Full time through winter in search of new life

CazPaul said:
This thread has got to take the biscuit for the most challenging, risk taking adventure ever,

Wow, what a project you are taking on I hope in a few years you will have totally turned it around.
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It might seem that way, but it’s only the collapsed pound and the interest rate issues that make it a bit worse than it should be. 80-100k sorts a lot of stuff out, and due to the above two reasons that is hard cash we won’t have.
 
corconx said:
Tbh I’ve never used site facilities always used mine. I know they were clean.

carol
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Sure Carol, but you are the lucky (or may I say long time hard working) owner of a nice motorhome. Few others have access to that luxury and will be arriving on the site with bivvis, trailer tents, surf buses etc. Or just a car, motorbike, push bike or on foot and they need decent facilities form a campsite. Cleanliness and hot water should be taken as a given. Old fashioned can be cool, Old/tired can be tolerated to a point, but dirtiness and lack of the most basic maintenance cannot be tolerated.
 
I rarely use campsite facilities but do check them as it lets you know about how clean things are else where cafe/bar
 
Nanniemate said:
I rarely use campsite facilities but do check them as it lets you know about how clean things are else where cafe/bar
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Absolutely. You may be unlucky visiting a loo just after a traveller or two, but if you stay for a couple of days and everything is always disgusting it creates a very bad impression.

When we (Bea) ran our airbnbs in Kent, we went through 3 cleaners in a year as none could achieve the required standards. In the end Bea did it all herself, easy enough as there were only two rented units. Despite the obvious shortcomings of our tiny place, she ended up with one of the highest Airbnb scores (4.99) in the whole of the UK for anything with more than 250 individual feedback scores. We noted wryly that almost every host had a straight 5 where there was less than 20 feedback….:unsure:

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Our way to begin to counter that sort of thing with the new venture with its damaged reputation was mentioned way back in the thread - decent reviews are needed from visitors when we open that highlight the change in management, the investment in updating facilities, the increased attention to detail, the improved cleaning, cafe, epicerie, state of the park etc etc.

Obviously we can’t fix everything in one go, and other customers will continue to note the failings of the site and maybe also our inexperience in managing a restaurant and campsite - but the more positives we get, the more the customers, the higher the earnings, the greater the ability to reinvest - and reinvestment of 100% of profit is what we intend to do for years. I’m sure we we will find it ‘interesting’ living off minimum wage….
 
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dawsey said:
Absolutely. You may be unlucky visiting a loo just after a traveller or two, but if you stay for a couple of days and everything is always disgusting it creates a very bad impression.

When we (Bea) ran our airbnbs in Kent, we went through 3 cleaners in a year as none could achieve the required standards. In the end Bea did it all herself, easy enough as there were only two rented units. Despite the obvious shortcomings of our tiny place, she ended up with one of the highest Airbnb scores (4.99) in the whole of the UK for anything with more than 250 individual feedback scores. We noted wryly that almost every host had a straight 5 where there was less than 20 feedback….:unsure:

Our way to fight this sort of thing was mentioned way back in the thread - decent reviews are needed from when we open that highlight the change in management, the investment in updating facilities, tge increased attention to detail, the improved cleaning, cafe, epicerie, state of the park etc etc.

Obviously we can’t fix everything in one go, and other customers will continue to note the failings of the site and maybe also our inexperience in managing a restaurant and campsite - but the more positives we get, the more the customers, the higher the earnings, the greater the ability to reinvest - and reinvestment of 100% of profit is what we intend to do for years. I’m sure we we will find it ‘interesting’ living off minimum wage….
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There's a few on here, not many but could advise you how to not only survive but live on minimum wage :wink:
I was at a site a fews years ago 2nd visit and through the week lovely spotless facilities then the weekenders turned up .....
It's still a great site and owners can only be responsible for visitors behaviour to a certain extent.

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dawsey , you have given me the excuse i needed to pay the £20 and join the forum, although it maybe a mistake.......

Anyway your story is inspiring, no good sticking your money under the floor boards when you have a life to live.

You obviously have a background in similar projects , from the finance point of view.

Social media would buy right into your story and maybe a few TV channels as well, is this an avenue you have considered? I doubt you would need any campers with the numbers you would hit with a few of the personalities you have on the site.
 
I’m concerned by your deficit? FX changes to 1.17 Euro to the GBP (last five weeks) and back down have all happened post your bank engagement and for most of this year, certainly the period you’ve been in leading up to and post offer/exchange, it’s been 1.13-1.15. What did you baseline your GBP/Euro transfer at in your business plans?

€1.175 is the best rate this calendar year so far (even I transferred £15k to Euro at that point for some of the next nine months Europe travels) so I’m concerned you didn’t transfer a decent percentage across at that calendar year high? Transferring ‘chunks’ regularly mitigates currency risk…
 
Carpmart said:
I’m concerned by your deficit? FX changes to 1.17 Euro to the GBP (last five weeks) and back down have all happened post your bank engagement and for most of this year, certainly the period you’ve been in leading up to and post offer/exchange, it’s been 1.13-1.15. What did you baseline your GBP/Euro transfer at in your business plans?

€1.175 is the best rate this calendar year so far (even I transferred £15k to Euro at that point for some of the next nine months Europe travels) so I’m concerned you didn’t transfer a decent percentage across at that calendar year high? Transferring ‘chunks’ regularly mitigates currency risk…
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We baselined at 1.14, but the case for the French banks still holds at 1.12 and even 1.10. It just means we would have significantly less money to invest. Compounded with the interest rates endlessly going up the challenge becomes tougher by the day. It’s very irritating, but the pain of changing most of our life-acquired wealth at chronically low £/€ exchange rates is hopefully going to be a one-time retrograde step in our relative wealth. It’s the painful medicine that those of us who have chosen to leave the UK to open a new business in the open markets of the EU all have to accept.

We didn’t change at 1:1740 as it was a little too soon, we had not had an acceptable formal offer of finance and with savings interest rates so high in UK and so low in euro land and 30pc flat tax on french savings income there was a not inconsiderable loss of savings interest over a min of 2 months, the equivalent of a 100 basis point shift in the fx rate. As of today the fx shift from the high point is sitting at 200 basis points. Also, at the time, the majority of the fx analysts were even on the potential for further rises. There isn’t much we can do to mitigate against the weakness of the pound or fx volatility. We keep a close eye, looking at what’s happening with the EU, US and UK economies. We look at how the markets price expectation on everything from inflation trends, rate rise expectation and labour market reports, and have been doing for quite a while. Despite record high UK gilt yields, the pound remains chronically weak, it is because the money markets seem to have a consensus that the UK is heading toward recession.

As I’ve alluded, we have other assets that can be liquidated. I can after a bit of time access a UK pension pot via QROPS to invest in this, which is going to become our principle ‘pension’ pot, remember it’s walls and business, with possibilities for land disposal or just business disposal. As part of that long term planning, we are actively considering the current set up which too much integrates the two entities. I have wild ideas for the new cafe/restaurant that could be very special, time, finance, hard work, a fair wind and a bit of luck will tell.
 
tinkertaylor said:
dawsey , you have given me the excuse i needed to pay the £20 and join the forum, although it maybe a mistake.......

Anyway your story is inspiring, no good sticking your money under the floor boards when you have a life to live.

You obviously have a background in similar projects , from the finance point of view.

Social media would buy right into your story and maybe a few TV channels as well, is this an avenue you have considered? I doubt you would need any campers with the numbers you would hit with a few of the personalities you have on the site.
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Nice to see my diatribes have encouraged at least one person to pay the sub… I hope Jim takes that into account the next time someone complains if I mention you-know-what :)

I/we do not have any background in finance at all, far from it. I’m just an engineer (mechanical), and Bea has experience in marketing.
 
The cook, in his caravan on land 100m from the site has taken to running his very noisy generator 24/7 and has created what can only be described as a gypsy dump around his caravan with dog pound, various lean to structures, and awnings, latrine, various stuff under tarps and various piles of rubbish. It’s amazing how one person can create such a mess.

We mentioned to the owner yesterday (again) about the fact that the generator was now running all through the night, and that it could be heard on most of the campsite, and would be likely to at best result in complaints and at worst drive his customers away. He is partially deaf and can’t hear it.

He explained to us that he had already told the cook to turn it off after we told him last week it was running to 11pm. The owner said it was like dealing with a child. He also told us that his farmer neighbour had called him to inform that a ‘manouche’ (derogatory French term for traveller, equivalent of p*k*y) had taken up residence on his land. I will take a photo when we walk the dog today. The mess he has somehow created looks like it will take a bit of time to clean up.

It seems to us that the cook is a total liability to the owner.

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Seems he is misbehaving has he had a wiff of the imminent purchase. It is rare to keep it completely under wraps.
If he has access to MHF it would not be difficult to work it out using your descriptions.is he trying to set up some sort of permanent home so he cannot be moved on
 
Nanniemate said:
Seems he is misbehaving has he had a wiff of the imminent purchase. It is rare to keep it completely under wraps.
If he has access to MHF it would not be difficult to work it out using your descriptions.is he trying to set up some sort of permanent home so he cannot be moved on
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Ha ! - I hope not! I’d say the risk of him reading any of this is close to zero, we have never disclosed location and he doesn’t even speak english.
 
dawsey said:
Ha ! - I hope not! I’d say the risk of him reading any of this is close to zero, we have never disclosed location and he doesn’t even speak english.
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Hope you can move him on without fuss. Looking forward to photo and progress reports. It may even plant a spark to put the van on a ferry/train
 
Well all I can say is hats off to you both, this makes my trials with the Lake District Planning Board for the past 3 years like a walk in the park, although with your energy I think you will have finished your project before I break ground 😂
 
dawsey said:
Ha ! - I hope not! I’d say the risk of him reading any of this is close to zero, we have never disclosed location and he doesn’t even speak english.
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Aren’t people curious why a couple are staying so long on a rundown site ?

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Nanniemate said:
What in the area looking to buy a failing business with resident sex pest dirty toilets and smelly trees :rofl:
Sorry could not resist :wink:
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Don’t forget knackered swimming pool, dead grass, sloping pitches, industrial area, no real bar or cafe, no eatery within 5 miles and a railway line….. ::bigsmile:
 
And they have cleaners? Or is this the closed one?

carol
 
dawsey said:
Love a good toilet pic, but just the sinks this time, couldn’t bring myself to go ‘in’.

Hello campers!


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Forward planning that should be admired , already set up for Halloween night !

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carolyn said:
I have wanted the story to be true but I’m now thinking it’s all a bit of a wind up. I know France is a bit more relaxed about Health and safety regs etc but that hasn’t been cleaned this year.
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I've got pet spiders and it takes a lot longer than year to get cobwebs and dust to that standard 🕷️🕸️
 
carolyn said:
I have wanted the story to be true but I’m now thinking it’s all a bit of a wind up. I know France is a bit more relaxed about Health and safety regs etc but that hasn’t been cleaned this year.
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ha - not another that thinks this is all a wind up…

This one is not in service this year. There’s quite a few shower and loo facilities that are out of service, must have happened over a long period as the site has withered and shrunk.

From the ashes will rise….. :)

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