The long term trends look poor. There are 500,000 English owned properties in France - that's half a million families that will no longer be renting holiday cottages in France.
We have to say that it doesn't quite feel like that for us. Every year we seem to manage sufficient "fullness" to be happy with the outcome. Even this year when summer was rained off and we had to pay French taxes for the first time. As inveterate holiday cottage renters in earlier times we decided upon several things when we started on the venture:-
A holiday cottage does not have to be big enough to live in - just big enough to be enjoyable for a fortnight. Small really is beautiful.
The things that go wrong or are missing are the things you would notice yourself, so at the start we made a list of all things we'd ever wanted in a holiday cottage and provided them all. Next we decided to live in our gites from time to time so that we knew their failings. Sometimes we have been aghast that people have not complained about something or another that we've realized is wrong.
The holiday cottages had to be sufficiently comfortable and welcoming to be a place to live in - even for a fortnight - rather than just a dormitory. We had stayed in dormitories (too uncomfortable to stay in, other than when we were asleep) and didn't want to inflict one on our locataires (=renters).
As a holiday is a time to relax we try to make it so. It helps if everything is included in the price, so no worries about electricity, gas or wood fuel bills. French gite owners (god bless 'em) read the meter before and after your holiday.
If possible we thought each gite or holiday cottage should have its own garden. Quite unimportant if you're off sightseeing every day, but as gardeners we knew we would enjoy providing them.
Finally we decided fairly early on to accept any bookings over three days in length. Changeover days are a pain in the neck for the gite owner (you write off every single Saturday in your life) and inconvenient for holidaymakers who want to have cheap ferry crossings. The odd wasted days are when our gites have their own mini-holiday.
On the whole we may be dinosaurs - throws back to the past when low property prices made financing all this quite straightforward. Now its not that easy even in France.
The supply of cottages to rent for holiday in the UK is tending to decline because "buy to let" schemes, and because realising the capital value of the cottages is more attractive than the rather labour intensive activity of providing people with holidays. So it is in France.
Meanwhile we enjoy ourselves !
Writes on a variety of travel industry and related topics, including airports, French maps, and gites holidays, at www.ruelmain.co.uk for french holidays wine and airport maps and also at www.airportParkingEverywhere.com for world airport parking, hotels and other airport links
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Marriage
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Thursday, 1 November 2007
Orlando Vacation Villa Homes Versus Hotel Rooms
Imagine the scenario, you want to have a large family get together in Orlando or one of the other beautiful Florida destinations. You have tried several hotels some can accommodate you some can't, those that can accommodate you can't guarantee you will be in the same part of the hotel complex let alone the same floor.
Even if you are traveling as a family, many offer 2 Queen sized bedrooms or a King. So if you are taking kids with you it's going to be Mom & Pop in one Queen and the kids in the other. Not much privacy there. Once the kids are asleep and you want to watch a bit of TV you have to keep the volume down low so as not to disturb the kids.
So what's the solution?
Simple, take a look at the many vacation properties available in Florida and particularly the Orlando Area. These luxurious vacation homes are equipped with everything you need to make it your home from home. Almost all of them have private heated pools, some with hot tubs and Jacuzzis. Many have large screen TV's, games consoles such as xbox and PS2 along with games. Others also have games rooms with pool and foosball tables. So after a tiring fun filled day at the theme parks if the kids have any energy left there is something for them to do. Mom & Dad can have some quality time too once the kids are all tucked up in bed. If you wanted to cook some meals instead of eating out all the time, even if it is Breakfast the choice is yours. All the facilities are there at your disposal. Some villa communities have communal areas with a pool, kids play areas, hiking trails and clubhouses too.
What about the cost?
Many times the cost is comparable or cheaper than hotel rooms, depending on the number of travelers. If you take in value for money then Vacation Villas are cheaper than hotels every time. The average cost of of a vacation home that has 4 bedrooms and can sleep up to 10 people (many have sleeper sofas), is around $900 per week. If, lets say, there were 8 people traveling in your group and you stayed in hotel rooms, it could easily cost more than the $900 especially if you had 4 rooms! Bedroom sizes can be as many as 7, often with more than one master suite. These huge villas can sleep up to 16, if you would want that many! For the privacy alone it's got to be worth the money.
When choosing a vacation villa online from a website, you can rest assured that you will be dealt with in an honest and professional manner. All villas have been verified by the site owners as being registered with the state and hold a Hotels license and do indeed exist and are owned by who they say they are. All villas have a competent Management Company that provide any assistance that may be required by you throughout your stay.
When visiting http://www.perfectfloridavillas.com you are able to view the property you like see many pictures of it and ask the owner for answers to any questions or requests you may have.
So it's time to break the hotel habit and give vacation villas in Orlando and Florida a try. You wont regret it!
Steve Sewell is a Orlando Villa owner and is part owner of http://www.perfectfloridavillas.com and also owns the informational guide website http://www.perfectfloridaguide.com he has been traveling to Florida for the past 16 years and has built up a wealth of knowledge.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Sewell
Even if you are traveling as a family, many offer 2 Queen sized bedrooms or a King. So if you are taking kids with you it's going to be Mom & Pop in one Queen and the kids in the other. Not much privacy there. Once the kids are asleep and you want to watch a bit of TV you have to keep the volume down low so as not to disturb the kids.
So what's the solution?
Simple, take a look at the many vacation properties available in Florida and particularly the Orlando Area. These luxurious vacation homes are equipped with everything you need to make it your home from home. Almost all of them have private heated pools, some with hot tubs and Jacuzzis. Many have large screen TV's, games consoles such as xbox and PS2 along with games. Others also have games rooms with pool and foosball tables. So after a tiring fun filled day at the theme parks if the kids have any energy left there is something for them to do. Mom & Dad can have some quality time too once the kids are all tucked up in bed. If you wanted to cook some meals instead of eating out all the time, even if it is Breakfast the choice is yours. All the facilities are there at your disposal. Some villa communities have communal areas with a pool, kids play areas, hiking trails and clubhouses too.
What about the cost?
Many times the cost is comparable or cheaper than hotel rooms, depending on the number of travelers. If you take in value for money then Vacation Villas are cheaper than hotels every time. The average cost of of a vacation home that has 4 bedrooms and can sleep up to 10 people (many have sleeper sofas), is around $900 per week. If, lets say, there were 8 people traveling in your group and you stayed in hotel rooms, it could easily cost more than the $900 especially if you had 4 rooms! Bedroom sizes can be as many as 7, often with more than one master suite. These huge villas can sleep up to 16, if you would want that many! For the privacy alone it's got to be worth the money.
When choosing a vacation villa online from a website, you can rest assured that you will be dealt with in an honest and professional manner. All villas have been verified by the site owners as being registered with the state and hold a Hotels license and do indeed exist and are owned by who they say they are. All villas have a competent Management Company that provide any assistance that may be required by you throughout your stay.
When visiting http://www.perfectfloridavillas.com you are able to view the property you like see many pictures of it and ask the owner for answers to any questions or requests you may have.
So it's time to break the hotel habit and give vacation villas in Orlando and Florida a try. You wont regret it!
Steve Sewell is a Orlando Villa owner and is part owner of http://www.perfectfloridavillas.com and also owns the informational guide website http://www.perfectfloridaguide.com he has been traveling to Florida for the past 16 years and has built up a wealth of knowledge.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Sewell
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