Welcome to Gites.com! Below you will find the steps to follow to place an ad on Gites :

1. Create an account

To place an ad, click on "your property on Gites" and enter the required data. After entering an e-mail address, the account still needs to be confirmed. This is done by clicking on the link sent to you by Gites by e-mail. You must now log in using this e-mail address. This is also the address to which you will receive all communications from Gites, such as newsletters and invoices.

You can now add one or more adverts (advert types) to your customer area.

2. Adding an ad

Click on the "add advertisement" button to add an ad. Then choose the type of advert you wish to place: Gîte, B&B or sales advert. You must always choose a subscription type and accept our terms and conditions before you can continue.

3. Creating a gîte advert: take your time.

Let our system guide you. You don't have to get it right first time! You can modify and adapt all the data throughout the process before deciding that the advert is ready for publication. Even after that, you can still make changes and replace photos.

N.B. Filling in a B&B advert: follow the same steps as for a gîte advert, except that in the case of a B&B, you describe the individual rooms and indicate the availability calendar and prices for each room.

Follow the steps below:

• General/contact

Here you can enter general information about the house. You can also enter a description of the house in the text field.
Tip 1: For capacity, take the number of bedrooms x 2. A sofa bed in the living room is not a suitable place to sleep permanently.

Tip 2: Use terms that are often searched for on the Internet, such as "holiday home", "holiday cottage with swimming pool", "mountain chalet", "enclosed garden", etc. You can find more tips here.

Tip no. 3: in your contact details, give two different e-mail addresses so that you have a back-up solution in case your e-mail system malfunctions. Read the advice on spam.

Include a mobile number as your main telephone number, so that you can receive SMS notifications in the event of a booking request.

Tip 4: Download an inventory document. Don't describe every little spoon, but, for example, "cutlery and crockery for 10 people", etc. This document will be added to the rental contract and will make it more robust.

• Activities

Here you can tick off the possible activities. Some activities require further confirmation. Add a description of the activities, the distance and other details.

Tip: use frequently searched keywords to reach a particular audience.

• Surroundings

Here you should indicate the location of the house. If it is on a plot of land with other houses nearby, you should indicate this, even if the adjacent house is your own.

• Description 'restaurants, food & wine'

You can indicate here what the local specialities are and whether there are wineries and/or restaurants in the area. Please do not provide links or other contact details, which can only be provided after the guests arrival.

• Other information

Indicate here any special features that the guest should be aware of before booking. For example, that there are steep stairs or that a car is required, or that pets are not allowed.

• Rates

You must enter your rental rates here. If a period has no rates, it cannot be booked. You can read how this works here.

At the bottom is a text field in which you can indicate, for example, whether there is a supplement for a pet or for the hire of a cot. You can add these costs later in a booking.

Do not use the text box to repeat your rates or the cost of bed linen, as you are already indicating these elsewhere.

• Availability

By default, the calendar is set to "available". You must block the periods that you do not wish to rent yourself. If you also rent via other platforms, you can synchronise the calendar with the calendars of other platforms via the "Manage external calendars" button on the right.

You can also add last-minute offers for the last unlet periods here.

• Media

Photos are the most important decision-making factor in your advert. The first photo should show the house in its immediate environment. Gites will select this photo from the top five. Photos should not contain any text.

Read here how to insert or replace photos.

If you have a nice video of your house and its surroundings, you can upload it to Youtube and place the Youtube link in the appropriate window, provided the film does not contain contact details or a website address.

• Translations

If you want to reach foreign-language customers, you can publish your ad in the languages you require at no extra cost.

4. Your advertiser's profile

To make your ad more personal, you can create a profile with a photo of yourself and a personal text. Ads with a profile get better results than those without. Read here how it works.

Your profile is linked to your account, i.e. to all the ads you have placed under this account.

5. Responding to a booking request

If you receive a booking request, you have 48 hours to make an offer to the guest. This offer is already ready in your account under "bookings". Click on the booking to open it and make an offer.

The guest then has 48 hours to accept your offer by accepting the terms and conditions online and paying a deposit.

Find out how to personalise your offer by granting a discount or charging a supplement.

To find out how the guest pays, click here.

No later than two working days after the guests arrival, the rent, less commission (plus VAT), will be paid to you by our payment service provider Online Payment Platform.

6. Responding to a request for information

If the exchange of information with a potential guest results in an agreement on the period to rent, a reservation must still be made by clicking on the "request a reservation" button in your advert. You can send the link to your advert to your potential guest, but it is also available at the top left of the conversation in your "inbox" in your account.

7. Guest reviews

User reviews are very important and are often consulted by potential guests. We always ask guests to add a review to your listing, but you can of course ask them yourself, too. Good reviews are good for your listing. If you receive a not-so-good review, it always helps to respond positively.

Do you need personalised advice for your ad? We're here to help!