La Clef Decamp has new offices
In Villedieu-les-Poêles (Manche), La Clef Decamp, a company managing 26 gîtes, has moved from rue Carnot to its new offices at 12 rue Jules-Ferry.
La Clef Decamp is now based on rue Jules-Ferry in Villedieu-les-Poêles, in a building the luxury gîte rental company recently acquired.
The former premises on rue Carnot have been taken over by the Bertrand Lecourtois architecture firm. La Clef Decamp’s offices are now on the ground floor of the new building, “in a larger, brighter, and more functional space.” The upper floor will be converted into two apartments to be rented as gîtes by the end of 2022. One of them is themed around tennis, with clay-court–style carpeting. We continue to invest in our other gîtes. The ones in Plomb and La Chaise-Baudouin are now equipped with multisport courts.
A Mixed Season
For La Clef Decamp, summer 2022 was uneven. May and June were excellent, with many seminars and full occupancy.
That was not the case in July and August.
Our rates were lowered to try to fill last-minute bookings. By 15 August, 16 of our 26 gîtes were still available—something we had never seen before. With promotions, we eventually had only one gîte left, but the revenue was not the same.
This difficulty in filling can be explained by the fact that the company continues to expand, opening about four new gîtes per year. “But more importantly, our clientele were finally able to fly and travel further this year. We thought the heatwave would bring more clients to Normandy, but that didn’t happen. After last year’s rainy summer, many booked further south to reduce the risk.
Competition has also increased. I know many private individuals and professionals who are now offering the same type of rentals, so naturally, the market has more options.
La Clef Decamp hosted a large majority (85%) of French clients. Among foreign visitors, the Dutch, Belgians, and English were particularly present. The average stay was four days, though some stayed two to three weeks.
The gîtes are located across southern Manche, northern Cotentin, Amiens (Somme), and La Baule (Loire-Atlantique). A new gîte is currently under development in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes) in southern France.