Gites-de-france.fr & Gites.com
Mar 22nd, 2006, 10:58 AM
#3
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Hi,
They are very different indeed. As they write in their website "Gite.com is a North American-based company, specializing in Internet marketing of interesting properties in France. Ourhigh-trafficwebsite is designed to assist professional homeowners who derive their income from renting holiday homes, or rooms in small hotels, B&Bs or inns. We maintain a very focused and highly effective service targeting Internet users throughout the world."
Actually they take 179$ for 6 months to place an ad.
Gites de France are more official and first of all they are French! The gîtes are rated.
We had a thread a few months ago :
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34660245
They are very different indeed. As they write in their website "Gite.com is a North American-based company, specializing in Internet marketing of interesting properties in France. Ourhigh-trafficwebsite is designed to assist professional homeowners who derive their income from renting holiday homes, or rooms in small hotels, B&Bs or inns. We maintain a very focused and highly effective service targeting Internet users throughout the world."
Actually they take 179$ for 6 months to place an ad.
Gites de France are more official and first of all they are French! The gîtes are rated.
We had a thread a few months ago :
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34660245
Mar 22nd, 2006, 11:14 AM
#4
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The Gites-de-France is a France government operated system. We have rented over 25 different Gites from them. I am not familiar with the other site, but I'm guessing it is either a British firm or a US firm.
The Gites de France program has over 40,000 gites available in France. I think the other is considerably smaller. Searching for a Gite & renting one using Gites-de-France is administered within each department in France - there are about 90 of them.
Although I have never used the Gites.com, I suspect:
Comparable Gites are more expensive on Gites.com - someone has to pay the middle-man
You may find more luxurious Gites on Gites.com
Using Gites-de-France, once you select a gite, you either reserve & rent it directly from the proprietor, or through the Department's central reservation service - the specific Gite listing will tell you which method to use for that Gite. You can reserve on line also if you rent from the central reservation office in the Dept. All contracts, and most correspondence will be in French. If you do not understand any French, and are uncomfortable about renting a home from someone you do no fully understand, then Gites-de-France is not for you.
Last year in June, we rented a great Gite in Provence. Three bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, kitchen, dining room, dishwasher, clothes washer, detached house surrounded by vineyards & olive trees. Nicely decorated interior. A very large private swimminmg pool, we could not see any neighbors, a short walk to town where there are many cafe's and a great weekly farmer's market. Centrally located in Provence. It rented for 700E per week in June - considerably higher in July. Don't ask me for any more info on this one - we plan to rent it again next year.
Stu Dudley
The Gites de France program has over 40,000 gites available in France. I think the other is considerably smaller. Searching for a Gite & renting one using Gites-de-France is administered within each department in France - there are about 90 of them.
Although I have never used the Gites.com, I suspect:
Comparable Gites are more expensive on Gites.com - someone has to pay the middle-man
You may find more luxurious Gites on Gites.com
Using Gites-de-France, once you select a gite, you either reserve & rent it directly from the proprietor, or through the Department's central reservation service - the specific Gite listing will tell you which method to use for that Gite. You can reserve on line also if you rent from the central reservation office in the Dept. All contracts, and most correspondence will be in French. If you do not understand any French, and are uncomfortable about renting a home from someone you do no fully understand, then Gites-de-France is not for you.
Last year in June, we rented a great Gite in Provence. Three bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, kitchen, dining room, dishwasher, clothes washer, detached house surrounded by vineyards & olive trees. Nicely decorated interior. A very large private swimminmg pool, we could not see any neighbors, a short walk to town where there are many cafe's and a great weekly farmer's market. Centrally located in Provence. It rented for 700E per week in June - considerably higher in July. Don't ask me for any more info on this one - we plan to rent it again next year.
Stu Dudley
Mar 23rd, 2006, 12:48 PM
#6
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My experience with gite.com is different in that we have several listings with them for properties we manage (our house was the second listing they had). From our end, we find them very professional. The person who developed the site is French - a journalist who also has one of the best French restaurants in Toronto,and has been head of the Alliance Francaise in Toronto. Obviously your experience will depend a lot on the house you choose, but gite.com puts a lot of care into the site. Like most similar property sites, the entries are provided by the owners. For those of you using the site, they provide room for lots of description and photos. But unlike most of the others we have dealt with,each entry - text and photographs - is reviewed, and the owners' questioned where necessary. (for example the adjective 'charming' is NOT allowed on any house) Of the various sites we have used as house owners, this has been consistently the best. Hope you find it so as a user.
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