For owners of property in an attractive area, opening a B&B is an opportunity to expand your business financially, professionally or just for the pleasure of entertaining. Let's take a look at the options available to you.
Whatever your reasons for taking the plunge, opening a gîte is not something you can improvise. Whether it's by the sea, in the country or in the mountains, you need to know a few basics about the regulations, the tax system applicable to your income and, above all, your degree of personal involvement.
Gite or bed and breakfast, that is the question?
Whether you choose one or the other, there are of course differences concerning the services offered but also concerning your involvement. Don't lose sight of the fact that with a bed and breakfast, you will have your guests in your house and... at breakfast. With a gite, they will be in a house belonging to you, but also a little at home because they will be able to prepare their meals. This changes everything!
You have to know what you want to develop as a rental offer because gites and guest rooms do not have the same vocation.
A gîte, also called a furnished tourist accommodation, is an apartment or a house offered for seasonal rental for a variable period. The accommodation consists of rooms, a kitchen and sanitary facilities.
The inhabitants can live there in a completely autonomous way. It is fully equipped, except for the linen, and the owner (who is not necessarily on site) does not provide the meals either.
A bed and breakfast is, as its name indicates, a room in the owner's home, but independent of the owner's residence, rented by the night.
As in a hotel, sheets are provided and breakfast is included.
Qualities required for the owner
It is important to know that opening a gite is very demanding. Certain qualities must be present and in particular:
- to have a sense of welcome, hospitality, to like to exchange and receive, to be patient, diplomatic and friendly (while knowing how to be discreet and keep your distance so as not to become invasive)...
- to know how to promote your location.
At a time when bookings come mainly from the Internet and social networks, it is important to communicate through this medium and to have a site that gives desire, with photos and testimonials of customers. Also think about the more traditional networks (tourist guides, tourist offices, works councils... without forgetting the good old "word of mouth" which has already proved its worth);
- be available. Running a gîte means being present and operational almost full time.
- be versatile and handyman. You will be a switchboard operator, a cleaner, a gardener, a decorator, an accountant, a plumber, an electrician...
- be up to date on the tourist activities offered in the area.
The good plan of the unusual lodgingsTheholiday makers are fond of them...and all year long. A good idea for an investment that will pay off quickly: a bubble, a yurt or a trailer. Make your choice!
A certified gite for quality services
Having a label is synonymous with quality services. The best known are Gîtes de France and Clévacances for example. Obtaining the precious label is done in several steps, from the expertise of the project to the final visit, carried out by experts, vigilant to the respect of the standards. All accommodations are checked, selected and labeled according to precise comfort criteria and a national quality charter.
By requesting a label, you will benefit from a better visibility and a greater notoriety towards your future guests thanks to :
?- the strength of a network synonymous with experience and a key player in tourism. The label is a guarantee of competitive commercial visibility compared to other vacation rental methods that may exist;
? the guarantee for customers to rent a property that is subject to rigorous and regular monitoring;
?- the assurance of meeting the expectations of a clientele that is increasingly demanding and attentive to its quality of life during the vacations;
?- the possibility to benefit from a personalized follow-up to adapt your accommodation to the market evolutions, to follow trainings, to obtain answers to all your questions whether they are legal or fiscal.
A gite for an investment or a full time job
The question is to know if opening a gite is for you a change of life with a new professional activity or only an investment to have a complementary income. Indeed, if it is an occasional activity, you will not be obliged as a private individual to register with the Trade and Companies Registry because it remains accessory. It is complementary to a professional activity. Therefore, it does not give you the status of a merchant. You can therefore include the income from your rental in your income tax return.
On the other hand, if this activity is carried out on a full-time basis, i.e. the exploitation of gîtes is done on a regular basis, you will have to choose a legal status to declare the income from the rental.You will have to register at the RCS and choose a legal status to manage this activity: individual company, company... Get advice from a professional because each case is different.
Micro-foncier or real regimeThefirst one allows you to benefit from a 50% deduction on the receipts and 71% if the gite is classified as "furnished for tourism". The other one allows to declare the rents minus all the operating expenses.
Stéphanie Swiklinski