bed making

[Wilko]

Hi

Do you make the beds and clean the rooms on a daily basis for your guests?

Thanks for your help

Wilko

[Coco]

I check daily and if they haven't made their own bed (99% of cases) then obviously I do.  I don't do a thorough clean EVERY day, just swish round loos, sinks etc. make sure towels are dry or hang them out to dry.  Change towels every two days anyway and bed linen every 4 days, depending on length of stay, obviously not if they're only here for 5!  Do a good clean after 4 days.

[naps]

Sorry to slightly hi-jack, but you mentioned that you change the bed linen every 4th day, how often do you change your own bed?

[lizzy h]

I always ask my guests if they want their rooms cleaned daily and 99% say no, I donot go into the rooms without prior permission, I change the towels every 2 days and change the bed after 1 weeks stay I always ask the guests to let me know if they want their bins emptied and they usually leave the bin bag outside the room

hope this helps

[Coco]

[quote user="naps"]

Sorry to slightly hi-jack, but you mentioned that you change the bed linen every 4th day, how often do you change your own bed?

[/quote]

I don't quite see the relevance, but once a week.  I feel with B&B it's slightly different, I mean, I don't change my own towels every two days but I do for guests. People like to think they're getting something for their money.  I also make sure that when I change the linen it isn't like for like, I make sure it's a totally different style of linen, so that it's obvious it's been changed.  And it usually doesn't go unnoticed, I inevitably get a comment along the lines of "I see you changed the bed linen today, thank you".  I don't know if they wouldn't care if it wasn't changed but I try wherever possible to pre-empt areas that could lead to a potential complaint.  If they were staying for less than a week, say 5 or 6 days then I'm not that regimented that I would change the linen on the 4th day, I would probably leave the same linen on for the whole stay.  However, if someone is staying for 7,8 or 9 days then I change it twice during that time and there's no point leaving it 7 days if they're only staying for 9!

[Cerise]

My own routine seems pretty much the same as St Amour's.  I like to keep on top of bathrooms otherwise there is big scrubbing at the end of a week.  If guests don't vacate their room during a day it doesn't get done and if their bed is covered in clothes and personal effects it doesn't get made.  I always ask guests to let me know if they want extra clean towels/sheets.  Mid-week sheet change if people are staying 7/8 days, but some people don't want that.  I believe one of the association (Clévacances?) recommends every other day sheet changes, but that seems a terrible waste of resources to me.

On slightly different subject, I supply boxes of Kleenex for rooms but am wondering if I should also supply cottonwool pads for removing make-up.  I seem to have had a large number of ladies removing make up with the towels recently.  I'm sure they wouldn't do that at home.  Do you think some make-up removal pads in the bathrooms would improve that or would they still be just as lazy?

Maggi

[Quillan]

[quote user="Cerise"]

I believe one of the association (Clévacances?) recommends every other day sheet changes, but that seems a terrible waste of resources to me.

[/quote]

It's not Clévacances (in our area anyway), their guidelines are much the same a GDF, every 4 days for sheets and towels. We do clean the bedroom every day, empty bins, replenish tea and coffee, new toilet rolls, dry the towels and make the beds. We make a point of telling people we enter their room on a daily basis to do this and also tell them it's only us so if there is a problem they know who to see.

[Pads]

yes i think cotton pads are a good idea, although you would think if they wore make up they would bring there own removal stuff with them? do you have a little booklet with house info in your rooms , maybe a small note in there asking ladies not to use the towels to  remove make up!

Its amazing how as soon as people go on holiday they complete loose all  comman sence and probaly dont even think that other people have to use those towels after them! 

Its nice to see im not the only one who gets up at the crack of dawn

[Wendy]

We are in line with everyone else then. We do the towels every other day and new bedlinen on the 4th day.Bins get emptied everyday as some people accumulate an incredible amount of rubbish. Some guests do expect new sheets and towels everyday but Im sure if we had the budget of a Mercure plus the staffing, we'd be able to do that, but how many of us do?. In the summer I only put a sheet and a bedspread on as its too hot, the blanket is in the closet if guests wish to stifle themselves.  I change my own bedlinen when I get the time!. 

[Cassis]

Change all towels, bedlinen and pillowcases for the next guest (obviously). 

For those staying several days, we check the room daily and have a general tidy up, empty bins, vacuum.  If they have clothes and stuff all over their bed we don't make it, otherwise we do.  Air towels daily, change after 2 days.  Clean bathrooms daily.  Change bedlinen after 4 days.

On the makeup front, we got tired of trying to get makeup out of the bathroom hand mitts so we have added a box of makeup remover pads to the bathroom equipment.

Looks like most owners have much the same routine.

[Alan]

[quote user="Cerise"]

.  I believe one of the association (Clévacances?) recommends every other day sheet changes, but that seems a terrible waste of resources to me.

 

Maggi

[/quote]

 

Maggie when the rep came to grade use for our area, we missed the 4 keys because we did not have a tv in the bedroom and one of the double beds was 140 instead of 160 and there was something to do with the shower cant remember off hand. However she asked how oftern beds and towels were changed and we tend to do like everybody else currently on here 4 days for sheets and every two for towels.She told us for 3 keys we had to change the towels every 2 days and if a guest was staying a week the bed had to be changed once within their stay. 4 Keys the beds had to be changed every 2 days and the towels daily

[Miki]

Firstly we mirror, more or less, everyone else on here, regarding linen etc

Secondly, Alan, do you find Clévacances actually works for you, in so

much it brings in sufficient clients ? We know of several people over

the years, that have simply jacked them in, as clients were pretty thin

on the ground through them or have used them, solely to be able to

advertise at their local Maison de Tourisme.

[Alan]

Bit early to say Miki as its our first year with them, currently we have had more booking through them though than either of our other paid and unpaid sites. Ok enquiries have started coming in this week but this time last year we were fully booked for july and august, but its the same for other also in the area this year. We have also found this year we have much more short stays

[Wilko]

Hi

Thanks to all of you for your responses on bed making.

I notice towards the end of the thread discussion re Clevacances and G de Fr, shorter stays and fewer clients etc. When we started last year we decided not to join any of these organisations as I believed that the internet, which was little used by the french originally, would change the way people booked holidays. I believe this to be the case. The french are still somewhat wary of the i/net, half of them telephone to reserve and seem to be a touch astonished when we ask them to email us. We put our site onto a large Avignon based holiday site and last year, our first year, found that 80% of bookings came through it. This yaer the figure is down to 50%, 10% from free sites and the balance coming directly from our own site. However the one place i would like to be is in the Michelin guide rouge which has included c d'hotes for the first time this year. I feel that the 2 aforementioned companies are now seen, to some extent, as disposable middlemen because you can get directly to the owners via the i/net.

Hope the seasons bookings are good.

Thanks for the bed making

Rgds

Wilko

[Cassis]

[quote user="Wilko"]

I feel that the 2 aforementioned companies are now seen, to some extent, as disposable middlemen because you can get directly to the owners via the i/net.

[/quote]

Perhaps a bit harsh on Gites de France.  They and the AA B&B France book (the AA take their details from Gites de France) between them account for only 10% of our bookings but it still covers the cost of subscription many times over.  They are better than any other individual portal we are with.  Also a number of people who have booked with us direct (30% of our bookings come through search engines throwing up our website) have said (without prompting) that they were reassured when they saw we were with Gites de France.  Utter b*ll*cks in my view but that's what they say.

Phil

[Miki]

Wilko,

I will speak purely from a personal view point here.

The internet in France is now absolutely huge. There is nothing one

cannot buy or view on it. We get most of our many (and I truly do mean,

many, bookings through the internet. Many will call, having already

visited one of the numerous sites we are on, a fair percentage coming

through Gîtes de France, the major player by a huge margin in B&B

in France.

We do not have the same reservation pattern you have mentioned. We are

pretty well established, I am not sure if that counts but 4 lots of

guests this month are staying 10 days or more, many others are 4 or 5

days, this is one of the months that many couples go on their vacances

to avoid school holidays. We will witness the same pattern again for

September (noit sure about length of stay being the same but fingers

crossed !). We send very few letters out these days to clients

(Directions and confirmation of cheques), at a quick guess, I would

think one, possibly two a week and some weeks, none at all, most of our

work (enquiries, bookings etc) is now internet based.

As for middlemen, Gîtes de France don't take reservations as such in

this area, all links from our advert come here direct. We pay top money

to be with G de Fr, if it didn't work, we would be away like a shot but

believe me, it works and works extemely well ! We have used the

Internet since 1996 and from a very slow start, it is now obviously the

way forward

but ignoring other types of advertsing, like guide books, is not a good

thing, business wise. We get plenty of folks who arrive with a book of

one kind or another and apart from a couple of B&B guide books, we

are in most of them. We admit, we pay out handsomely for publicity, as

around

us, passing trade can be a lottery, we have 8 B&B's alone in around

2 km's. We need to get bottoms in beds and we know that to do that, we

have to take all possible routes to entice clients to stay with us.

Only a fool would

believe that all one has to do is open the door and hold your hand out

for the dosh (and I am not speaking personally to you wilko)

As Cassis has said about the caché of G de Fr, if we are full and we

suggest another place to the client , many will ask if the other one is

with G de Fr also and what Epis do they have if they are G de Fr. Total

horrocks, well possibly but pretty handy all the same !!

How many rooms are you working with Wilko ?

[Loiseau]

I must say, as a user of B&Bs, that I would go first to the GdF website for the area and then search by number of epis (min 3!) and, in my case, for those that serve evening meals.
Then I visit the websites of the premises I have shortlisted, and make my mind up from there. And if they haven't got a website (nothing too fancy, but something that gives an idea of the atmosphere as well as the charges etc) then they are pretty far down my list.
I always then telephone to book, as I find the French not very quick off the mark in replying to emails - and I am keen to know if I have got accommodation fixed or whether I have to call up another...

Angela

[Coco]

Angela

Have you ever thought at looking at 2 epis properties?  especially as you so often travel alone.  I only ask, because, as Miki knows, I have a big downer on GDF.  Mainly because I have done everything possible to make my B&B as comfortable and smart as possible.  I had it assessed by GDF and they were delighted with it.  Bottom line discussion with the assessor, who said she would be more than happy to take us on board, was "how many epis will you give us?"  TWO she said.  "How can I improvemy property to get three?" I asked.  You can't. You rooms aren't all a minimum of 18 sq metres she replied!!!!  I have since had French guests staying who have proved Miki's point, that they would rather stay in a GDF, and only stayed with us because the local GDFs were full, have told us that we are at least as good as any 3 epis they have stayed in, and can't believe that we have been marked down purely on size of rooms.

Give the 2 epis a chance in future.  At least look at their websites if they appear to be in the area you are looking at and fit the rest of your crieteria!! [:D]

[Miki]

I would go along with that.

We have friends (I think I may have said this before ?) who have two

rooms of 3 Epis and 2 rooms of 2 Epis ratings and although they are all

quite lovely and to the eye, the 2 Epis rooms equally as good as the 3

Epis rooms, it is purely the size of the room and I have come to think,

that is rather silly, as they could quite easily ensure the owners give

the size

per room on their website or if no website, on their own site. There

can be other reasons though for losing an Epis, like no private

shower/toilet room for the bedroom and I think that is what everyone

really wants these days.

[Cerise]

St Amour - I couldn't agree more.  In my case my bathrooms are not quite big enough.  Perfectly adequate for the many satisfied customers from all over the world who stay here - but lacking several centimetres in the eyes of GdF.  Well regret to say that for me they are just another form of advertising and I don't want people to be put off by a low grading.  The fact that the present shower-rooms were the orignal rooms 'cabinet de toilettes' with potty and wash stands and that altering their walls would completely destroy the charm of my lovely house seems to have escaped their notice.  Other sites are prepared to let me be 'luxurious' 'elegant' etc and I have no problem being inspected but I do find the inflexibility rather silly.  As Miki says size (if it matters[:)]) could be mentioned in advertising.  All I can say is if the shower room was big enough for the enormous American couple I had here last year - did rather fear for my wall hung toilet - then I can't really see it being too small for the smaller French botties.

Each to their own however and I know that GdF works for many - just seems too expensive and too rigid for me.  French clients who make up about 40% of our total certainly don't seem bothered by the lack. Have asked and they say they can look at internet sites these days so can see for themselves kind of accommodation offered.

[Coco]

[quote user="Cerise"]

Each to their own however and I know that GdF works for many - just seems too expensive and too rigid for me.  French clients who make up about 40% of our total certainly don't seem bothered by the lack. Have asked and they say they can look at internet sites these days so can see for themselves kind of accommodation offered.

[/quote]

I think that's right Maggi.  I noticed that when I check where the traffic to my website is coming from it is nearly all from two French sites that I am on.  They still like to enquire by phone though!!

[Cassis]

[quote user="St Amour"]

"how many epis will you give us?"  TWO she said.  "How can I improve my property to get three?" I asked.  You can't. You rooms aren't all a minimum of 18 sq metres she replied!!!! 

[/quote]

Your GdF assessor was wrong - you only need 18sq m (excluding bathroom) for 4 épis rating.  For 3 épis you need a minimum of 12 sq m excluding sanitaires, with 1.8m (6 ft) headroom.  That is not a big room by any means - 3 metres by 4 metres.  Stick in a double bed, bedside tables, wardrobe and small dressing table and chair and you are left with minimal cat swinging space.  You do need a private bathroom or shower room as well.  Other than that their requirements don't seem very onerous - in fact they seem a bit skimpy.  Clévacances have virtuallt identical requirements.  If your house character (like exposed ceiling beams, sloping ceilings and the like) means that you are borderline for certain criteria, like you are a bit under the room size required, they will bend their rules.  It says so in their charter and they did so in the case of our smallest room.

Blame your assessor - not GdF!  The assessor should also have given you a check list in advance which would have told you this.   If you see him or her again give them a poke in the eye.

Phil

[Loiseau]

[quote user="St Amour"]

Give the 2 epis a chance in future.  At least look at their websites if they appear to be in the area you are looking at and fit the rest of your crieteria!! [:D]

[/quote]

 

Well, maybe I will at that, St Amour and Miki!  I did have one rather gloomy one in the Artois that seemed to be several cuts below what I had begun to regard as the norm - and then on re-examining my GdF book later I found that it had been 2-epi and not the 3 I had originally thought when booking...   So I have tended to play safe after that experience.  It was part of the most amazing medieval farmyard though; by my second night I had almost grown fond of it.  [:)]

Angela

 

[Coco]

[quote user="Cassis"][quote user="St Amour"]

"how many epis will you give us?"  TWO she said.  "How can I improve my property to get three?" I asked.  You can't. You rooms aren't all a minimum of 18 sq metres she replied!!!! 

[/quote]

Your GdF assessor was wrong - you only need 18sq m (excluding bathroom) for 4 épis rating.  For 3 épis you need a minimum of 12 sq m excluding sanitaires, with 1.8m (6 ft) headroom. 
Blame your assessor - not GdF!  The assessor should also have given you a check list in advance which would have told you this.   If you see him or her again give them a poke in the eye.

Phil
[/quote]

I have the GF handbook thingy and I must admit I was absolutely CERTAIN that she would give me 3 epis because I believed I was well in excess of the points issued for the various facilities.  I must have misread the 12sqm and 18sqm thing because I thought that related to 3 and 2 epis.  If it's 4 and 3, then I am easily within the 3 epis range roomsize wise.  One room is about 12.5 - 13 sqm and the other is about 17-18sqm, with the twin room above it (which makes it a family suite) being a good 13sqm.  Our ground floor room is only 10sqm (albeit with a sower room of almost eqivalent size, but I know that is discounted in the epis stakes) but I was going to leave this out of the equation when going for the GDF rating!!

You're right too, Phil, about the assessor.  I think she must have taken a dislike to me because she went through each of my rooms with a fine tothcombe before coming to her 2 epis conclusion and yet I know of another couple, given a 3 epis rating at the same time, where the same assessor juts stood in the doorway to each bedroom and didn't even go in, let alone pull each bed apart as she did at my house!!

I suppose we may reconsider them next year.  It depends how well our independent marketing goes.  I thought we were only doing average so far this year, but having heard from three different tourist offices in the area just how bad they think tourism is this year, and also how few weeks several local gites have booked, I'm beginning to think that we're doing pretty well after all!!!

Does anyone else think that the damned World Cup is having an effect on tourism?  We wondered whether many are staying in the UK for the duration.  We have had loads of Americans so far, and for the next couple of weeks, but virtually no Brits whatsoever!

[Cassis]

We've noticed a drop off in enquiries these last 2 weeks but we put it down to seasonal patterns (this is just our first full year).  But maybe it is the WC (no, not the bad reputation of our toilets).  We do have a lot of bookings in advance for June, July, August and half of September but we took most of them in April and May.

Phil

PS GdF seems to be like everything else - often depends on the individual you're dealing and how they feel like interpreting/ignoring the rules rather then the organisation per se.