Nimportequoi

I use TA for reviews (because people have heard of them) and have a Facebook page for my gites where people can post comments and photos about their holiday. If you are starting a gite business the www.laymyhat.com/forum is very useful.

Not sure where to post this, but as I'm a gite owner, maybe here, although it applies equally to other small businesses who offer free internet access to their clients. Following receipt of my first warning from Hadopi (some guests kindly downloaded something from eMule during their stay in my gite) I need to make more effort to protect my connection from illegal downloading. I don't want to offer an Orange Hotspot as that means guests would pay, so I'm looking at two companies who offer the protection service at with a setup cost and monthly abonnement. http://www.noodo-wifi.com/ http://pico.quickspot.biz/ Their pricing policy is similar - I was just wondering if anyone has any first hand experience of either?

I recently had confirmation from another neighbour that it was the farmer who shot my cat who 'disappeared' last September. I still have my current cats but probably only because they are confined to the house in daylight hours. I have a meeting with the Maire and the President de la Chasse on Saturday morning regarding my neighbour and I will do everything I can to get the his chasse permis withdrawn.

No add ons at all - the heating, pool heating, use of bikes, bed linen, towels etc. all included. I just use ethernet cable with Airport Express for the gites, but they are all connected to my one and only router. Yes, I know there is a risk with Hadopi. But I've done it the same way for 5 years now and never had any problems. My bandwith is only 2Mo so it isn't easy to download or stream films and guests are informed about this in advance.

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]OK - interesting N'importequoi - don't really want to argue about it though. You offer 'fully' inclusive rates do you - no 'add-ons' at all? Bearing in mind that offering some types of 'service' can significantly alter your tax regime...... Chiefluvvie[/quote] Thanks, I know that and am in the appropriate tax régime for all the services offered [:)]

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]OK - interesting N'importequoi - don't really want to argue about it though. You offer 'fully' inclusive rates do you - no 'add-ons' at all? Bearing in mind that offering some types of 'service' can significantly alter your tax regime...... Chiefluvvie[/quote] Thanks, I know that and am in the appropriate tax régime for all the services offered [:)]

Well, I agree with Benjamin - I run a gite business and it costs me nothing extra to give free unlimited internet access to my gites as I have it myself. I don't think you have to be a saddo not to want more than 30 mins per day, particularly if you are "working" on holiday, which some people are. Or you have teenagers staying. Other people bring internet radios, iphones, ipads and they want to send photos home etc....the requirements are increasing for internet access. I don't like 'add ons' and I'd never stay anywhere I was charged for wifi access.

Sounds good, but if I was looking for a gite and had the choice between free unlimited access to internet which many gites offer, or 30 mins per day free with the rest to be paid (you don't say how much it cost!) I know which I'd choose.

PSG don't want Beckham for his football skills, they want him for all the money he will generate for the club.

Ignore my original post - I think the 7% rate will only be applied to existing TVA registered businesses, not all.

At 7% from Jan 2012

Yes main courante, not portante[:$] It is informal and but can act as proof if I decide to porter plainte at some stage in the future. It will just make matters really bad if I porte plaint straight away. The cat is the most important, but there are other things he has done as well (not the least sexual advances - to me and another female neighbour before she remarried). My main problem is that I make a living from the gites and don't want my neighbour to make it difficult for me to carry that out.

I'm so sorry to hear about your car Lou, and I hope he recovers. I've had 2 cats that have been shot and subsequently returned full of lead shot, they recovered but have since disappeared, along with another cat. My farmer neighbour has always said it was foxes, but strangely enough the cats always disappeared during the day, not when out at night, and I now think he is a liar and either him or his son shot them. It really isn't possible for me to fence of some or all of my garden because I have gites and the garden is shared. I'm just keeping the cats in now and letting them out in the evening when it is dark. I'm also going to depost a main portante with the gendarmerie regarding my neighbour's behaviour.

I'd love to shoot my neighbour for a variety of reasons, but don't have a permis, unfortunately. Is it easy for cats to adjust to becoming indoor cats after being outdoor cats? I feel really cruel keeping them in all the time as they always try to 'escape'.

I've spoken to the Mairie (I get on well with them, they don't like my neighbour) but they said he is right up to a point - the cat doesn't have the right to be on their land, but equally, he doesn't have the right to shoot the cat as it isn't on the 'liste animals nuisibles'. Not that that would stop him [:(]  I'm just letting the cat out in the dark now (although I know my neighbour is a rubbish shot). I've lost so many cats now I'm wondering if it is worth keeping them too.With the foxes and hunters, it seems like an ineveitable death sentence for them if they wander.

I don't think I have a leg to stand on, but just wondered what is the situation legally. My neighbour, who is a farmer and hunter, imported rabbits a couple of years ago to 's'amuser avec' - i.e. to shoot and they are now everywhere in large numbers - on my garden, and another neighbour's garden where they have done lots of damage to his potager. My neighbour saw one of my cats on his land, with a baby rabbit in his mouth, and came by yesterday to tell me in no uncertain terms that he, or his hunter friends would not hesitate to shoot my cat if they saw it on his land again and that I should attach the cat. The wild rabbits on his land are his. I know that legally he has a point, my cat shouldn't be on his land, but I can't really fence off my garden to keep the cats in as it is huge. I've already had 2 cats shot (they survived, but ultimately disappeared) and it woudln't surprise me if he was responsible. He is quite happy to shoot on days he shouldn't too, which means I can only let my cat out in the dark now. Has anyone had a similar situation?

I'm on Trip Advisor (voluntarily) because I think that reviews are the way the holiday rental business is going, like it or not. I use TA when I book elsewhere and if you listen to any discussions about it, then most users are clever enough to read between the lines and spot fake or malicious reviews. There are a lot of things I dislike about TA, but people like to read reviews of everything they are going to spend their money on these days and that includes hoildays. If you get a bad review (or something petty) you have the right to reply and as long as you do so in an intelligent, measured and non personal way, I think that can counter a 'bad' review.

If your gas tank isn't empty when they come to collect, you are charged for the gas that remains (that you have already paid for) [:@]

I think that Butagaz are the only company who advertise their prices as they charge the same to all their customers. All the other companies charge individual rates which depend on how long you sign the contract for, how long you have been a customer, whether they deliver top ups when they want or you order each time for a refill etc. I have just ended an 7 year contract with Antargaz (my plumber at the time was obviously on a commsion with them at the time) at quite a steep rate, and in addition they charged a deposit (I paid 700€) when the tank was installed which when it is refunded to me will, in real terms, be worth a lot less than it was in 2002. I have gone with Butagaz as they are honest about what they charge to everyone. If you change it is a PITA as Antargaz have 2 months to remove their tank. You can't just replace one tank with another, I have to have another hole dug for the new tank as I have no idea when Antargaz will remove theirs.

If you are using bottled gas, one thing to be careful of is the life of the hose connector you are using. They all have a date on them (although you can buy quite expensive everlasting ones now) but if something happened and the gas connector was out of date, you might have problems with the insurance.

Have you tried the Gitesdegroup.fr website?

Not all - Christmas and New Year can be lucrative letting periods for big houses - mine is already booked:)

They have taken over Holidaylettings.co.uk (unfortunately). But there is nothing stopping you getting reviews as speciality lodging. Anyone can review anything, you don't have to be listed with TA.

[quote user="Clair"] It is my understanding that a classification (either independent, as mine was 5 years ago and will be again later this year, or via Clévacances or Gites de France) has/will become compulsory for all holiday rentals. [/quote] Thanks for posting Clair - could you also say where your understanding that ALL holiday rentals will need to be classified comes from? Is there a texte for this? One of my gîtes is unclassifiable because the beam in the living area is a few centimetres under the 2m height required - but I manage to let it for 35 weeks per year regardless.

I get quite a few hits on my website from people looking for gites in my area also adding the term 'king size beds'. If that's what you want, then add it when you google.