Gîte Guru
Running a gîte isn’t just about being hospitable.
You need to be a marketeer, an interior designer, a gardener, a bookkeeper, a cleaner, an account manager and a guide. For most of us, it takes years before we have mastered all of these skills and have an efficient and flourishing business.
Franck and Rupert at Gîte Guru can fast-track you by sharing the expertise and knowledge we have gained running our own successful gîte business.
So whether you’re just starting out, or finding it hard to gain momentum, please do contact us for our help.
Optimise your gîte
Creating the best possible product
and service so that your guests
will want to return
Increase your bookings
Creating a strong marketing plan
to extend your season
with good, secure bookings
Save you time and money
Sharing our documents, experience
and money-saving ways
to help you get you further, quicker
We wrote an article for
The Sunday Times in February 2023,
using 3 gîte properties for sale to illustrate different aspects of running gîtes.
We hope you find it interesting!
Our own gîtes
We run Le Mas & Le Mazet in the Dordogne. When we started out we had no experience of running a gîte, we made mistakes and got things wrong. But we learnt, we worked hard on creating two great holiday homes for our guests, a strong marketing plan and a new life for ourselves in France.
We measure our gîtes’ success by our long season, occupancy rate and the number of guests we welcome back every year.
Gïte Guru came about when we were approached to help a couple starting out with a gîte, who wanted to build their business on what we had learned. Since then we have assisted owners of 1-bedroom gîtes and enormous châteaux. Whatever your property, we can help you make it, your service and facilities as good as possible, market it strongly, help ensure your business runs smoothly and your costs remain low.
We are thrilled to have been featured in
The Sunday Times in February 2022,
talking about Le Mas & Le Mazet and Gîte Guru.
It’s a great article, with tips like get an accountant and ditch kitchen cupboard doors!
Looking for inspiration, tips and good ideas?
If you’re only looking for some ideas, inspiration or news relevant to gîtes, please follow us on Instagram.
Karen from Escape to the Chateau: DIY and I have done some live chats which you might find interesting to watch.
Part 1: the difference between B&Bs and gîtes; classification and lots more
Part 2: business registration, tax, marketing and answers to live questions
Part 3: looking for a property with a gîte
Read our article for Sawday’s:
“Rupert Springfield is the owner of Le Mas & Le Mazet, as well as one of the creators of the consultancy service Gîte Guru. He hasn’t literally written the book on gîtes yet, but we assume he’s working on it. Here he talks about the evolution of the gîte, his own mission at Le Mas & Le Mazet ,and shares some tips for making the right choice.”
