French Gites - 2 of 5 - SHOULD you run a Gite?

My last post touched on whether you can validly run a Gite.  Before we even talk about tax, the next question is "should you run a gite?"

Gites are generally not a path to riches and many break even after all costs (and asset depreciation) is added in.  You need to think about a lot:

- what is the competition in the area and what is your selling point vs them?  Just adding another gite in an area which already suffers from too many underused gites is not rational.

- what can you really charge? Again, looking at the various booking websites will give you an idea but look for the gites which have actually sold out - not the ones showing lots of vacancies in July and August.

- how often will it be occupied?  Though getting official data on this is not so simple, Internet searches suggest occupation of 110 to 150 days/year might be doable for an established gite.  However, it can vary a lot by area.  Also, some areas limit you to 120 or 90 days.

- costs - as well as income tax (next article) you need to think about insurance, energy costs, cleaning/other running costs and French taxes for owning a house, Tax de Habitation (payable if not your main residence), CFE etc.    

- time - you need to welcome guests, respond to issues, manage planning websites.  Plus clean the gites and maintain any gardens.

So.... if you are taking on a complex of gites to support other income or savings it can be a great idea.  If you are planning on running 1-2 gites and that is your only income stream then think very, very carefully about it.