Lifestyle
SIMPLY LIVING FRANCE
PAGE 14
Welcome to The Hotel Inspector
A Good Night’s Sleep
A
t your service to answer all your queries about running a gite or B&B in France.
One of the attractions of a life in France is more for less. You suddenly have a larger than average spread or indeed an out building or two, ripe for conversion. You also have the means to make a bit extra or go all-out and make it a complex for holidaymakers, sounds very simple doesn’t it? Build it and they will come? Of course, ah but maybe not! Is it that easy? Do you know what you are doing? Are you wasting your money? In this new series, we will endeavour to lighten the load and offer you tips and real-time advice on how to make it pay or when to walk away! We will cover all areas. Nothing is off limits finances, marketing, cleaning, maintenance, interiors, exteriors, social media and how to make your business sing! Today, we chat about beds and answer a ‘help me’ question about a gite that isn’t getting bookings.
That is all the average holidaymaker wants, right? Right. So, how do you make that happen, I mean, we are all built differently aren’t we? Here are our tips for ensuring your guests get all the shuteye they need: 1. Buy big strong frames. Your guests can be, height-wise between 5’2 or 6’7 and weigh anything from 50 kg upwards! 2. Avoid footboards if you can, as tall people will struggle. 3. Think very carefully before buying an upholstered head-board. Think about body fluids and cleaning! 4. Buy as big as you can. Depending on your market, Americans, Canadians and Australians like big beds. 5. Buy hotel-quality mattresses in medium to firm. People with back and neck issues, which is half the population over 45, will not thank you for a very soft bed! 6. To make sure your mattress lasts, you can buy a firm mattress and add a topper to soften the blow. 7. Make sure you buy hypoallergenic bedding. Always use white bedding which looks clean or grey, there is no in between. Do buy your quilt one size bigger than needed. This makes sure everyone gets a bit of the quilt.
