossible for 90% of the time) another idea is to turn the dining room adjacent to the guest bedroom into a guest sitting area with coin cuisine, equipped with a fridge, microwave, kettle, tea & coffee facilities & games/books etc.  If you place a TV & DVD player in there as well then the B&B room turns into a suite & you could charge a little more....alternatively you could have a single bed/divan in there & turn it into a family suite which would be fine for sharing a bathroom & again you could increase your rates & accommodate more at peak times.  GDF have no problems with 2 rooms sharing a bathroom if it is only offered as a family suite, I have a colleague in the village who was for 15yrs president of our GdF & she offers 2 double rooms with shared bathroom, supposedly only for 1 couple or a family/2 couples travelling together.  We have both CdH & gites & frequently have B&B guests staying who are part of the family/friends of guests in 1 or both gites - another thought for your marketing.  I have another friend who successfully increases her gite occupancy in the summer this way - it is ideal for grandparents who want to be with their family but also have some independence & privacy. You will also find that you will get more bookings for the B&B if there is a small facility for storing food & being able to make tea & coffee with a possibility of having a take away or picnic - extremely popular with our guests, especially if you provide some private outdoor seating areas where they can have some privacy from their hosts - also gives you more privacy.

forgot to say that despite having our best ever summer season, like Quillan overall it has been a bad year, obviously not at year end yet, but overall better than last year which was 33% down on the previous 4 years.  Dependant on final figure at year end will be approximately 25% down on our best ever B&B year, BUT the gites side of our business continues to improve each year - that part of our business is 100% from the UK, & payable in sterling.  Have noticed over last 3 years a marked reduction in the number of gite guests eating out & many pack the car with food to bring with them.  Now we have a 'coin cuisine' many more of our B&B guests this year have eaten on their terrace in the evenings - also helped by a fantastic new traiteur who has opened in the village.  Our regulars say they have noticed that the cost of everything has gone up over the last 3 years & not just due to the exchange rate.  Our local restaurant owners though have all commented that the majority of their clientele in the season is from tourists/2nd home owners & far less French eating out in last 2 years - both locals & tourists.  For a couple of local restaurants (French owned) they are being kept going by their regular Brit & Dutch clientele. Like Mayday we are receiving enquiries already for 2011 from new B&B guests & more than usual number of early enquiries for gites.  You just have to take each year as it comes - every one is a surprise we find...take nothing for granted....