Getting a grant to renovate gite

GRANTS and cheap loans are available for the development of rural gites and chambres d’hotes, through departmental and regional councils - you would need to make enquiries. Not all offer assistance and, where they do so, the terms on which it is available are determined locally.

Roughly-speaking, grants of between 25% and 40% of total costs can be obtained but generally with a ceiling on the maximum amount. The higher the number of bed spaces offered at the property, the higher the percentage.

Councils impose conditions, notably that the property should be available to let for a minimum number of years, failing which the grant would need to be repaid. You may also be required to affiliate to Gîtes de France or a similar body, to ensure there are disabled facilities or that the local tourist office is able to market the property through their offices and website. The property will be required to meet minimum standards of comfort, often those of the Gîtes de France.

Some councils also require that the business has been established a number of years before you can apply for an improvement grant. This may not be as bizarre as it seems, as there is a surfeit of chambres d’hotes and gites in many areas of the country and many people struggle to make a decent living out of it. As tempting as these offers may seem, you would be wise to do a broad financial and market appraisal of the outlook for the business, a condition that may also be imposed by the grant provider.

That said, if you are merely proposing to run the business to supplement a retirement pension, then running a gite or chambre d’hotes can be a nice little earner, with attractive tax advantages.

Another commercial strategy is to create a facility that caters for a specific sector of the market (eg. children, the disabled, or for a specific activity), although you need to be certain the market is large enough.

Try also to cater for the French market as well as international tourists, for which a reasonable command of the French language is going to be necessary.