Leave out any delicate antiques or ornaments that you are fond of! But also, don't cobble together all the bits of furniture you have been longing to get rid of. Good quality, strong furniture and equipment is essential. As you shop, consider the continual use it will face- and that not all holiday makers will be as careful as you would like. Accidents do happen. Folding plastic dining chairs will last no time at all whereas a solid simple wood chair could last years.

Things will get broken, this is always a hidden cost of letting. But careful choices of furniture and other equipment will help minimize the damage. Tiled and wood floors are super throughout. Fitted carpets are likely to become stained and unsightly, it is easier to clean or replace a rug. Washable covers on soft furnishings are another good idea- and a spare set of covers will help when they do need removing for washing.

You are likely to have personal items that you do not want to share with your clients. Have a lockable cupboard into which you pack them every time you leave your French holiday home.

 


LIVING ROOM
The living room should have enough comfy seating for the maximum number of holidaymakers that you say your French holiday home can accommodate. A good sized, sturdy coffee table or full height table is essential. Either to play board games or fill in colouring books, putting drinks on etc. If you advertise as child friendly a coffee table will probably get jumped on by the little dears so it's worth looking for solid sturdy construction. Side tables are a good addition as people are always looking for somewhere to put drinks.

Light bright walls and airy space does look better and more appealing in a website than characterful clutter which can look dark in a small photo.

It's usual to provide good storage for things like phones ipods books wallets and all the usual paraphernalia of being on holiday. This can either be a sideboard or a set of shelves. If you are advertising to families with small children, their parents will appreciate a high shelf or two to put valuables out of the way. A lockable sideboard is a good alternatve.

The march of the TV goes on and people seem to expect a TV and probably a DVD player for rainy days or to keep the aforementioned kids quiet. If you have any old films you could leave them there as a mini DVD library. Todays flat screens are good because they can be mounted on walls and are hopefully out of reach of accidents.

A mini hi fi with an ipod dock or an aux lead to allow an mp3 player to be plugged in is a good idea.Provide a few books in English that you've read and aren't bothered about. People will appreciate the books and some people will swap a novel and leave one of their own, especially if you mention this in your welcome pack.

If the cost of transporting your English furniture abroad is prohibitive, there are a few IKEAS in France and this is a good place to start. IKEA furniture is usually easy to keep clean with no dirt catching crevices. Despite its reputation if you choose well, they have sturdy, clean looking furniture.

You may want to decorate your French holiday home in a french country cottage style. This can look great, but consider that if you are letting to holidaymakers this can be harder to keep clean than the straight lines and surfaces of a modern look. This is NOT to say you should just do a soulless bland look. By all means, inject a bit of your personality, shabby chic looks nice and pictures on walls will add a bit of warmth, but consider practical use by strangers, you are not just decorating for yourself anymore.

Holiday makers have accidents and may not use your furniture as you would.

TELEPHONES - INCOMING CALLS ONLY

A telephone landline is not essential these days but if you do decide to provide one, France Telecom do a service where you can accept only incoming calls and not allow outgoing ones. France Telecom have English language operators so you can phone them directly and arrange this.

DINING
Whether your dining area is in the kitchen, a lounge diner or a separate dining room, simple rules apply. Firstly you need a table and enough chairs for the maximum number of people that your french holiday home accommodates. Make sure the table has a wipe clean surface and hopefully not any deep wood grooves which attract crumbs and grease. If you do have a table like this you could provide a plastic type wipeable tablecloth or two. This sounds naff but you can get some decent plasticised fabric from John Lewis' fabric department that is attractive and long lasting. It will also protect the surface of your treasured wooden table. When providing eating facilities it's definitely a case of cleanliness is next to Godliness.

You need enough plates, bowls for cereal or soup,sideplates,cups, mugs, wine glasses, and larger glasses for juice or beer, knives and forks spoons etc for the maximum number of renters. We recommend two sittings worth so that your guests don't have to wash up between every single meal.

KITCHEN
The kitchen is of prime importance- just as at home.
People place great store on washing machines, microwaves and if you can fit one in a dishwasher is a good draw. It is essential that work tops, unit fronts and flooring are easy to keep spotless - and important that your cleaner knows how vital this is. Even a few crumbs or specks of grease can turn people off your home completely. If those same crumbs have attracted ants or mice you could be looking at serious propblems.

Crockery, cutlery, pans and other utensils should match. And make sure there are plenty for the maximum number your home can accommodate. We'd recommend enough for two sittings so that holiday makers don't have to wash up between every single meal. Wine glasses and taller glasses for beer or juice. Plastic cups and plastic 'glasses' for the little ones.

If you're lucky enough to have a pool, provide plastic glasses and insist that your guests use these in the pool area. Broken glass and bare feet are not a good combination and having to empty your pool to get rid of broken glass is ludicrously expensive. Plastic glasses have moved on a lot and don't have the same hideous reputation as they used to. John Lewis, TK Maxx offer good quality plastic glasses.

Provide a good supply of tea towels, and kitchen cloths. Sharp knives for chopping veg etc and the ability to keep these out of the reach of children, perhaps on a magnetic strip on the wall? Chopping board, corkscrew and bottle opener are essential and kitchen scissors are always useful.

Provide an electric kettle and a coffee maker of some kind. A good size cafetierre is fine. Keep a good supply of loo rolls and  kitchen towels so there is always a roll to start off guests. Leave a bottle of washing liquid and a few dishwasher tablets for before the guests get to the supermarket.

RUBBISH !
Most areas of France now have compulsory recycling. Refuse collectors will simply not collect rubbish if it has not been sorted. So you need to make this easy for your guests by providing different bins and label them for the recycling needs in your area. Eg paper, food, glass, tins and plastic. Different communes will lumps different ones together in the same bin eg tins and plastic, paper, glass. So check in your area how many bins you need. They don't need to be expensive but basic plastic wipe clean bins from the local supermarket.

OUTSIDE
Don't forget outside furniture- enough chairs and table for the whole party and a lounger is a good idea for at least every adult the property sleeps. Beautiful hardwood looks great but it will be left outside come rain or shine and will get blown over and red wine spilled on it. It will soon become a liability not a luxury. The ubiquitous white plastic is fine, green plastic is better! A barbecue is considered essential and not a luxury. A bag of charcoal to get them started costs a few euros and will be enormously appreciated. Don't forget some matches (left out of reach of small children).

WELCOME PACK

You'll need to leave a Guest Manual for your French holiday home (see below).

In addition you may want to leave a welcome pack of food, drinks etc. This is optional. You're French holiday home is self catering. However in our cottage we leave a welcome pack which all fits into a sturdy bag for life from a French supermarket. We don't live in France and our changeover lady leaves one out for each set of renters on the day they arrive.

This welcome pack is intended just to get them started in case they arrive late and haven't managed to get to the shop. It's obviously not a luxury pack but a stop gap. We did try to offer things like bacon and eggs and bread but have found that providing fresh stuff is quite difficult to coordinate from the UK.

Our bag contains, one toilet roll (essential if you leave nothing else, make sure you have at least one of these). One bottle of sparkling wine, One carton of orange juice, one set of blowing bubbles to keep the kids quiet while the adults unpack, crayons and paper ditto, we have a table tennis table so leave one table tennis ball, one pan scourer, one dishcloth, one dishwasher tablet, washing machine tablet, tea bags, instant coffee.

In addition to an individual welcome bag there is washing up liquid in the kitchen as well as salt, pepper & dried herbs.

WELCOME PACK: COST Vs BENEFITS
There's no doubt that incoming guests will  appreciate a  supply of basic foods like salt , pepper , sugar, tea , coffee and olive oil. This is relatively inexpensive and will be affordable over a season's lets. (Put coffee, tea, oil etc. in smaller containers, it's just to get them started before their first visit to the supermarket).

However you could go further and provide fresh bread and milk, juices,pasta cheeses and eggs etc. This will cost money and cut into your income so consider whether it is worth it and how hard it is for you to get the shopping in the first place. If you do provide a welcome pack, mention it on your website. Often their greatest advantage to guests is that they will not need to pack and carry them.

BEDROOMS
Twin beds are more versatile for families with children, while couples like double beds and the larger the better. King size beds can be mentioned as a selling point in your website. Try to get the right balance of beds  for your target market. Also provide: bedside tables and bedside lights wardrobe and cupboard space- with good quality coat hangers Provide waterproof matress protectors for young children- it will stop parents having to worry every time their little darlings hit the sack! If you are providing linen, two sets will allow for washing in between changeovers. Guests who are flying will need linen to be provided, whereas those driving are usually able to bring their own, so it is up to you whether you offer it or not.

BATHROOM
Cleanliness is a must here so if you are buying new fittings look for smooth cleanable surfaces. A shelf or cabinet near the sink is preferable to one over the sink. Heavy things can fall out of bathroom cabinets and smash the porcelain sink underneath. Accidents like this are best avoided, especially if you are trying to effect repairs from a different country. A mirror above the sink is essential.

Toilets should be spotless and try to leave a couple of loo rolls. We do, but just to make sure we give each guest one seperately on arrival. If we've just left them in the bathroom the departing family may have stuffed them in the car to use as tissues on their way home, leaving the incoming guests without any.

It's amazing how many French holiday home owners fail to provide simple hooks for people to hang their clothes and towels on. Don't be one of these, the cost is minimal and keeps your guests' dry clothes off a wet floor.

Guests usually provide their own towels, especially beach towels. This is fine If they are driving to their French holiday home,but if they are flying you may wish to offer towels as they canl take up too much space in their luggage.

THE GUEST MANUAL
This contains all the information about your France property that may be of use to your guests. If you give your clients keys, rather than have someone meet and greet, your Guest Manual will be of special importance- it must answer all their initial questions. Points it must cover include:

Instructions for all the appliances in the property
how to work the heating and hot water
rubbish disposal arrangements
pool instructions and advice
community restrictions if applicable
where are the nearest shops and supermarkets- with opening times
nearest doctor and pharmacy
contact numbers in case of emergency- particularly that of your local contact.

TOP TIP
Make sure you remind any enquirers of your home's good points when you reply to their enquiries. They may have enquired about several homes and have forgotten which one is which. Make sure you feature all your good facilities on your website, don't leave it for people to assume.