Gîtes Direct was formed in 1997 as a direct reaction against the ill conceived, poorly promoted and above all expensive advertising that was available at the time. We have grown into one of the most effective websites in our field, linking thousands of visitors to France each year with owners of French holiday accommodation.
Bookings can be made directly with the property owners, who in 95% of cases are English speaking. You will be able to discuss your accommodation and local places of interest with someone who has a working knowledge of both and not just an agent with a limited knowledge of either. In short, you will have complete control over your holiday. There are no agency fees to pay nor any other hidden charges.
We continue to go from strength to strength with a first rate travel service and a "Swap Shop" database which shares availability between our Members. In October 2000 we launched our travel dedicated website www.francedirect-travel.com and www.frtravel.com offering discounted ferry crossings, car hire and hotels etc, making it possible for our clients to arrange their holiday from one place. January 2001 saw the launch of our direct booking service with our sister website: www.gitesdirect.com We take care of all the booking arrangements and payments for those of our advertisers who do not wish to do so.
If you can't find a property for the weeks you desire, contact us by completing our feedback form HERE and we'll search our database and our members will contact you direct.
If you are the owner of holiday accommodation in France and would like to join us, you can find full details on our Advertisers Page.
This is what some of our Members say about Gîtes Direct and the services we offer.
"The season is now sufficiently advanced for us to be able to make a judgment on the effectiveness of the advertising medium you are providing.
For us, GÎTES DIRECT has been a very successful means of advertising our property to let; they have produced more enquires for various dates during the year than we could satisfy. In two cases clients have contacted us having looked at the GÎTES DIRECT web site and made their bookings without further information being provided. When asked if they would like a brochure the reply has been, "it's not necessary, we've seen all we need on the web site". Others have said that the web site is easily found and the information comes up quickly.
You may rest assured that we shall continue using your service next year . Don't be afraid to let potential clients of yours contact us for a reference."Neville and Elizabeth Gay. Membership Number FD98120/G1
"Gîtes Direct has gone from strength to strength in a very short time, with an ever developing, informative and effective website covering several aspects of tourism but one which remains easy and speedy to use. It does seem to attract people who enquire and book, rather than time and money-wasting brochure collectors which larger companies seem to generate - and all this without inflated advertising prices."Wendy and Peter Long. Membership Number FD98146/L1
"I thought I would drop you a line to say how pleased Carolyn and I are at the response to our advert on the Gîtes Direct web site. We only started advertising in June and have so far managed to fill 11 weeks on the two gites and expect to get more before we are finished. If we had been ready earlier we could have picked up quite a few more weeks, we know this because we turned down quite a lot of enquires. The "Swap Shop" is an excellent means of maximizing the potential lets of the advertisers, we have picked up a number of them this way. Next season we would like to upgrade to the online booking form as I feel this would save a lot of time and effort in postage. It also gets the customer committed then and there. Thanks once again for the superb service". Phil and Carolyn Sims. Membership Number: FD20191/S9
"I have been advertising my Gîte for three years with various companies and have had little response. This year I decided to try Gîtes Direct. Although I was late in getting a computer set up and had problems with it at a vital time, I still managed to fill eleven weeks in a year when bookings are generally down in France after the December storms and oil slicks at sea. Pat Tayler. Membership Number FD99171/T4
I have no hesitation in recommending Gîtes Direct to anyone, Gîte owners or visitors to the web site looking for a holiday. The bookings are coming in from all over the world because of thelarge audience the Internet reaches. The Swap Shop has given us inquiries that otherwise would have been lost and the Travel Services commission has almost completely paid the cost of ourannual membership. Margaret Ashton. Membership Number FD99161/A4
Yes we will continue with Gîtes Direct, you have been our best source of enquires for the last 4 years - that is why we tell everybody about you!!!! and we will continue to tell them!!!! Karl and Sandra Ayling. Membership Number FD98103/A2
The Gites/Gîtes Direct team is doing a great job! I feel that they are very honest and very serious about their business. They have sent me good clients and I like the way they conduct their business making it easier for me. Running a business on the Internet can be a bit daunting because there are some people who just like to waste other people's time, but with this Internet Agency there is no waste of time. Everything is done smoothly and in a short period of time I have a confirmed booking and the deposit is sent to me without delay. Thanks guys! Patricia Girault. Membership Number FGD21306/G8
Accuracy of Information
Gîtes Direct acts as an advertising medium. All rental property information on this web site is supplied to us by the property owners and their agents,our advertisers have the ability to change any part of their advertisement at any time, we therefore make the following disclaimers:
The accuracy of the information on the Gîtes Direct or Gîtes Direct web sites is the sole responsibility of the owner or agent of the property advertised. FranceDirect does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy of this information.Gîtes Direct gives no confirmation or guarantee of the description or the standard of the properties in the advertisements published in its Internet pages.Gîtes Direct, home owners and agents are not responsible for any typographical errors in the information supplied.Rates and conditions are subject to change by the property owners without notice.
Confirm details before renting
We recommend that potential visitors, or their agents, confirm all the terms of the proposed rental contract in writing in advance of the rental. Any complaints should be taken up immediately with the property owner or their agent and confirmed in writing within seven working days of the return of your holiday.
It is strongly recommended that you take out adequate insurance to cover against loss of deposits or rental fees due to cancellation or other unforeseen circumstances.
Feedback
We would be very interested to know how you enjoyed or did not enjoy your stay at any of the properties on our pages. Any positive (or negative) feed back would be greatly appreciated. Please complete the feedback form which is linked at the bottom of every advertisement.
Our Commitment To Privacy
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.
To make this notice easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be requested.
The Information We Collect:
This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the Gîtes Direct website. On some pages, you can order subscriptions, make requests, and register memberships. The types of personal information collected at these pages are: Name: Address: Email address: Phone number. On other pages you can pay for rental accommodation by submitting your credit card details. These pages are secured by our chained SSL certificate which offers 128 bit encryption to the industry standard.
The Way We Use Information:
The data you as advertisers provide in the sign up process forms part of the contact details made available to your potential clients. We do not publish your address details only your phone and fax numbers. Gîtes Direct uses stealth email technology, your email address is pulled directly from our database and is not access able by the general public.
Our Commitment To Data Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
How You Can Access Or Correct Your Information:
Advertisers can access all of their personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain by logging in to their admin control panel. Here you can change or add to your member profile. This area is safeguarded by a username and password. We use this procedure to better safeguard your information. To protect your privacy and security, we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.
Our promise to you:
Gîtes Direct undertakes not to sell, loan or otherwise give access to any information gathered on this website to any other third parties, for any reason whatsoever.
How To Contact Us:
Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please call us at 00 33 (0) 553 071775 or send us an email at admin@gitesdirect.com