Lay My Hat

Does any one have any ideas on attracting American clients who are wine and food lovers?

We get about two U.S. and some years a couple of Aussie families a year from the dreaded HA.

I have been told from a 100% reliable source in the last month that gite de France are now in link with Expedia who are US based, so if you really want guests from that country they would be your best bet.
Can tell you the only enquiry we have ever had from that country came with a fullscape page of their pre-requirements and they were extensive, thankfully we already had a booking covering the period they were enquiring about..

HA again but make sure the kettle is empty

chipiechoo wrote:I have been told from a 100% reliable source in the last month that gite de France are now in link with Expedia who are US based, so if you really want guests from that country they would be your best bet.
Can tell you the only enquiry we have ever had from that country came with a fullscape page of their pre-requirements and they were extensive, thankfully we already had a booking covering the period they were enquiring about..

Expedia have everything - HA, OD and all the European subs.
World Domination !

I would not bother. Our experience is they ask a million questions, take no notice of the answers you give. Constantly on the phone from the gite with ridiculous questions or complaints. When they leave they just walk away, no attempt at cleaning. No attempt to speak the language, just shout loud. Better off without them.

Frenchlady wrote:I would not bother. Our experience is they ask a million questions, take no notice of the answers you give. Constantly on the phone from the gite with ridiculous questions or complaints. When they leave they just walk away, no attempt at cleaning. No attempt to speak the language, just shout loud. Better off without them.

I hate to agree but that is my experience as well....that they are very demanding guests. There is an awful lot they find very different in Europe but they still want it to be up to their standards...whatever they are. To a one they have all wanted clean towels everyday (no they don't want to wash their own) and don't understand the term self catering....removal of rubbish is always an issue.
Happily this is at villas I've managed and not our own.

Mousie
x

I'm sorry to have to agree too. American tourists are not very tolerant of differences in culture to their own.

Their beds are huge so even our king size are smaller than they anticipate and don't even begin with the coffee making requirements ……………………...

I have to say, my experience is similar. I recall one American potential guest who became enraged because I couldn’t tell him the exact distance (in miles) to the beach. My usual reply of “about 25 minutes” was totally unacceptable, it seems, so he rang off. I probably had a lucky escape.

Mols

I've been really lucky it seems, we usually get one or two US bookings per year and they have been great. I make it clear in my emails what I do and don't offer. There have been some amusing misunderstandings but nothing serious.

"Hi, you mentioned a shopping delivery service. Could we order shopping delivered for our arrival tomorrow?"

"Sorry, no. It's now Saturday night, the supermarket has closed, they need up to 48 hours notice at busy times, and anyway they don't deliver on Sundays. It does say that you need to let me know well in advance, and I did ask you twice, since you have a late Sunday arrival"

"This is in advance! In New York normally an hour in advance is plenty! "

lol. They were very nice about it, once they'd thought it through, and they had a good laugh at themselves




I guess I have been lucky

I know this is the French forum and I am in the UK but this is really weird as all our American guests since 2006 (and I have lots, including some who have returned -some 6 times, some 9 and lots of 2-4 times) have been delightful, save for ONE exception. Some are now true friends. I find them much cleaner, generally speaking, than British guests as they seem to have a great deal of pride in leaving things nicely. Many bring me presents. None have been demanding, as some of you have experienced. Am I somehow capturing all the nice ones???

Many visit France as well as they make a big trip of it every couple of years, visiting one or two countries in Europe. I could put a list of recommended places in France in my cottage information files if that might help? They are pretty much all keen on food! It tends to be the ones of Italian origin ( I haven't been aware of any who had French ancestors) who are big into wine as most are keener on beer. But food features highly with most! I originally 'sourced' my Americans through VRBO but I have switched my focus to houfy.com now where you can write and publish guides (on food and drink in your locality?) to draw people in through google. That really is the way everything is going - information on your site or a site like Houfy to capture the people you want to attract. I am a self-confessed lover of American visitors!