Françoise Guezello, who is at the head of an estate entirely operated in seasonal rentals, shares with us:
– how she was able to achieve increases in turnover despite the pandemic.
– how she overcame her doubts about revenue management and
– why training in revenue management was a crucial element in moving forward.
Domaine de Françoise: https://www.autrement-lieuxdepause-carnac.com/
Telephone number: 06 82 83 19 08
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Hello, and welcome to the channel I display Complete. I hope you're doing well. J'annonce Complet is the channel that helps seasonal rental companies, seasonal rental concierge services, and professional sub-renters to increase their turnover. Today, I am delighted to welcome Françoise Guezello, who honors me with her presence. We're going to talk about his journey, which is extremely interesting. You will see. And we're also going to talk about revenue management coaching, which we did together.
— Welcome Françoise!
— Thank you Elise. Thank you for coming to Carnac.
— Honestly, it’s really a real pleasure. So, Françoise showed me right now all her lodgings that are around her home. It’s an area, you could say.
- Quite.
— It’s an absolutely magnificent area. Just the street alone, in fact, to get to your house, I was already amazed, in fact. And afterwards, when you showed me your domain, it was magnificent. In fact, I say to myself: “What would be interesting is if I also made, perhaps, little videos to show too”. Ah, that would be nice. So, frankly, it could also be interesting if we put the website of your domain.
- Quite. So the, the name, in fact of the places, it's called "break place in Carnac", since indeed, we are in a place in Carnac, in a very well-known seaside resort. But we are in a village in Quelvezin where we can actually relax, recharge our batteries, find peace and quiet, while being a few minutes from all the activities of Carnac and the bay of Quiberon and Vannes, etc. So here we are, we are in these places of, of pause as I wish to propose them.
— Can you tell us about your background? Because it's quite interesting. You shared with me earlier that seasonal rental is a real life story for you.
— In fact, the place where we are in Quelvezin in Carnac is the place where my grandparents lived, and it is a place that has been inhabited for almost a thousand years. This place, in Quelvezin, has around a thousand years of history. And my family has been here for about 300 years. And so, I have been renovating the different parts of the farm for 25 years, and today I offer them as gîtes de France, therefore mainly via this network of owners in Île-de-France. And so, the different buildings which housed the crops, the animals, and the press are today all renovated, and today constitute this area which welcomes families almost all year round who come to rest, to meet up in the houses, and then also benefit from the large gardens, since the property is approximately one hectare, so there is plenty to wander around.
— And frankly, when we see all the work accomplished, and what you did today with this place, it's hard to believe that it was a farm before. You talk about the press, you talk about everything you showed me around. I wouldn't have bet. We still have the charm of the old with the walls which are from the period, which you have kept.
- Quite.
— But, in fact, the interior is modern, well decorated, and it's nice.
- THANKS. And indeed, the interest is indeed to keep this built heritage. In particular, I have a very beautiful carved door from 1635, which really gives a lot of character. And all the comfort of the modern equipment and decoration really appeals to visitors, who come for vacation, to work for a short period of time, or for a longer period of time. There you go, it’s a place where everyone likes to meet. Then for me, it also gives meaning to what my ancestors did. And I renovated the houses for perhaps 100 years, so for those who will also come after me. So that gives meaning to the small passage that we can make, that I can make here in a much larger story that we can have in Carnac, since Carnac is the cradle of megalithism. So obviously, we are only little thumbs in the face of this great story and in particular here. So for me, it’s my little contribution to the history of Carnac and the history of my family. And it's true that I'm happy with what it has become today.
—And then, there is this evolution too. There is the evolution of the walls and then the evolution, which we were talking about earlier, of you as a seasonal rental company. You said that “even the seasonal renter” that, well, that you are today, you were telling me that just now, “is probably different from the one you were before, etc. ", can you tell us about that?
— There are several events, we have, we all went through, all professionals or not, a very very difficult year 2020, where we questioned ourselves a lot, since we had several months of inactivity. It actually gave me the opportunity to work with Élise. So, it made me question myself about, about my practices. And obviously, this support came in the middle of a period where we all questioned ourselves about, about what we were doing, about the difficulties, were we going, were we going to be able to restart? Under what conditions? And all this really challenged all the senses with great concern. And finally, about a year later, for me, I have the impression of almost being a, a new – indeed as you say Élise – a new, a new owner, who makes the allowance. And I revisited the practices with, even if I have clients who have, who come to the house, I was thinking of Françoise and Danny who are going to leave tomorrow, who come here several weeks a year, whom I have known for fifteen years . Well, I welcomed them as new people arriving, and also with new offers. I was talking about the seminar offers, for example, for the winter, too, because the, the lodges have become very, very very privileged places for our customers, because it allowed them to meet up with family in excellent sanitary conditions. And we also reviewed our welcome in this way. There is also a subject which is linked to the territory, because the entire country of Aurette, in the process of being classified, would become a UNESCO world. And today we have people who come from all over the world. Trying to understand and discover what Carnac is, obviously, gives a totally different opening, since the same place, which I took over 25 years ago, which was, well, still under reconstruction. But we didn't see this, all the, everything, perhaps all the wealth he has. then in these constructions, but also in this environment which has become very very sought after, and perhaps, this value given by others and by these people from all over the world, who come, have perhaps given value back to us , as owner. I think I can say to us since this, this position, it concerns a lot of people. Many people are renewed, that's it, with this, this particular context which is the UNESCO world heritage classification.
- Yeah. You are talking about the pandemic for rental companies which is beginning. It can be difficult to say to yourself: “I'm going to get started, isn't this the worst time in the history of seasonal rentals to get started? Do you have any, perhaps, advice or things that could help in light of what's happened with rental companies just starting out, or even just in light of the experience you have from 20 years, you told me, 20 years, 30 years of seasonal rental.
— Yeah, I’m on my 24th year of rental. So, it’s true that it’s been, it’s been, it’s been a long time. Maybe two pieces of advice: the first will definitely be confidence. There you have it, and things come back. The second, we tend to, perhaps, trivialize real estate investment, it remains, all the same, investments which can be heavy and which must be made with a, a reflection with business plans, with very positive, but also fallback plans that some of us had to implement, without having planned. But today, when we are doing qualitative things and the investments are well thought out in terms of location, in terms of price, in terms of business plan, there are indeed still offers that respond to a lot of services and expectations from a lot of people. That's it, but it must, it must also be reflected upon and certainly accompanied. Real estate investment is not trivial.
- Yes
— Above all, when we use credit, because we can see that according to the schemes, it can perhaps be a little difficult at certain times.
- Yes. And this part of delegating is a subject that we have often talked about too. It's not necessarily easy for the second one either, well, maybe I'm letting go of certain things. How did you experience it, for your part? I know you've surrounded yourself with a team. How did it go?
— Indeed, here, these are houses. So, it's not quite the same thing as an apartment which requires a little less care, because we have fewer exteriors. It's less complex to manage. Indeed, I work in a team with craftsmen, with people who help me maintain. I'm not, I'm not one of the people who delegate a lot either, because it's a pleasure to welcome and do. And it's not, but it's not a subject for me, because I like my activity. The part, the reception part is essential for me. That's it, I don't do it, well obviously, as a participant in the Gîtes de France network, we are, we have a very, very strong DNA on welcome and relationships, and availability with people. That's what keeps me going. So. So the delegation on certain tasks, of course, but, but, no key box in the gîtes of France, in any case, not at my house.
—And no sofa bed?
—And no sofa bed.
— In the living room?
— No, no. So.
— ec, we understood that.
— We are actually on king size bedding 180 by 200 great comfort, and that's it, because, first of all, like in hotels, being on vacation means first of all sleeping well. There are certainly very comfortable sofa beds, but that's not my vision.
- Yeah. But it is, but it is also good to have, because, as a result, you are also addressing — I think — people who are looking for that and who are ready [in fact] to pay the price for that . So that’s interesting.
– It’s true that the equipment and a lot of people — I take beautiful photos of the rooms and the bedding — and a lot of people tell me that “we must sleep well in the beds” And when it happens: “ The photo made me dream of the fluffiness of the duvet and the comfort.”
— And you know that in hotels, they have techniques to make duvets even puffier in photos? They put a second duvet under the duvet to make it good, good...
— That doesn't surprise me.
— It's true that it's a technique that we can also use as a seasonal rental company, and make sure to fluff up the duvet, because it gives an impression of quality. It's true.
- Yeah. It's true.
– And so how did this subject of revenue management, which we also call “management bed”, cross your path?
- Well. We're going to talk about the lodgings of France again, since it's at the end of your conference at the lodgings assembly two years ago, I think. Indeed, that raised questions for me, since you touched on a lot of, a lot of, a lot of subjects which, for me, spoke of questioning practices, of seeing things in a different way. So I was, and when we met, it's true, I found myself among people who did the job quite well. So there you have it, we spoke on the phone a little bit after the conference. And then, March 2020 arrived when we had a lot of time, and that was the moment. And the, and the accompaniment of Élise began at that moment. And finally, it lasted a little longer, because then we had a lot of work in June. And so, that’s it. It took place over a few months, but it was even more, more effective, because there was the return of your TRY testing technique. We were able to actually see and discuss what had worked, and what had worked a little less. And that's it. That was super interesting. So indeed, well, but a meeting, a meeting in Vannes, there it is, a little over two years ago. And, and then, and then at a given moment, the desire I dare, because spending money on training on an investment for your professional practice, when you no longer have any income at all, is, we can say to ourselves that this is not the right time. And it's definitely one of the best investments I've ever made. So, there it is, it’s true that it was scary. We were talking about fear earlier. But when we overcome fear, we can reinvent ourselves. And that's what happened. And at a moment, historically, hard and particular. So, that's also what, which gives a, perhaps, a very particular experience, because, indeed, training in revenue management that we were able to have one euro of turnover, since there was prefectural decrees prohibiting seasonal rental. So it is, it may seem. But indeed, undoubtedly at the moment, it is at the moment when there are difficulties, in fact, that we must know how to invest.
- Yes. To bounce back more easily.
— Yeah yeah. Quite. In training and in. I also did some work, etc., and it was wise. To overcome fear and see what happens on the other side of the mirror. It's always interesting.
— But that’s interesting. But for me, it interests me. And what kind of fear can we have before launching training like that, particularly in revenue management? Do we say: “well, I was afraid that it would be of no use, I was afraid that it would teach me nothing, I was afraid that that would happen to me” than when we say to ourselves: “well me , I'm already doing the job well, I understand", well we can perhaps say to ourselves: "well, in fact, I'm not going to learn anything", right?
- Yes. So, I think that the biggest fear was to arrive at solutions which would only be: autonomous arrivals, the short duration, well, which generate, which can actually generate figures, but which, for me, were also, perhaps, questioning the way of seeing things, about other types of clientele. So, I had this idea that it was going to push me especially on that. And finally, indeed, it questions the qualitative offer and the duration. And that's how I open up, for example, on the subject of duration, type of clientele. But there you go. But not only that and it’s true that when I talk about a revolution in practice, it’s of this order.
– But, that’s interesting that you talk to me about it, because, often, in fact, people tell me “yes, but revenue management will push me to make low prices, it will push me to make only one night all the time”, when in fact it can be surprising. But we can take price points and say to ourselves “there you go, we have a rule, which is that we must always do seven days and build around that to ensure that it works, it works all the same”.
— Yes, absolutely. That's the nice surprise actually. It's, it's almost a, it's really a 360 on oneself to ask questions, indeed, obviously about the quantitative comparison, since we look at the prices. But for me, it also led me to look at the offer as it was and also find its strong points. I have sometimes said that “the health crisis had, it had transformed old-fashioned places into very, very safe and very fashionable places, because they provided what customers needed”. And it's also about doing that, that is to say, today, when we have a park with, with shade that we can receive our friends there, that we can receive the family in in complete safety by respecting each other's privacy, by being in the garden, etc. It has become so sought after by people, particularly urban customers who have suffered from deconfinement, promiscuity, etc., that it is, it has something, it has something quite magical about to review things, to, to say to oneself that “very difficult things happened and that at the same time, there was something very joyful afterwards”. So obviously, many people have lost loved ones and I'm not talking about those moments, but I'm thinking of a lady who was there, a month ago, who arrived, that I found a little little, the relationship was a little difficult and in fact this lady the next day, she told me “well, you know my husband died of Covid, and in fact this is where we came on vacation. We are on vacation in Carnac. And, in fact, I had to come back.” Well, to welcome this lady, she came with her daughters, there was, there was a little child with them too, it was her daughter's daughter. They were in the garden, they were completely safe, because these people who were a little traumatized by, by the pandemic, well, it's just great. But indeed, to review, then indeed, it is – I am talking about that, because it is not the training directly of revenue management – but to question ourselves on the contribution, on the value of what we offer , well, it's also realizing that quite simply a garden, a garden, you can be with family or you can come with friends after having done the test in good sanitary conditions, well, it's just offering a magical moment for people. And we, and the year 2020 was difficult. But indeed, I was able to welcome families who were meeting again, who had not seen each other for a year. There, right now, in a house, there are four brothers and sisters. They are between 75 and 82 years old. They all took the tests when they came back. They rented nine months ago. And what they wanted was to be safe.
- Yeah.
— Well, it’s a magical experience. And that's, that's to review, in fact, to take back your offer and put the current value there, to look at it objectively with the context, well, indeed, when we talk about values, and indeed, we is positioned differently. Compared to an apartment, for example, of the same capacity, we offer something else, that's why I'm talking about, the, the added value that certain offers can have. It's mine with houses, with gardens. But, we have, there are others. So, it’s really a new questioning, it’s a new questioning. And then, it's true that we have difficulty with time, I imagine - you'll tell me what you think - but to have a fresh look, to have this new look, you really have to stop a moment to say to yourself: “Okay. And besides, there were price increases where sometimes you said to me: “okay, well, we'll try”. But, and then, actually, it worked very well.
- Quite. Yes yes. Because the, the questioning, so double questioning, indeed, on the moment of pause which is during which I invested and which we worked together, it actually led to looking at things differently. I had a house, two bedrooms, we absolutely wanted to accommodate three people. But what I have, I had this idea that three people was the right answer. While these are large rooms, there can be, quite, two couples or four people without problem. I, it allowed me, for example, to remove this blockage that I had had for years. And indeed, well, offering a house for two families or two couples is not the same thing as for two people. So indeed, we are improving, we have a proposal which is quite interesting. And indeed when we are two couples, for example, that means two budgets, two vacation budgets. Well, it can, it actually allows you to have an offer that is more, more interesting for me in terms of weekly prices.
— And in terms of results? So, I know you don't want to share the figure we don't believe, it will remain confidential. But in terms of results, it also brought you a nice growth in turnover.
— Yes. Absolutely. So, it's true that in 2020, it's a little bit, it's a bit special, because we didn't work five months in the year, but I see in the 2021 projections, indeed, where I was able to anchor qualitative positions with prices during periods of high demand, which actually progressed. And it also allowed me to question myself again, on the contrary, you were talking about low prices, so in fact, I repositioned myself on an offer which is, perhaps, more family-friendly with more capacity. And on the contrary, I was able to complete the filling of periods which were more difficult to rent by lowering the prices, by finding, by providing responses to slightly longer-term customers, for example, over the winter. And everyone wins. I'm starting to afford to pay fixed costs during the winter when we have less income. And then, it made it possible to find housing solutions for people who wanted to come and settle in the Auray region. So there you have it, it’s a win-win. It's also another way of looking at things, of not necessarily having the low price, but we can also afford to welcome people, for example, for medium periods in the winter too, because I don't was not afraid of, on more sought-after periods. They say that I have actually aligned myself more with the market.
- Great. Well listen. Super interesting what you share with us. If we want to see what you do, if we want to discover your lodges, if we want to discover your magnificent estate, if we need to rest, if we are fed up, we need to take a break, we want to come to the green, what do we do to find you, to discover all this?
— So my telephone number, so it will be indicated, I imagine, not far away on the video. So, the place is “Other places to break in Carnac”. And here is Françoise Guezello, all the accommodations are gîtes de France so can also be found on the site and on my site “Other places to break in Carnac”.
– Besides, I said: “if you are fed up with your life, if you love your life, you can also come”.
— I understood that too.
— You understood it that way too.
- Quite.
– Do you have any final advice to give to people who want to get started, who are afraid – we talked about this a little earlier – or to people who have, perhaps - perhaps, people who are hesitant to look at revenue management and who say to themselves: “this thing is nebulous, it will be complicated”. Did you find it complicated? Technically?
— So, the very scientific side of the approach at the start was a little complicated, because it goes, when we talk about investments, there is the financial investment linked to training, but it is also a personal investment to go, but which is necessary, since, indeed, we are going to produce figures, in particular by comparing with the competition? So, that’s, that’s an investment. I wouldn't necessarily say that it's complicated, but it's still a big investment to make in questioning one's practices, in agreeing to also prepare for meetings, because there was, there had to, there was work there. I see there, I'm a fan of Élise and J'poster Complet, even though that's absolutely not objective. But actually, I would say that above all we have to, we have to stop, we have to stop waiting. And I believe that we are in a magical moment in many areas where questioning ourselves allows us to arrive at solutions that we do not even imagine. But actually, there is a first step of investing time to give yourself, which is not negligible. That is necessary, but what to look at. I had a former colleague who said “you shouldn't look at how much it costs, but how much it will bring in”. And that’s what we need, that’s what we need to do. We have to, we have to plan. And if renters or fellow lodgers want to know more, I am, absolutely, I talk about it widely, I give examples. Afterwards, we can't take the steps, that's it, I can't take the steps for you. But I can tell you that I am very happy to have done it, that's it. It's not there.
—And you are right to point that out. It's true that in any change in life, and it concerns all aspects of life. In fact, we still have to take the step of changing, well, taking the time and energy to change our way of thinking, because it's not our previous self that is going to obtain new results.
- Exactly.
— You necessarily have to switch your way of thinking to finally adopt new ways of thinking and change the results or directly that's it.
— And that's if we don't succeed, and it's true that questioning alone is much more difficult. But there is no other better time than the current situation to shake all this up and really question ourselves in order to obtain other results. I talked about mine, about opening up to other customers, etc. But everyone has their own, everyone has their own story and goals.
- Listen ! Thank you very much, Françoise, for everything you shared with us. It was super interesting. I'm sure it will inspire lots of people who are hesitant about getting into seasonal rentals or who are already started and who will be able to draw inspiration from everything you do.
- I hope.
— I put all the links in the information bar so that you can go and learn about Françoise's magnificent estate and perhaps visit her. You'll see, you won't regret the trip at all. I tell you. So thank you Françoise.
— Thank you.
I'll see you soon for the next video.