Vegan/vegetarian

For everything specific to B&Bs as opposed to holiday rentals.
Tournesol
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Vegan/vegetarian

Post by Tournesol »

Can anyone give me some ideas where to reach our target clientele for holidays? So far the vegan/veggie magazines and websites seem to cost a fortune to advertise on.
We are getting plenty of one, sometimes two night bookings from mostly French people on their way to and from their holidays but had originally planned the vegan/vegetarian as our "usp".
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Ecosse
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Post by Ecosse »

Are the 1 or 2 nighters vegan/veggies, or are they just booking you because you're in a convenient location? Just asking as vegetarianism (and especially veganism) isn't as big in France as it is in other countries, so it may not be a great usp to aim for if you're looking to attract a lot of guests.

However, I do know of businesses around here (Alps) making a tidy living by marketing their place as a vegan/vegetarian yoga retreat, or a mindfulness retreat. There's usually a yoga/mindfulness teacher involved... are there any teachers in your area that you could hook up with? The advantage being that they tend to do all the marketing and bookings, while all you have to do is provide the accommodation.
JanB
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Post by JanB »

Personally, I would not be tempted to go too far down the exclusive vegan/vegetarian route as you could be narrowing your market considerably.

I like the idea of being offered a veggie alternative breakfast but, for me, that would not be the sole reason for staying somewhere.

If you are getting plenty of bookings, I would continue looking at other ways of attracting guests, rather than the veggie focus, as you could be losing out on a wider spread of potential guests.

Good luck!
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French Cricket
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Post by French Cricket »

We ran veggie/vegan places for many years in UK (including a restaurant) but have been here now for 11 years and the market has almost certainly changed. We're now self-catering but for the first 7 years here ran chambres d'hôtes where we specialised in veggie but weren't exclusively so.

In France, I'd say somewhere around a third of our guests were veggie - or one of a couple was - but many of our non-veggies chose to eat veggie with us just because they liked the sound of our food! Most found us directly via our website, which was very heavily optimised for vegetarian food, with lots of sample menus, pictures of our food, recipes and recommendations for where veggies could eat out locally. A handful came through Organic Holidays.

There are quite a few French sites listing vegetarian places to stay now - this one, for example: http://www.veggie-hotels.com/4-2-Hotels ... UZS#Europe Several more to be explored if you Google.

I think it's perfectly good to have veggie/vegan as your usp, but I think you have to market very positively - ie to show how original and interesting your cooking is rather than focus on what it doesn't contain.

This is a soap box subject for me so I'm going to stop before I get going :lol:
Martha
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Post by Martha »

"with lots of sample menus, pictures of our food, recipes and recommendations for where veggies could eat out locally"

I agree with all of this - we're self-catering but I'm veggie myself.

You really need pictures and menus so that people are reassured that the food will be delicious. I've stayed in some terrible places advertising as veggie/ vegan, and also at many non-veggie places where the veg options were so good that the proprietors always made extra as everyone wanted some.

I would look at adding a blog (or at least some extra pages) to the site with details about the food, sample menus, local producers...make it clear that you aren't the 'hair shirt' type and the food is inspiring and tasty. I would include some dishes that are easy for everyone to understand and that kids usually like EG veggie lasagne. Recipes are a great idea.

I would definitely add a list of good places for vegetarians to eat locally as this is something that people frequently research before they visit somewhere. I have a blog post on this which does very well. A quick Google on "vegetarian Charente' suggests there's room for a good article! You could include interesting local producers and specialities as well.

Add yourself here too:
https://www.happycow.net/vegtopics/trav ... ats#france

Also, this isn't what you asked I know but I think some more pictures of the rooms would be good - there seem to only be pictures of one room?
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Tournesol
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Vegan/vegetarian

Post by Tournesol »

Thanks for all the input. Will look at all the suggestions when I have a few minutes; rushed off our feet at the mo!
What you've never had you never miss!
petitbois
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Post by petitbois »

best & most successful veggie B&B/gite/spa in Charente is Under The Lime Tree - she is always fully booked, has written cookbooks, has a fb page, blog etc - her food is amazing - also open to non-residents I have sent many veggie guests her way & lost them to her in the process, but her place is amazing & it has taken her years to reach this stage, but the hard work paid off.
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PW in Polemi
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Post by PW in Polemi »

French Cricket wrote:... but many of our non-veggies chose to eat veggie with us just because they liked the sound of our food!
I'm a meat eater, but there is one particular taverna nearby that every time we visit, I always order from their vegetarian selection as not only does the description make it sound delicious, I have found over the years it tastes delicious! Fortunately for me, they change their menu every couple of years so I can happily eat my way through their veggie selection (with an Eastern Mediterranean twist) and not get bored. OH likes his chunk of steak (the cow must be almost dead :roll: ) but he will happily eat their spinach & feta pie and ignore the meat choices.

As somebody else has already said, it's all in the presentation, from the name of the dish, and the description of what it actually is, to the actual dish itself. A good writer can set your taste buds off before you've seen, smelt or tasted the dish.
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Tournesol
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Vegan/vegetarian

Post by Tournesol »

petitbois wrote:best & most successful veggie B&B/gite/spa in Charente is Under The Lime Tree - she is always fully booked, has written cookbooks, has a fb page, blog etc - her food is amazing - also open to non-residents I have sent many veggie guests her way & lost them to her in the process, but her place is amazing & it has taken her years to reach this stage, but the hard work paid off.
I have just (unbeknown to him) booked OH a meal there for his birthday later this month... and closed for the night, which I'm sure he'll moan about, but we both need a break!
What you've never had you never miss!
aasta
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Post by aasta »

Veggie-Hotels, Vegan holidays, Responsible Travel, Organic Holidays, Sawday´s, and Green Travel have been excellent sites for us....and 2 to 3 ads per year in the German veggie/vegan/whole foods magazine Schrot&Korn which is available for free in Natural Food Stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
aasta
Tournesol
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Vegan/vegetarian

Post by Tournesol »

Thanks, will check them out.
What you've never had you never miss!
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