Advertising self-catering properties in France

[fastdaytears]

Hello,

Does anyone have any suggestions for the best places to advertise a largish (5 bedrooms) French holiday house with private pool etc. It's pet friendly.

We're a bit wary of Trip advisor. Get bookings on Owners Direct but would like to take more.

Whereabouts do people look for properties, or where do other people advertise at the moment?

Please save me from hours of googling. All the sites say that they're awesome but how do you actually know?

Airbnb is getting more & more popular, people are using it more than gîtes de france or the other traditional sites

Ooh thank you. I'd assumed that on Air BnB people expected someone to be on site to welcome them etc. I'll look into it now.

Watch air bnb. They charge ££ commission. Try chez nous.

you do need someone to welcome them, or somewhere for them to pick up the keys... i've been to places where i've never actually met the owners, they pay someone local to do the welcome but, and the cleaning between guests

i don't know about airbnb charges though, i've only ever been a guest

We advertise with Brittany Ferries (Holiday France direct) as all guests benefit from discount on the ferry, and Holiday Lettings as it's tied to Trip Advisor, which is becoming more and more important imho. and is only 3% commission to the owner. I know of people who really get on with Air bnb and Booking.com too. I'd rather not pay their huge commission personally.

ele we have a system for keys and the house is all lovely on arrival with food and stuff as the nice cleaners sort all that for us. it's just I only really thought of Air BnB when the owners live there. I think I've underestimated it!

I agree about the Trip Advisor connection too.

Lots to look at! Thank you both

group accommodation and bigholidayhouse also sleeps12.com and groupstays are websites we have used to book large accommodation in the past. not sure of their rates etc but there are lots of specialist websites out there for larger properties.

Ive booked using Chez Nous before.

I advertise my gite via Owners Direct and Holiday Lettings. The latter is helpful in that I get quite a few customers from the US, Australia and other countries, so it seems to have a wider reach than Owners Direct.

With Holiday Lettings, there are two subscriptions - one is where they take a percentage commission in bookings, the other lets you take control of the process (so whilst it's more expensive to advertise, I chose the option where I manage the process, set the Ts&Cs and receive the deposit and balance in advance of the holiday, whereas those who go for the free option only get paid after guests have checked in). The only downside with Holiday Lettings is that the customer service agents are dreadful (call centre in India I think) and can never resolve any issues. Mostly, it's fine as the website works well. But occasionally they modify things and it proves problematic (but then again, Owners Direct keep buggering up their website too...)

I looked into Airbnb and it would be fine except that I need bookings of at least five nights. A night here or there would cost more in managing, cleaning and seeing people in and out, than I'd get in revenue.

Hi - Try www.gitesearch.com - Its free so its worth a try - they are trying to establish themselves up against the big boys.

Lots of suggestions here but have you looked on the "lay my hat" forum for holiday property owners?

I have booked houses in France for the past few years.

Have used Chez Nous, Home Away and Owners Direct.

For France we always use Gites de France, but I appreciate this is French focused.