Information Packs

[HappyExPat]

Can anyone point me in the direction of an example Information Pack for prospective holiday makers in our gites - do and don'ts etc?

I would also be interested to hear what other experienced gite owners put in their Welcome Packs.

Thanks

Sue

[Musicmonkey<ADDRESS><STRONG>Musicmonkey<STRONG><ADDRESS>]

Sue,  my information pack is actually a ring binder which covers all sorts of information broadly as follows:-

1.  Welcome

2. Quirks of the house, important info

3.  Emergency contact nos, also local doctor, dentist and who to contact in case of problems at the house.  Where to find candles and matches.

4  Electricity as in charges, usage, not being wasteful, etc.  Meter readings and where to find fuse box just in case

5. Water, questions as to whether safe to drink or not, heating it, etc

6.  Use of WC and ensuring no undesirable 'extras' are placed in there because of the fosse, also kitchen waste mentioned here

7.  Rubbish disposal - where?

8. Where to find the various appliance manuals and translations into English for those that are in French

9.  Use of TV, stereo, etc.

10. What's available to guests to use, barbecue, etc

11.  Restate no smoking, no pet policy

12. Tourist information, backed up by leaflets

13.  Details of local shop, and opening hours,  local market day and nearest supermarket location

 

Naturally, your own situation will depend on what you need to impart to your guests about your particular house/region.  We do not normally supply a welcome pack but we did at Christmas and supplied, bread, milk, juice, tea, coffee, jam, eggs, water, wine, chocolates and butter and it cost €16.

 

Having just re-read your post, I may have got the wrong end of the stick as I think you meant to send out to guests before they have booked with you.  I don't have anything as grand as an information pack.  Most of the information will have come from the website, and or booking form, conditions.  Then about two weeks before the holiday commences, we send keys with directions telling them that there is information at the house.

 

[HappyExPat]

Thanks musicmonkey you got it exactly right.

Sue

[vrooje<BR>Cheers,<br>-Brooke<BR><br><B><A TARGET=blank HREF="http:www.experienceburgundy.com">http:www.experienceburgundy.com<A><B>]

We have a welcome pack that we send to clients when we receive their final payment. It includes directions from the highway, illustrated directions, instructions for key retrieval, and a list of our favorite area restaurants to help the client anticipate their arrival.

Once they arrive, our information booklet details any specific instructions or quirks for each room, as well as information on supermarkets and farmer's markets, rubbish collection days, information about the fuse boxes, emergency numbers, etc. There's also some information about local sights, but we have also provided brochures for that purpose.

[GRT17]

We do much the same as Brooke.

Re. Tourist information leaflets:

Speaking as someone who works in a tourist office (in U.K), do sort through brochures etc. on a regular basis and make sure the information is kept up to date. It can be really annoying to find out of date information in the files.

Gill

[Causette]

My approach is the same as Music Monkey's, and a ring binder with all the pages in plastic sleeves makes it so easy to update as necessary.   I keep tourist info in separate wallets (children, restaurants, culture, walks etc)

I chose to supply a welcome pack though, and find that guests have really appreciated it.  It doesn't need to cost much and sometimes can make you the favoured option, esp if someone is trying to choose between 2 similar gites on offer.

My welcome pack usually includes baguette or croissants (depends if the latter is on special offer at the supermarket that day!); home made jam (I always make too much anyway, and the small jars go down a treat!); butter; 6 eggs (free from neighbour's hens as I produce things on the PC for her from time to time); orange juice; a small local cheese - whichever is cheaper that week. 

It is a very small percentage of the cost of the cottage rent, and my return rate is so high I must be doing something right!   Returning guests get a bottle of cider added to their basket (I buy it from a local producer at a good price in exchange for putting some of his cards on the kitchen noticeboard).

There is always a supply of tea, coffee, condiments, dishwasher tablets and plenty of loo roll.  The latter I found important to tell guests beforehand, as otherwise, they will bring lovely thick Andrex with them, which fosse septiques just detest

Hope this is helpful,