Im thinking of giving up the gites.

[AnOther]

If you have got the self discipline and organisation to do that then you might just about be able to sweet talk your way out of a spell on Devils Island [:D]

We'll vouch for you too of course [kiss]

[Clair]

[quote user="ErnieY"]If you have got the self discipline and organisation to do that then you might just about be able to sweet talk your way out of a spell on Devils Island [:D]

We'll vouch for you too of course [kiss]

[/quote]

I'm counting on you Ernie![:D]

[babcock]

Plenty of hotels provide internet access - one in Toulouse charging €5 for 20 min! Surely they must have thought through this scenario

[AnOther]

Of course but if a commercial concern like a hotel or Internet cafe are providing such a service then it will almost certainly through a proxy server which can be configured with necessary filtering. This effectively removes the establishments owners from direct liability for the actions of guests or third parties.

Any Gite owner could in fact run such a system. Proxy server is just a fancy name for a PC which is placed between the client (guest) and the internet (router).

Hardware wise it's a very cheap option because it's very undemanding in terms of speed and memory such that even a lowly 486 machine will fulfill the role although you'd probably have to run Linux on it which would imply a modicum of Geekiness to setup and configure [geek]

Don't worry if you're too young to know what a '486' is BTW, that in itself tells you how relatively slow it must compared to contemporary PC's [:'(]

[Chancer]

I am sure that this computer is a 486, or maybe that was the last one I bought before being given this one that might actually be a P166 in reality.

For me no matter how big is the "speed number" each and every one performs slower than the last and takes longer and longer to boot up, yes I understand that this is due to the complexity of the later operating systems ('I think I have XP but am not sure) but for what I do now (surf the web and read/write e-mails) and before (Sage accounting and WP51 woprd processing) speed means how ong after switching on can I use the damned thing, on my first machine, a 286 I got the "C prompt" immediately and could start working; now it is god only knows how long.

[Théière]

[quote user="ErnieY"]I appreciate it is tricky tightrope to walk but as Danny says, ALL activity is down to you the subscriber.

In an extreme scenario, imagine that you had an outwardly perfect guest who was secretly a paedophile and spent his evenings searching for and downloading kiddy porn, or perhaps was a would be terrorist surfing for bomb making instructions and ordering the materials to make one, or planning to assainate Sarkozy. As fanciful and unlikely as these are the fact is the first you would know about it would be when the knock came on your door.

Blocking sites is really only possible and practical on a PC not in a router so if guests are using their own laptops you effectively have no control whatsoever over what they do or where they go. The only way you could exercise a degree of control would be to supply a PC or laptop with appropriate control software on it but even then savvy users will easily get around it.

[/quote]

And if they were the information provided by the ISP would tell them when it occured and you would look up who rented and hand the information over to the authorities. Lets not get too silly here.

[AnOther]

[quote user="teapot"]And if they were the information provided by the ISP would tell them when it occured and you would look up who rented and hand the information over to the authorities. Lets not get too silly here.[/quote]If you leave your Wifi open to all the very best you could say was that whatever went on was coincidental with a certain guest being there, there can be no proof who actually did what. A husband who was a closet paedophile say could take advantage of their presence of guests to cover his tracks blaming it on them.

Silly or not risk can only be managed and mitigated against if you understand that there is one in the first place [:'(]

[Catalpa]

While agreeing about not wanting to get too silly, there's a tendency in France for the individual to be required to prove innocence rather than authority to prove guilt. A resident B&B owner would be an immediate and available target rather than a foreign visitor who, if they were a walk-in rather than a deposit-paying client, might choose to supply inaccurate details.

Even so, most of these "inappropriate content sites" require payment pre-download don't they? So it should be possible to supply sufficient information to suggest downloading was via a guest rather than the proprietor.

Do all B&B / gite owners take passport details or similar or could a cash-paying guest easily lie about addresses etc?

[Théière]

I share your concerns, but the ISP's can tell what machine logged by its internal registration. ErnieY used the "P" word earlier, that would have flagged up a warning somewhere.

[AnOther]

[quote user="teapot"]I share your concerns, but the ISP's can tell what machine logged by its internal registration. ErnieY used the "P" word earlier, that would have flagged up a warning somewhere.[/quote]You mean it's MAC address but there are myriad ways to obscure that. As for the 'P' word flagging up a warning, now who's paranoid [blink] [:)]

[Théière]

Yep, but hiding it could be as guilty as not showing it. It would be (unless you have a large multi occupancy set up) still down to a family or the owner so should not prove too difficult for the pan european anti squad to sort out.

Moi paranoid, bloody right.[;-)]

[Ian]

There are many illegal activities tenants can get up to while renting.  And that includes but is not limited to stuff over the web.  As owners we have to trust our guests to a certain extent.

I don't have shotguns available (!) but do have internet connection.  There are drug smugglers, internet fraudsters and bomb-making terrorists out there (who like a week in the sun) but I have to say I have met more dodgy property managers than I have gite-renters.

Back to Dave's excellent initial posting topic... my recipe for low(er) stress gite-ing is:

• Have your gites a 5 hour drive away from your home (this is excessive - 1-2 hours would be better)
• Employ a professional and reputable property management company to run them (easier said than done but still possible)
• Manage the managers and take several "holidays" in your gites each year to keep an eye on them.

Enjoy your September Dave.

[dave21478]

Well, the season is still in full swing here, despite me attempting to put people off with the old "noisy builders" excuse.

 

The latest couple arrived for the small gite and showed an impressive lack of common sense by driving down the sloping drive and parking their shiny new Dacia Logan in the muddy bog that used to be the lawn (builders have chewed it right up with their Maniscopic, and we had heavy rains yesterday. They have promised to re-do it before they leave)

They decided to pop out for some shopping, and after a few minutes of fruitless wheelspinning, he only succeeded in digging himself deeper, despite my warnings this would happen.

Out came the tow strap....hooked up my Vectra, kicked my heels while he tried to find the ring that screws into the front of his car for towing, eventually pointed it out to him myself, screwed it in and we were ready to go.

It was very unfortunate indeed that I managed to kick up such a huge plume of muddy water and spray it all over his shiny new car. I was very upset and didnt have to stifle my sniggering at all. No, really! Then, showing proper clutch-control rather than gung-ho accelration, I towed him out easilly. He was decidedly ungratefull too.

Should have just left him there.[6]

 

[dave21478]

On a related note - I will moan here rather than start a fairly minor moan in the Driving forum...

What happened to people being able to control their cars? who teaches these people that when they start getting stuck, they should accelerate hard and spin the wheels as much as possible? That sort of thing might work in Hollywood, but in the real world of mud, snow or sand, its just stupidity.[:@]

 

 

[dave21478]

Tomorrow....

Tomorrow the Telly Addicts will leave. Unfortunately, The Complainer is staying on another week.

At the time of their bookings, they were told about the buildingwork in progress and thre associated noise. The Telly Addicts dont appear to be bothered (hard to tell though, I will tell you why in a minute) but The Complainer....well, he is complaining. Often.

The builders are noisy. - Yep, they are stonemasons, not a knitting club! noise is hardly a surprise.

The builders starts early in the morning. - Too right, and long may it continue. They are doing a full days work which pleases me. Its not like he wasnt warned about this.

He cant send emails from his laptop. - If he knew how to use his laptop properly, he might fugure it out. Im not going to tell him out of principal. Im a gite manager, not a tech support drone.

Wifi reception is poor. - How can I tell him in a diplomatic manner that his computer is rubbish? Every other laptop gets perfect reception in that gite. Maybe his self-importance interferes with the signal?

Mobile phone reception is poor. - Yep. If your not with Orange, you get nothing. Even with Orange, it depends on what way the wind blows, whether the cows in the field oppostite are standing up or lying down and whether there is an R in the day. I will ask SFR to install an antenna in the garden will I? This is clearly stated on the website.

There is nothing to do here. - No, there isnt, is there? Its off-season in a small hamlet in a farming area, not Disneyland.

There are countless other niggles too. Not a day has gone by where he hasnt approached me and moaned about something petty.

 

As for the Telly Addicts...how strange! They are a couple who must be mid to late 60`s. They paid a not-insignificant amount of money for their stay, they drove pretty much the entire length of France in an old van to get here. Since arrival, they have sat in the gite and watched telly. All day. Every day.

They leave each morning, go to the shop in the village and buy a few things, then return to the telly, which they watch till late in the evening, then go to bed. Apart fom the brief shopping trips, I dont think they have set foot outside. Not a peep out of them! We only have the 5 basic cannels here, no canal+ or TNT or anything fancy. I dont understand their motivation for coming all this way. As long as they leave the place tidy, Im not worried though.

[Chancer]

Another great posting Dave, long may they continue.

If you want to collaborate on a book one day I reckon between us we have the makings of a winner.

[dave21478]

Today would appear to be the last day of work for the builders. They are going to carry on this evening to finish off, then they will just have to come back tomorrow to collect their equipment and tidy up.

I moved The Complainers into the big gite for their second week for no extra charge as its more comfortable and a little further from the building work, so less noise. This act of goodwill has brought forth a barrage of new complaints. The bath drains too slowly, the stairs creak, the kitchen knives arent sharp enough, blah blah blah blah....he is just nit-picking for the sake of it really. I have been presented with an inventory of discs from the CD collection that are scratched or dirty. [8-)]

 

On the plus-side, I did get to witness them walking their cat today! They have a great big, fat, hissy cat with them as well as their nippy wee yap-dog. The cat is one of those types that are so perfectly grey, they look almost blue. Anyway, seemingly they regularly take it out on a lead when they are at home. Much to my amusement, I watched them take it for a walk up the road. It alternated from being a cat-shaped fluffy kite on the end of the lead, rarely touching the ground and going mental, to being a cat-shaped fluffy brick, being unwillingly dragged along the ground and sulking, before reverting to the kite again. This continued several times untill they gave up and carried it back. [:D]

 

[steve]

you just cant win can you? Whatever you do isnt good enough.

Loved the bit about the cat!

Great stories, keep them coming

Steve

[saumur1883]

I own my own travel company but I don't sell in France.I keep this piece of Heaven to myself !At least I only have to deal with the Public on the telephone.You probably have the good basis for a very entertaining book.The thing is all people are different and most of the time when people work offering a service no matter how good the service they'll still find fault with anything.Thank God I can scream when I come off the phone!or just send a letter.Some things are so trivial but seem like the end of the world to others.

[dave21478]

Hello? Its nearly the end of OCTOBER!. Thats near enough NOVEMBER!

 

WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL COMING HERE??????

The season just hasnt ended.... Why wont everyone just GO AWAY???!!!!

Who was the mythological type who had to push a stone up a hill all day, then it would roll down to the bottom and he had to start again? Im sure thats my destiny - an eternity of damnation and changeover days.

 

 

Anyone else still doing good business?

[Cerise]

Yup - I had people here and they went away last Monday to explore some other parts of France and I thought good and then .... they came back on Thursday and are still here and October has been busier than June and I want them to go away and let me lie down quietly somewhere for a month or two.  There are some others who want to come in November as well, I know I SAY I open all year but that doesn't really mean I want them to come here.  Anyone would think it was a B & B or something.  Oh, it is!

[5-element]

edit: sorry folks, this was a double post.

 

 

[5-element]

[quote user="dave21478"]

 

Who was the mythological type who had to push a stone up a hill all day, then it would roll down to the bottom and he had to start again?

[/quote]

That'll be Sisyphus. My twin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus

[Lori]

This thread has gotten hilarious.  Mind you, I don't run a B&B.

[:)]

[nimportequoi]

[quote user="dave21478"] 

Anyone else still doing good business?

[/quote]

Yes, bookings into mid Nov, then Christmas and New Year, and I'm very happy about it. 2008 has been a very good year, but I've got a feeling 2009 won't be as good for me, bookings are definitely down on this time last year for next summer, so I'm happy to have all the bookings I can get this autumn. Fortunately most of my guests are very nice [:D]