More than ever, vacation homes have something to appeal to the French.
In the countryside, in cities or on the coast, they appear as a safety option for meeting with family or friends in the context of the pandemic.
“
It is a product that is well suited to the health crisis with a reassuring, intimate side.
The tenants choose their guests and the number of staff hired in the house
”
,
details Max Aniort, CEO of Collectionist, the French luxury Airbnb.
This platform has a particular credo: to connect owners of luxury villas, exceptional châteaux and other prestigious chalets with lovers of dream vacations, who go with family or friends, without compromising on services or experiences worthy of a palace.
The closure of a large part of hotels and restaurants also works in favor of vacation homes, which offer travelers the possibility of cooking themselves on site while limiting contact.
Houses for rent have better coped with the crisis which is bringing the world of tourism to its knees.
“
The 2021 season promised to be correct in all areas.
Reservations are down by only 20 to 30% depending on the region at the start of the year compared to the same period in 2020,
”says Solange Escure, director of the national federation of Gîtes de France, of which 98% of accommodation is located in rural areas.
In the face of uncertainty, last minute reservations
At Belvilla, Almost one in two reservations for the end of the year celebrations was made at the last minute.
tunach17 - stock.adobe.com
The crisis, on the other hand, has upset booking habits.
Curfews, confinements, closure of tourist sites, entry and exit conditions in the various countries of the world and restrictions imposed by France sometimes evolve rapidly.
In this context, it is difficult to book your next stays with your eyes closed.
The rental of holiday homes is no exception to this general trend of “last minute”.
“
Most reservations are made only a week in advance,
” notes Solange Escure.
At Belvilla, the booking behavior has changed.
Nearly one in two reservations for the end of the year celebrations was made at the last minute (about two weeks in advance), compared to 15% during an ordinary December month.
At the Collectionist, reservations for the months of February, March and April are still low, but Max Aniort expects to have to find more villas at the last minute if government restrictions remain moderate, "
especially on holidays. Easter
”.
Read also: Workation, proximity, environmental concern ... These trends that will redefine travel in 2021
For the summer, longer and better anticipated rentals
On the Collectionist platform, reservations leave with a return to the great classics of holidays in the sun.
The Collectionist
While the winter holidays seem compromised by the announcement of a new confinement, the opposite phenomenon marks reservations: the French are already anticipating longer stays.
“At the start of September, we recorded a lot of bookings for the 2021 holidays, from winter to summer.
We thought then that the bulk of the crisis was behind us,
”observes Corinne Jolly, president of Particulier à Particulier (PAP) and of its seasonal rental subsidiary PAP Vacances.
At the Collectionist, reservations mainly relate to summer, with "
a return to the great classics of sunny holidays, such as
Ibiza
,
Cap-Ferret
, Provence,
Portugal
,
Italy
and
Greece
," explains Max Aniort.
And clients may prefer longer stays.
What changes compared to the previous year are the rental periods.
Several of our houses are rented for three or four weeks, compared to two weeks on average
, ”notes the co-founder of Collectionist.
For its part, Belvilla observes an interest in large capacity houses (8 to 12 people) with a swimming pool and a cleaning service at the end of the rental period.
“
This type of property calls for anticipation.
Like last summer, there will be a strong desire to meet up with family or friends in a security bubble
”, underlines Sophie Gouraud, General Manager France of the OYO Vacation Homes group, to which the Belvilla brand belongs.
All types of houses combined, Ardèche, Provence and Languedoc are already and as in 2020, the most popular destinations on the platform.
Read also: Travel: the 21 destinations to (re) discover in 2021
Cancellation conditions always relaxed
To reassure holidaymakers and encourage them to book, the postponement or cancellation conditions of most rental platforms remain flexible.
Thus
Gîtes de France
customers
can benefit from a refund or a postponement in the event of containment and / or border closure, while at
Airbnb
, each owner applies his own cancellation conditions.
Cancellations related to Covid-19 are excluded, unless the host or traveler is positive for the virus.
“
Travel restrictions imposed by a government authority that prevent or prohibit going, staying or returning from the place of stay
” are among the cases of force majeure listed by the platform.
Depending on the circumstances, travelers then receive a monetary refund, a travel credit or other consideration.
On
Belvilla
, free cancellation is guaranteed up to 21 days before the start of the stay on a selection of houses for bookings made between December 18, 2020 and February 15, 2021. In the event of cancellation forced by the restrictions of the authorities , the platform then offers a voucher valid for three years.
But it is possible to request a refund 6 months after the date of issue of this voucher.
At
Le Collectionist
, the cancellation conditions are always negotiated at the time of booking and included in the rental contract.
They can therefore vary, but customers remain protected in the event of confinement.
“
Our owners are understanding.
We never had a problem, each time the customers' stay was either postponed or reimbursed,
”assures Max Aniort.
Finally on
Papvacances
, only the accommodation whose advertisement has the label "Covid-19 reimbursement guarantee" are automatically reimbursed in full if the owner or tenant is prevented due to contamination with Covid-19, government measures (confinement, ban travel ...) and local decrees (the mayor of Nice is considering banning seasonal rentals during the winter holidays).
“
70% of donors offer this guarantee,
” recalls Corinne Jolly.
A flexibility that we could easily get used to ...
