woolybanana Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Well, the first wave of grandparents are drawing their first sigh of relief - the Juilletists are congratulating each other on their survival, and beginning the great return to normality, plus getting away for a well deserved rest.Slowly that slightly, exhausted look will disappear, colour will return to their cheeks and they will hold each other with a weak smile and a muttered "We have survived".Whilst the Aoutians are just beginning their calvaire, with up to a month of one, two, three or even four grandchildren tearing the place apart, making every surface sticky, terrifying the pets who will go into hiding under the shed for the month, demolishing the garden and the rest. Oh, and rendering them poor for the rest of the year as the wily parents will have left a list of fournitures scolaires which "perhaps they wouldn't might filling as stuff is so much cheaper here at the coast/in the country"Pray for them, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Bah Humbug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 So, they avoid you, then? Well done!How is the grumpy ol' man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Adept at Viber (that is a messenger, not something your heated imagination should get worked up about) [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I've noticed the changeover too, Wooly. Especially in the supermarkets which were crowded up to last Wed. , quiet on Friday, and buzzing again this morning. Also the market in Mirande.Even our quiet little village has a few new families today - we (our commune, not us personally!) have a gite business and a B&B business. I went to empty the rubbish at our communal bins, and saw a grandad with his son and their baby having a look round.The others were cyclists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I am getting a lot of bookings for Friday and Saturday nights, 100% large Dutch families on their way or returning from gîte rentals either in Normandie or the sud. So far this summer is a disaster compared to previous years, advance bookings 50% + down (and 50% of them will cancel) July I worked harder than ever to maintain occupancy at reduced rates, €4K and 35% down on last year. Its the British and Australians/South Africans that are absent, the former probably due to the exchange rate, the latter I believe due to les attentats across the whole of Europe, last year I had a big wave of cancellations from down under following the Paris attentats but the availability was all swallowed up at the last minute by their fellow countrymen who were not put off, I could always rely on them to snatch up empty rooms at the very last moment, I could have a no show and put the apartment back on line at 18.00 and it would go, I really miss them, a Battlefield guide, one of the few to speak honestly rather than bigging it up said that his business was own 75% last year. I have very few bookings for August but last year it was all sold out by June, then came the cancellations but they were all taken up albeit at lower rates, I am having to work on demand pricing twice a day every day. Are these Juilletists and Aoutists all renting for 4 weeks? - that would bore me senseless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindal1000 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I can't imagine Australians being put off by terrorist threats. Do the Australians that stay with you come direct from Aus, or have they been living /working in Uk before their visit. If so more likely to be due to exchange rate as they will be earning in £s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 They come from OZ/NZ/RSA, nine times out of 10 an extended family group on a long holiday visiting several European countries including the UK. Clearly some are not phased or I would not have any to ask about it, there is a general feeling amongst them that Europe is not safe to visit at present, TBF that was from earlier in the year, a lot of them take holidays in our winter time to avoid the heat of their summer, they tend to be couples without children or retired. The fear or a bad exchange rate will not put off those determined to pay their respects to their grandparents who are buried here, for the others especially those with children to consider there are many idyllic and cheap (compared to Europe) destinations within a couple of hours flying time from their continent, Europe can wait for another year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 One change from 2016 is that last year it was the 100th anniversary of the Somme. This year it is Ypres 3rd battle (AKA Passchendaele). Has there been some diversion of visitors from France to Belgium perhaps? Might explain the tour guide's experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Tour guide was talking to me last summer. Many many visitors do a 2 stop visit of Ypres, and the Somme or the Somme and Normandie, looking at the TV pictures there are nowhere near the numbers at Ypres as there were here last July 1st. I believe and later on will probably have the figures to prove it, is that there has been an explosion of hebergement offered by individuals following the erroneous belief that everyone here made a fortune on the 1st of july, true there were hundreds of thousands of visitors but just for one or two nights, the nights that we all are fully booked years in advance, the centenary made no difference to us, i t was the hébergeurs outside of the area 50 - 100kms away that had a bumper week-end. 2 years ago there was no-one on AirBnB, last summer 3 of which 2 were unregistered chancers (yes I see the irony) one of which offering an inflatable mattress in a spare room, a month ago there were 36 within a 5km radius of myself most of which unregistered, there are probably even more now, as there were only 6 established and registered hôtels and CDH's in that radius clearly the new black economy will have had an effect, the positive thing is that those with much higher overheads than me will really be feeling the pinch, we have all had to drop prices. I have one apartment empty tonight, I have just withdrawn it so I can go to bed, the hôtel Ibis was showing 7 spare but that is just with Booking.com who they only put a proportion of rooms with, a young friend worked for them till recently and I know that they were always at 100% throughout July and August, my year round occupancy trounces theirs, I can see from their car park that their occupancy is really down. I can be at 100% occupancy 10 months of the year with short term workers and business people, this July I have worked much harder than last year to maintain the occupancy but for 35% less revenue, if August is the same then maybe next year I will just take a holiday like all the workers, if I were intending to stay and this was my living for the future then thats what I would do, but as I want to sell then I need the maximum chiffre d'affaires, I will be having an expert valuation soon but I reckon the value is down by €200K from what it might have been. However I am not someone to project lines on graphs, things change, I made X last year with 4 apartments logically it should be 1.25X this year with 5. Merde happens and then you die! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 You would be able to follow this news item from France 3; but you may have to be on Fessebeurk to watch ithttps://www.facebook.com/FR3LanguedocRoussillon/videos/1591135497594926/?hc_ref=ARSOYtGtLED9eJMUBAmvCy8Zze--vc6NsTZqDc_QpOiGz55-rHwC0HR4PiJzuJ-UfuM&pnref=storyAlso here perhaps:http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/occitanie/herault/palavas/occitanie-grandes-vacances-petits-budgets-commercants-sont-inquiets-1304961.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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