THE BROCHUREAlex and I had to start thinking about getting the business underway for the next year's season. We decided that we would only open for bookings from Easter to the end of September, giving us the rest of the year to relax and enjoy our new home. The picture for the front page of our Brochure , was taken, and the result is above. The rest of the brochure, though, was very tricky as the apartments were nowhere near finished, and that would obviously be of prime importance to the customer. However we found a very good printers and they designed the interior of the brochure with " artists impressions " coupled with other exterior shots.
We knew where we were going to advertise and that was with an established rental Company called " Chez- Nous " who produced a good looking, professional magazine at that time. We booked a whole page for the 1990 season which cost us a whopping £1,500! It was frightening because all the time we were dipping into our pockets and nothing was coming back in! But to go forward it had to be done. Then we had to make the decision-- to charge in pound sterling? or in french francs? We agonised and looked at what other owners were doing; we made our decision-- we would charge in pound sterling, as we thought our customers would be comfortable with that and more willing to book !
That turned out to be such a WRONG CHOICE! How were we to know that a recession would be on it's way in a year's time and that the franc's value would drop drastically from it's present value of 11FF to the pound . We were blissfully unaware, fortunately, and we carried on with our ambitious plans.
Next we had to concentrate on fittings and furnishings, and perhaps a visit to the Bank.....
so many steps and decisions along the way... and such a huge undertaking... sometimes I think, if only we were all fortune tellers ...
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many wonderful things would never have happened in the world by many enthusiastic people if they already knew the outcome.. blissfully unaware is probably a good place to be at times.....
Oh man! This is so tantalizing. The brochure photo is gorgeous, and I would have been hooked for sure.
ReplyDeleteHello Gwen;good job we cannot see into the future, because I am sure it would influence the decisions we make. I wouldn't want to have changed change my life , so far, one jot would you? Ignorance is bliss as they say.
ReplyDeleteYou would have been very welcome to stay, Ruth, perhaps I might even have got you have a trot through the woods? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Delphine, congrats on the project, you obviously have huge energy. I'm curious- why do you mention a Franc/Sterling exchange when France hasn't used Francs since end of 2001?
ReplyDeleteI spent 8 hugely enjoyable years renovating a large Victorian castle in Ireland. I never finished it of course, but I count not injuring my back during that time as one of my greatest achievements. Another achievement was selling it just before the recession. Now I'm tackling a rambling bastide in Provence. I wrote a book about the castle, another of short stories, a novel and am currently dabbling in journalism. I 1st saw La Cage when I was 17, living in California. I went to see it 13 times, so I must have liked it. I finally found a copy in Auchan a few months ago. So Hi, and best of luck with your teeming life!
Best wishes, Nick
Wow, Nick I am impressed by your comments and especially about your Victorian Castle renovation- what a feat and such good luck to have made the sale before this awful recession! As you are nex to my blog you will not have realised that this was my first Chateau of four, and the time is the years commencing 1989, hence the francs!
ReplyDeleteYes yes yes, a trot through the woods! It would be the perfect way to break me in on a horse, don't you think? I could soak in your pool after, then lounge in a luxury apartment the rest of the week nursing me bum. :)
ReplyDelete4 chateaux?! Is there a rehab clinic for chateau-addicts? I can't wait to do another, France is like a playground. I am intensely frustrated by having to wait to finish and sell this place. Surely there's little profit in fixing up chateaux for resale? What do you think? You mention a couple who own one of the apartments- are you splitting up the building?
ReplyDeleteNick
Rebonjour Nick, I had better explain, the four chateaux were bought,then sold , one after the other. My present Chateaux is pictured on top right of the page. Have patience, big buildings like that are not quick to sell, but someone will come along and fall in love like we did.
ReplyDeleteWow, Delphine... what a lot to think of!
ReplyDeletePlease pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between pound sterling and french francs?
Would that be like sterling silver? If that is the case... how do pay with the silver? Does in come in a standard weight form? Would that be a pound?
Please pardon my asking.
Hi Cottage Girl,
ReplyDeleteThink of Europe as McDonald's, then think of French francs as French fries and a Sterling pound as the weight you would gain if you ate 16oz of Fries cooked by someone called Sterling. Hope this helps.
Nick
Cottage Girl, and Nick,
ReplyDeletepound sterling is just the correct name for the English pound currency Mostly shortened to ' pound '. In France the pound translates to ' livre sterling', I hope that answers your question, and thankyou to Nick for your very inventive reply - I can see which is your favourite place to eat :)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
ReplyDeleteThank you to Nick and Delphine for the lesson on international currency!!
I'll never look at McDonald's french fries the same way again!!!
So how have you been looking at them hitherto? I take an oblique stance, I view them askance; in fact I take a very dim view of them indeed. I bet Delphine makes proper chips and always has Heinz ketchup.
ReplyDeleteNick
What brave brave souls you were at this juncture....and what an amazingly beautiful photo of the castle!! I'm looking forward to going to the next chapter...love it.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThe picture of the bird eye view from the castle is magnifique!
You could improve this picture 10 times by putting the castle on the top right corner and giving it room to "breath" all in front.
It would then look like a majestuous king castle overlooking its domain.
I hope you'll have another chance to fly above your castle to try that again!
I love your blog. I love the pictures.
Nico