Montpellier: our good addresses
StyQR moved to Montpellier a few years ago. We fell in love with this sunny city and its surroundings! So we’ll show you around.
1. Where to sleep?
Montpellier is a city full of hotels and Airbnb. Indeed, it is an attractive city full of sunshine, which makes it quite a touristy city.
So here are our top 3 hotels for a great stay:
- The Courtyard Montpellier for a luxurious stay
- The Grand Hôtel du Midi for a historic stay
- Le Domaine de Verchant & Spa for a relaxing and authentic stay
2. Where to eat?
Montpellier is full of good restaurants and coffeeshops to have a good time.
Among the coffeeshops we love are Amazone Coffee, Ma Première Cantine and Bonobo Montpellier.
For those who want a starred meal, we highly recommend: La Réserve Rimbaud. And finally, to eat more simply, you can go to a Sunday under the fig tree or the Carré Mer if you want to eat with your feet in the sand.
3. What to visit in Montpellier?
Start your tour of the city at the Place de la Comédie and the esplanade Charles de Gaulle, then take a look at the Arc de Triomphe and the Jardin des plantes.
Don’t forget to admire the Saint Pierre cathedral and taste the good wines of the city!
Has this little visit to Montpellier made you want to go there? Then don’t hesitate to discover our other articles !
Ecological accommodation : what is it ?
You see it more and more often in your search for accommodation. But what is ecological accommodation ?
1. What is ecological accommodation ?
It is an establishment that meets criteria guaranteeing respect for the environment, most of which are labelled.
We can therefore find :
- Unusual accommodation (cabin, caravan, etc.)
- Ecolodge or ecogîte
- Youth hostels
- Camping
- Holiday village
- One to five star hotels
These accommodations are designed, built and operated in accordance with responsible environmental and social principles.
Ideally they use renewable energy and promote sustainable development and waste minimisation.
2. The labels to look for
If you want to stay in an ecological accommodation you can look for the following labels :
- La clef verte : with 603 establishments labelled in France and more than 2700 establishments in 56 countries, it is the first international environmental label for tourist accommodation and catering.
- Eco gîte : a label designed by Gites de France. These are accommodations designed or restored using techniques or materials recognised as having a low impact on the environment.
- Eco label
- Gites panda : houses built in the heart of a protected area to which the WWF grants its label under certain conditions.
And don’t forget, the eco responsible approach works both ways. So remember to sort your waste, consume locally and reduce your water and energy consumption during your stay!
So how about an ecological holiday ?
Gîtes or bed and breakfast, what's the difference?
To go on vacation, you have an infinite choice of possibilities. But often, in France, the terms “gîtes” and “chambres d’hôtes” come up. They are often confused, yet each has its own characteristics. Discover them here.
1. The cottages
A gite is a house (or an apartment) of which you will have full disposal. It is also called furnished tourism or seasonal rental.
It must be :
- Furnished
- Equipped
- Rented for a week or a weekend but never for a night
You can find several types of lodgings: the rural lodgings, or the ecogites. The latter appeared with the advent of sustainable development and enjoy a very high demand.
Among the best known in France, we find the Gîtes de France, with more than 56,000 lodgings classified from 1 to 5 “épis” (equivalent to stars).
2. The guest rooms
A bed and breakfast, on the other hand, is an accommodation in the home of the host. Also known as a B&B, the guest room is a private room with bathroom, in the home of your hosts. You do not have full use of the place.
Here are the characteristics:
- Rental per night
- Breakfast always included
- Maximum of 5 rooms per house and 15 people in total (we talk about a guest house)
- Hotel service: bed and cleaning done
- The living rooms are shared
It is an excellent way to discover the local culture, the homemade food and to meet new people!
Be careful though, one of the main rules is the respect of the owners. If in a gite, you can arrive and come back whenever you want, it is better to warn the owners if you come back late and be careful not to make noise in a guest house.
That’s it! You now know all about the difference between gites and bed and breakfasts. And if you are interested in the subject, you can also learn more about the Gîtes de France label.
How to take a virtual tour of your home?
As virtual tours become commonplace in the property sector, some holiday rental platforms are also embracing the concept. Why shouldn’t you?
1. What is a virtual tour?
This type of visit allows you to materialise a flat, house or hotel room from real images. It offers customers the possibility to project themselves in your home in a more immersive way than by simply looking at photos.
With such a tour, you stand out from your competitors and let your future customers explore your home and make up their minds more quickly. Here is an example of a nice visit.
2. Why go for it?
With the virtual visit, you offer your future customers a real means of immersion in your home! They can walk through all the rooms and they can see the space more easily. They can easily visualise their next holiday in your home.
Moreover, by using this technology you show your clients that you are doing everything possible to rent your property, that you are a professional, and this will increase their confidence in you!
In short, the virtual visit allows you to :
- to have more qualitative ads
- to get more requests
- to have a better choice of clients
- to have a total availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
So what are you waiting for?
Think about it! With the virtual tour, customers already have a foot in your home! And if you want the visit to be perfect, here is a short guide on how to furnish your home.
Self check-in : : why encourage it
Since the health crisis, the self check-in is more and more in vogue! It was already popular, but now it’s in high demand! We explain why.
1. What does it involve?
You have two choices for offering your customers a self-supporting arrival:
- Leave the keys in secure key box
- Suggest a keypad for the entrance to your home
Of course, we remember to change the code between each rental. For this you can use our welcome digital booklet, it will be done in a few clicks!
2. What are the advantages of a self check-in?
There are many advantages for you and your client.
For you :
- No more need to move to welcome customers
- No more waiting in case of delay
- No more making conversation without knowing when to stop
For them :
- Greater flexibility in their holidays
- Less stress (late arrivals, etc.)
- A greater sense of trust (you leave them the keys to your home)
And if you really want to meet your guests, there is nothing to stop you from coming to see them (by asking them) a few hours or days later.
Are you ready to try it out with your next guests? Don’t hesitate to tell us about your experience in comments! And if you still want to welcome your customers in person, here are an article that should please you!
Hotels: the importance of a good website
Having a website is the key to getting bookings. But what information should you put on it and how should you manage it? We tell you everything here.
1. Why it's important ?
Having a website dedicated to your hotel is important for many reasons :
- Improve your online presence
- Get more bookings
- Manage everything in-house
- To present all your offers
- To make discounts specific to your site
On a single page and in a few seconds, your future customers can find all the information they are looking for. If this information is also relevant and well classified, you’re sure to get more customers!
2. What information should be found on your site?
The first step is done: the customers are on your site. Now their path to the information they are looking for must be simple and short. They must not get lost. To do this, we advise you to classify your site by heading: contact, photos, offers, bookings… This way, they will immediately know where to go.
Then, for an attractive site, you will need nice pictures. Call in a professional photographer and take photos of your hotel, the rooms, the reception and the entire exterior. These photos can be reused for your social networks if necessary.
Remember to create a contact page with: your address, an email, a phone number. Some customers prefer to make their reservation by phone or have questions to ask you.
Finally, don’t forget to add this information to make life easier for your customers:
- Pet policy
- Arrival and departure times
- Distance to airports, train stations…
- Activities near your hotel
You will have understood that for a good management of your bookings, it is important that your website is attractive and functional. For ours, we used TREIZE MARS and we are not disappointed!
Gîtes de France : the label
We have all seen this label somewhere. But what does it mean and what does it represent? We tell you everything about the label Gîtes de France, here we go !
1. What is Gîtes de France ?
First of all, Gîtes de France is :
- A label
- A brand
- A network … of accommodation in private homes in France and in Europe.
In 1955, the National Federation of Gîtes de France (FNGF) was created in the Lower Alps. The goal ? To develop tourist accommodation at home in France. Why did this happen ? To fight against the desertification of the countryside. Here, the logic is simple: if we abandon the countryside for the big cities, we run the risk of ruin. However, living in the city, we want to come back to the country at the weekend, and therefore we must be able to welcome city dwellers. So we created gites to welcome them!
How do they work ? They are managed by department with a national federation. The labels granted (ecogîtes and gîtes panda) and the classification are given by each department.
They have their own classification, here we don’t speak of stars but of “épis” (1 to 5).
2. Values and accommodations
Gîtes de France has 4 core values :
- Sharing : stays in the best conditions of welcome and comfort
- Authenticity : meeting the requirements of tourists looking for authenticity, conviviality and experience
- Responsibility : to promote our heritage and develop “sustainable” tourism
- Commitment : contributing to local employment and the attractiveness of the region
Concerning the accommodations, more than 56 000, you will find gites or guest houses. For some time now, you can also choose to leave according to a theme : unusual, prestige, gourmet… You will definitely find your next vacation destination!
Now that the Gîtes de France label has no more secrets for you, why not go on a micro-adventure in one of them ?
The most extraordinary film houses
Ah the cinema ! In addition to dreaming about the plasticity of actors and actresses, we tend to appreciate their houses a lot! The StyQR team offers you a small tour of the most beautiful houses (according to us) of the cinema. An opportunity for you to discover, or rediscover, certain films.
1. Zabriskie Point (1970)
How can you resist ? A huge glass villa with a breathtaking view ! We said yes !
A film by Michelangelo Antonioni, Zabriskie Point is a masterpiece whose soundtrack was largely composed by Pink Floyd ! As pleasing to the eye as to the ear.
2. Diamonds are forever (1971)
This seventh part of the James Bond series produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli is known in France as Chaud les Glaçons ! Personally, we prefer Diamonds are Forever.
In 2016, it was on sale for 8 billion dollars !
3. Ironman (2008)
This villa remains for us one of the most breathtaking. On the edge of a cliff, bright and clear, you could almost ask Tony Stark for the keys !
Another villa for sale, for … 14 million euros !
4. Twilight (2008)
Would you have guessed that this article was written by a girl ? The Cullen house immediately came to mind !
Called the Hoke House, this splendid wooden house in the heart of the forest makes us want to go hiking and have a fire.
5. Gatsby the Magnificent (2013)
Do you also relive those scenes of wild parties ? Of luxury and chandeliers on all sides? The other side of the coin? Gatsby lives alone and dies alone.
You want to buy it? For 14 million it’s yours. It’s a gift, isn’t it ?
However, the house that inspired Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s book is no longer visible because it has been razed to the ground for a bigger housing project.
What is your favourite film house ? Tell us in the comments !
And if you want to get away from it all, come with us to New Aquitaine !
Paper welcome booklet and winter sports resorts : the gap
The paper welcome booklet, a solution that may seem simple and effective, but quickly finds its limits. Especially in winter. Indeed, you get a little dirtier because you come home with wet feet, you wear 5 layers of clothes so you don’t know where you’ve put that little piece of paper. So what to do ?
1. The false good ideas
We have seen alternatives, more or less good ones, to the paper welcome booklet. But among the worst, here are the ones we remember :
- The inventory of cupboards with a pen in the cupboard door
- The wifi code written on a slate on the back of the door (and therefore erased)
- The sheet of paper taped to the wall and covered with tape so as not to be stained
These attempts are not very aesthetic and do not correspond to the standard of living one would expect in a ski resort. This needs to be modernised !
2. The real solution : the digital welcome booklet
The ideal solution ? Switch to a digital welcome booklet. No more loose sheets, no more redoing a sheet for each customer or trying to find the old one. With our StyQR digital welcome booklet, you and your customers will have everything at your fingertips.
Here are some of our features :
- Wifi
- Digicode
- Useful numbers…
With these modules, you can offer your travellers a personalised and modern experience. They will have your booklet with them everywhere, without the risk of losing it. The little extra ? No more paper ! Everything is done on the tablet or smartphone.
Replace your paper welcome booklet quickly and permanently with a digital welcome booklet. It will be much more comfortable for you and your customers. And if you want the best quality and service, switch to StyQR Premium !
A cosy decoration as winter approaches
Winter is fast approaching, the radiators are not yet warm and we want to take refuge under a plaid with a good hot chocolate. So think of your customers and prepare a cosy little nest for their arrival at your place.
1. The essentials
Here, it’s simple, think of anything that will make you feel better ! Anything that will keep you warm.
Of course, one thinks immediately of plaids and warm duvets. So offer enough of them and, above all, make a note in your welcome booklet of where your customers can find them.
Don’t forget to check that you have enough cups. In winter, people drink more hot drinks and especially in larger containers. Your visitors might appreciate finding hot chocolate mugs and why not something to make the chocolate when they arrive!
If you have a fireplace or stove, a very simple way to decorate a room is to store logs on top of each other ! Guaranteed effect !
2. The advantages of a cosy decor
It’s time to let loose ! For a cosy decoration, use Pinterest or decoration magazines.
Here’s what we recommend you add :
- A few lightly scented candles
- A knitted blanket like this one
- A few strings of lights
- Fluffy cushions and rugs
When it comes to colours, opt for soft colours : white, cream and grey. And at Christmas time you can add a little green and red. We’ve written a whole article about decorating your home at Christmas.
And now you know everything ! You can replace your summer decoration with something more comfortable. Don’t forget to take photos of your home in this new atmosphere to make people want to come to your home even more !