Gîtes de France sets out to conquer the whole world. The association has just signed its first partnership with an online travel agency: Expedia. Thanks to this agreement, it is now possible to book a Gîtes de France rental on Expedia. This is a real gain in visibility for the association, which can now reach an international clientele. For Expedia, joining forces with Gîtes de France allows us to offer a more diversified offer to meet the expectations of travellers from all over the world. If you are the owner of a Gîtes de France-labelled rental property, you will find all the implications of this partnership in this article.
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Gites de france, the label for holiday cottages in france
The national federation of the Gîtes de France is a network that brings together homestay accommodation in France and Europe. Created in 1955, the label aims to energize rural areas and enable travellers to stay in the countryside. As a reminder, a gîte is a type of holiday rental that can be booked for a short or long period. The Gîtes de France association brings together several departmental committees responsible for the classification and labelling of gîtes. Indeed, each accommodation is classified according to a scale of ears of corn defined by criteria of comfort, facilities, etc. Members of the label have the possibility of putting their accommodation on line on the Gîtes de France booking platform in order to increase their visibility.
Today nearly 20% of bookings on Gîtes de France are made by foreign travellers. Although the label is recognized worldwide, the federation wishes to develop this new clientele. By booking a Gîte de France labelled gîte, the traveller expects to live an authentic experience in contact with the locals. Indeed, today, many stays are organized around a theme (agritourism, wine tourism…). This type of accommodation is therefore much appreciated by foreign travellers wishing to discover French culture. The international clientele therefore represents a strong potential for the national federation of Gîtes de France.
Expedia, an online travel agency with an international focus
Developed in 1996 in the United States, Expedia is one of the largest online travel agencies. This platform aims to facilitate the online travel booking process. Expedia offers to book several products and services: accommodations, plane tickets, activities, car rental… In addition, there are “packages”, formulas combining hotel and flight reservations at a reduced price. Thanks to this diversification of the offer, the American company has been able to establish itself throughout the world. Indeed, Expedia owns 90 POS brands in more than 75 countries.
Thanks to its global reach, Expedia must meet the expectations of a diversified clientele. The platform targets different types of travellers, both holidaymakers and business travellers. This is why the travel agency strives to develop the offer to its customers as much as possible. Today, Expedia’s main objective is to offer a wide selection of hosting services on the platform.
The alliance between two tourism specialists
In order to achieve their different ambitions, Gîtes de France and Expedia have concluded an agreement on May 22nd. The aim of this partnership is to develop the visibility of Gîtes de France labelled accommodation among travellers from all over the world. For Expedia, this enriches the range of hosting available on its platform. In the long term, this agreement will increase the revenues of both groups.
From now on, the 42,000 Gîtes de France owners have access to Expedia’s booking platform. They can also take advantage of the package system (accommodation + flight) to simplify the traveler’s booking process. According to Sylvie Pellegrin, President of Gîtes de France, this partnership is ideal for increasing bookings in the off-season. Opening up to foreign travellers is the cure for these slow periods. In order to make gîte owners aware of this new clientele, the Gîtes de France association offers language courses and training on cultural differences. A good way to welcome travellers from all over the world in peace and quiet.
By joining forces with Expedia, the Gîtes de France federation has preferred quality to quantity. Indeed, this is the first agreement concluded for the association with an online travel agency. The will to be present on a single booking platform also benefits Expedia. The company stands out from its competitors by offering rentals with the Gîtes de France label. For the association, this partnership allows it to benefit from Expedia’s worldwide reputation. With more than 750 million visitors per month, the platform has become one of the most influential in the market.
