An unusual stroll: a love story at the… ‘Clef

A love story combined with an original professional success: in Villedieu, Jennifer and Sébastien’s gîtes “La Clef Decamp”.

He is a local, originally from Villedieu-les-Poêles. He worked for a time at Mauviel before traveling as a sales director.
She grew up in the Somme, in a family of horse breeders, and later settled in Cotentin. Their meeting was an improbable love at first sight at a wedding that wasn’t yet theirs. She was helping at the buffet, and he was a guest. They never parted, decided to build a life together, and to change it.
This was the beginning of a story that, a few years later, took a beautiful turn. Sébastien Cordon and Jennifer Decamp married in 2015 and became co-owners of their small business, which they officially founded in 2018. Before that, Jennifer had been renting out her own gîtes independently.
Today, their business is a standout example in the world of vacation rentals. Jennifer, who dreamed as a child of being a châtelaine, has fulfilled part of that dream: with Sébastien, she now runs “La Clef Decamp,” a play on her surname, managing the business together with around fifteen employees.
The key to their success: offering gîtes in Manche and beyond that are specially designed for group stays, fully equipped with all the amenities clients expect—jacuzzis, pool tables, game rooms—perfect for friends gathering together. Their clientele seeks “excellence,” and the couple delivers.

With 1.6 million in loans, no days off, and Bolognese sauce on the walls!
Around thirty properties are now offered in their catalog, half of which are owned directly by the couple, with the rest entrusted to them by other property owners. Most clients come from the Paris region or Brittany. A winning formula for the Villedieu couple, who now generate nearly two million euros in revenue!
The development was not without challenges: “To acquire, renovate, and furnish the gîtes, we took on nearly 1.6 million euros in loans, and not so long ago, we were living in a mobile home while offering our clients beautiful houses,” the newlyweds recall.
Sébastien oversees all restoration work for the gîtes, while Jennifer handles the decoration. She manages administration and sales, and he looks after maintenance and repairs—more often than one might think. Relations with some clients can be tense.
“Fortunately, we’ve never had major damage, except one day… walls covered in Bolognese sauce!”
Would they do it again? “Yes, knowing that we went through extremely difficult times, very long workdays, and immense stress to make it happen. For several years, we didn’t take a single day off, not one.” Now, things are a little easier. The couple is expecting a child… and family life—the non-seasonal kind—can finally begin.

Published on 03/12/2022 in La Manche Libre