Use of the word "Gite"

[Brier]

First post here - Congratulations on a really useful forum. Perhaps someone can help with a terminology problem:

We visited our local Chambre de Commerce last week and were advised that we couldn't use the word "Gite" to describe our properties unless we were registered with Gites de France. The same thing applied to "Chambre d'Hote" and "Table de Hote" for B&B facilities with or without evening meals. The suggestion was that these terms were registered trademarks or whatever the French equivalent is.

Has anyone else received "official" advice that supports or denies this? Does anyone use any French alternatives other than "Maison a louer"?

Thanks

[paolo]

Welcome to the forum, Brian!

I can't advise on the legality of using 'gite', but I have used the terms 'maison a louer' and more often 'maison de vacance'. A drier one is 'location saisonniere' which equates to 'short-term rental'.

[sleekitbeastie]

We operate as a formally registered SDF (roughly a partnership) and the chamber of commerce listed our activity as ‘location de gîte’.

This doesn’t mean a thing though as both the rules and standards of observance vary. I suspect that gîte is probably OK as it is a valid French word but Gite de France would be in contravention of trade mark rules.

[vrooje]

What does one have to do to be registered with Gites de France?