heating

[Wilko]

We have taken several bookings for the winter months. A number of people have asked for out of season discounts. However as the rooms are electrically heated it means that the overhead will be higher than during the summer months, therefore the profit will be lower. Is there a method by which one can charge the client for their use of electric heating ie some sort of metering system for each room whereby one adds this to their bill at the end of their stay or is there another solution.

Pleased to receive your comments on this. Thankyou

Rgds Wilko

www.maspomona.com 

[Quillan]

I don't know about charging for it but to register with either GDF of Clévacance the rule is.:

"Bedrooms and living areas must contain some perminant form of heating (electrical, central, individual or collective) to ensure a minimum temperature of 19 deg C. In French overseas possessions, stand alone or ceiling fans are compulsory for each individual room."

Bit of a pain as we have electric heating and we are on Tempo so it can be expensive.

[mascamps.com]

Can't really be helped I'm afraid. Out of season people do cost most yet they expect to pay less and you can't avoid that if you want the business.

In an ideal world, you'd set your prices to fill the place all the time but that can mean selling rooms below cost outside the summer.

What we tend to do is to close down a number of rooms over the winter and, unless we get a lot more people this winter than last, will probably close down from mid-Jan to mid-Feb when it's not really economic to heat the place.

 

Arnold

 

[okalani<P>Sarha<P><P>Okalani chambres et tables dhotes<]

I think that you just have to decide what your price is and stick to it regardless of season - people either want to come and stay at your b&b or they don't!  I find that by telling people that I don't inflate my prices in the summer and advertise the same sort of price all year round that nobody has asked me for a "winter" discount.

Prices are not written in stone, you can quote what you want at the time of enquiry.  If your website has prices "from" you can get round this problem, also if you have for example., garden rooms, roadside rooms you can offer different prices.  People like to think that they are getting a bargain.

 

 

 

 

[mascamps.com]

Ah, but depending on how you look at it, you're either underpricing in the summer or overpricing in the winter. There's something of an ongoing debate on the seasonal pricing issue on the forum.

I'm not totally sure that you can quote what you like. You can probably get away with it if you quote prices below the price displayed at your place but the reverse probably isn't a runner.

One thing that you did put in my mind is the possibility of different pricing for our "inside" (ie overlooking the courtyard) rooms vs our "outside" rooms (overlooking the vineyards). Interestingly, we would be able to get more for the inside rooms than the outside rooms in the winter because they always get the sun but in the summer for the same reason the reverse situation applies and people generally prefer the outside rooms as they're cooler. I like the principle of this but will have to mull over the practicalities of multiple pricing in this way.

 

Arnold

 

[Guest CFrost]

Hi wilko

We stayed in a gite earlier this year and they had a meter system just for the heating ( other leccy was included).  It took euro coins for about an hours heating I think. Sorry I can't think what the meter was called, but if i remember, I will pm you.

Kimberley