Does the French health pass requirement apply to gîte and B&B owners?
Health passes are required in venues offering shared facilities or meals but it is unclear who will check the owners’ passes
The rules suggest that gite and B&B owners should have a valid health pass if their establishments offer guests communal spaces or meals
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Are gîte and B&B owners included in the new health pass requirement for workers?
In theory, gîte and B&B owners who have contact with their guests in properties which offer shared spaces or activities must be able to show a valid health pass, although it is unclear who will check it.
The French health pass (pass sanitaire) obligation extended yesterday (August 30) to staff coming into contact with customers in places where the public is required to show a valid pass to enter.
This includes restaurants, bars, swimming pools, zoos, cinemas and concert halls.
Read more: French health pass mandatory for 1.8 million workers from today
But the government legislation surrounding this requirement does not refer to gîtes, B&Bs (chambres d’hôtes) or guesthouses.
However, the law does state that hotel guests – and therefore staff – are obliged to show a health pass if they have access to shared facilities such as a swimming pool, restaurant, bar or communal kitchen.
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The health pass requirement does not apply to establishments with no shared spaces or activities or to guests ordering meals provided through room service.
Several news outlets, including Franceinfo, have taken the word ‘hotel’ to apply to all types of holiday establishments, including gîtes and B&Bs.
The association Gîtes de France, which groups together 70,000 holiday properties across France, has also stated on its website that the health pass is mandatory in “rentals which offer breakfast and evening meals, or which offer communal activity spaces (living rooms, kitchens, swimming pools etc)”.
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“This applies to B&Bs, gîtes accommodating various groups from different households, campsites [and] holiday villages,” it said.
If, as the government website states, members of staff are required to show a health pass in any areas where customers are also subject to the obligation, gîte and B&B owners offering shared spaces must in theory have a valid pass too.
“It is not required for rentals that only offer accommodation for one individual or family or that do not have shared spaces,” Gîtes de France added.
It means people offering individual gîtes or rooms that do not have a restaurant, bar, shared swimming pool or garden space are exempt from the requirement.
In addition, if the property owner does not come into contact with their guests at all, they will not need a health pass.
The government has said that it will fall to employers or managers to inspect the health passes of their employees but how checks will be carried out in the case of self-employed gîte and B&B owners has not been explained.
The Connexion has contacted Gîtes de France for clarification but has yet to receive a response.
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