Renting out your holiday home in the South of France

Whether you're new to renting out your home in the South of France or have been letting your property for years and are looking for a new perspective, we help you get the most out of your investment.

We’re a family-run business with a friendly, professional team based in the South of France. Advertising with us means that you draw on over 20 years of local experience. Since 2006, we’ve specialised in helping homeowners successfully let and care for their holiday properties. What makes us different? Every member of our team also lets their own home or gîte, giving us first-hand insight into what owners really need from an agency.

What we offer you

We’re a small family business that has been renting out villas in the South of France since 2006. Over the years, we’ve worked tirelessly to grow our reach, building steady increases in website traffic and bookings year after year. Competing with the big corporate agencies isn’t always easy, but being independent gives us an edge: we can focus on personal service, genuine relationships with our owners, and making sure every property gets the attention it deserves. By staying on top of Google searches and constantly improving our visibility, we ensure the homes we represent enjoy excellent exposure to the right guests and the best chance of success.

• A family business withover 20 years of experience in the South of France rental market.
• Over 165 000 unique visitors to our website,  all of whom could be searching for your villa!
• Excellent Google rankings. Our site ranks in the top 3 organic searches for most 'holiday villa' and 'south of France' related queries, effectively out-ranking the big corporates.
• Optional access to our SFHV Partner Network through which we can distribute your listing to 3rd party platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, TUI, Locasun, HomeToGo, Holidu, etc.
• Our main target market is the English-speaking market, primarily the United Kingdom. Our SFHV Partner Network also attracts guests from other parts of Europe, and the world.
• A proactive sales team that is available 7 days a week and will propose your property to potential clients, so that your property is not just sitting idly in our inventory waiting to be found.
• No surprise instant bookings because we verify availability with you before accepting any booking.
• Immediate transfer of deposits and a partial balance payment before arrival. No waiting for guests to arrive before receiving any money.
• You will receive the client's contact details so you can get to know them and prepare them for their stay, if you like.
• Sensible client cancellation terms. The deposit is non-refundable from the moment the booking has been confirmed, and the full amount is non-refundable from 8 weeks (56 days) before arrival.
• Excellent and committed personal service to both owners and clients, there is always someone to talk to.
• Concierge service, offer your guests extra services and discounts on car hire, airport hotel/parking, transfers, etc.
• Expert advice on how to manage your listing.
• A dedicated team whose members have been living in and loving the South of France for years, get to know us!
• You will be speaking with the same team members every time, and not call centre employees who don't know you or your property. 

Commission and fees

Our standard commission is 20% (incl VAT) per booking. This amount is based on the total rental rate, excluding extra charges. What you expect is what you receive. No variable fees, split owner/client fees, surprise extra charges or complicated subscription schemes. 

We get to know your villa

Our unique promise is that we view and approve every property, so both owner and client can rest assured that the details shown on our website are accurate and informed. It also means that we can advise the client on which properties will best suit their requirements.

Property management

If your property is within a 30-minute drive of Béziers, we offer property management services based on your requirements. These services can include full property management, cleaning and laundry services, general maintenance services, surveillance visits, and more. We can also offer affordable photography of your holiday home.

So, what next?

Advertising with us is easy, just click on the button below and fill out the contact form. Tell us a little bit about your house and if possible include a link to your website or some photos so we can get an idea of the property. We will then get back to you and will set you up with an owner account where you can manage your listing. When your listing is up and running we will plan a visit so we can meet you or your property manager and see the villa.

All listings on our website adhere to our Advertisement and Rental Service Conditions and our Booking Conditions and Information.

What to expect once your listing is live

Once your listing is live on our website you will receive an arranged visit from a member of our team in order to view your villa, apartment, or chateau. We are there to familiarise ourselves with your property and to ensure that our published details are accurate. We will be pleased to meet with you or your property management representative and answer any of your questions or offer advice, as necessary.

We can then also offer you the option to distribute your listing to our SFHV Partner Network accessing markets worldwide, with a focus on the Northern European market and the French domestic market. We are partnered with 3rd party platforms and OTAs via our channel manager and can distribute your listing onto their networks for maximum exposure. This is an optional service, and you can handpick yourself on which platforms you would like to have your property advertised, if any. Partners include Airbnb, VRBO and the wider Expedia Group network (Abritel, FeWo Direkt, etc.), TUI Group network, Locasun, and others; as well as villa compare sites such as HomeToGo and Holidu. 

How does it work?

When we receive an enquiry or booking request for your property we will contact you straight away via email and possibly text message, Whatsapp and/or phone to discuss any questions that the client may have as well as confirm availability. We will not accept any reservation request without having confirmation from you that the booking is accepted. We strive to deal with enquiries and booking requests within a few hours of receipt with a maximum of 24 hours. We also have an active sales team that can propose relevant properties to clients, meaning that your property is not just idly sitting by waiting for a potential client to find it, but will be actively proposed to our clients.

Upon acceptance of a booking request by you, we will deal with the collection of the deposit payment as well as the completion of the booking form, do note that the contract remains between the client and owner. Once everything is confirmed you will receive an overview of the booking, including client details with which you can contact the client directly if you wish. At this point, you will receive a deposit payment of 20%.

You will receive a further part payment of 50% 21 days before the arrival date.

The remaining payment of 30% will be paid out 2-5 days after the arrival of the client.

You will have the client's details from the moment that the booking is confirmed so you can get to know the people who will be staying in your house, ask or answer any questions that you or the client may have about their stay, prepare them for their arrival by sending address details, security codes, details of the property manager/local caretaker, travel directions, etc.

If a client cancels their reservation more than 8 weeks (56 days) before their planned arrival, you will still receive the 20% deposit. If a client cancels their reservation less than 8 weeks (56 days) before their planned arrival, you will receive a full payout. Clients are strongly recommended to take out adequate travel insurance.

We create lasting relationships with our owners, and as we are a small local team we know many of them personally. To keep in touch we regularly send out a newsletter for owners, which provides updates on the latest developments, highlights some of our favourite properties, and talks about case studies of owners who we feel have some special insight into successful letting. Have a look at our Owner's Experiences page for case studies and owner interviews.

Have you optimised your listing, but are still not getting the bookings you were hoping for or do you simply want to boost your new listing for faster, and better, results? We have designed several Villa Promotion Packages, to promote your listing. Starting from only £99 per year, these marketing packages are specifically designed to give your property the boost it so much deserves, and of course to maximise your sales! 

Tips for successful letting

Advertising your property correctly can sometimes seem a little overwhelming and a bit hit-and-miss. Thankfully, we have the recipe in order to make the most of your holiday home, and advertise it in the best way in order to encourage clients to click the "book now" button. 

Below, you will find a list of key ingredients that will help you to get more exposure, and attract more clients:

A detailed description of your property is key. When booking a property, people are handing over their hard-earned money in return for a fantastic holiday. In order to make sure that our clients know exactly what to expect about the property, it is important to provide all details about your property, inside and out. Describe the living areas, the amenities and facilities that your property offers, the outside area, the layout of the bedrooms and anything else that you deem important for clients to know. House rules are also very important to make clear to everyone involved. Do you accept pets? Fantastic, let us know! Is your property child friendly? Wheelchair accessible? Do you have a chlorine or salt-water pool? All of this is very useful information for us and the clients, so clue us in on every aspect of your property for an accurate representation!

Get your photos right. Photos speak a thousand words, and this plays an even more important role in your property's advertisement. Provide good quality, recent photos (minimum size 1200x800) that show the property in its entirety. Nobody likes a pixelated, dark photo - you want to show your property as you see it yourself, and no one can expect a bad-quality photo to portray your property to its full potential. Need some help? We offer affordable holiday home photography for our members.

The price of your property! Research your local market, see what kind of rental properties are around in your area and how much they ask per week. Make sure to list your villa at a competitive, realistic rental price. If you're just starting to let your holiday villa, undercut the competition a little to get people interested and give your holiday villa a chance to earn valuable customer reviews. If you need advice on this, we are here to help, so please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Respond quickly to enquiries. By working quickly, you're ensuring that the client who is interested in your property does not have enough time to research others. At South France Holiday Villas, we deal with every enquiry the second that it hits our inbox. It would be extremely helpful if our owners would do so also, and respond to all enquiry confirmations as soon as possible. 24 hours is enough time for a client to find another property. A speedy response is essential.

Keep us up-to-date on accurate availability. Unlike other companies, we do not offer our web visitors an "instant book" option. We rely on our owners to provide us with up-to-date availability, in order to speed up the booking process. Often, a client will have their heart set on a particular property that is showing as available for their dates, only to find out that the property is already booked. In order to eliminate this disappointment, we ask you to update us regularly regarding your availability.

Reviews are becoming invaluable. People are looking up reviews for absolutely everything and anything that they spend money on. That new kettle you just bought? You can bet anything that there are 100 reviews out there, advising people whether it is worth the money or not. Any and all reviews that you have would be incredibly helpful. Only have them in a guest book? That's fine! Scan them over to us and we will get them onto your property page.

Some other tips that work!

• UK TV and WiFi are now considered essential assets in a holiday property.
• Good property management makes the difference between a property which is impeccably presented, and one that is just acceptable. If you aren't on-site to manage your property yourself, then contract an individual or a company in whom you have complete confidence. We provide property management services in the Beziers area.
• Consider installing efficient heaters/radiators and possibly even a pool heater so that you can lengthen your letting season into April, October or even during the winter months.
• Cast an objective eye over your property. Clients will not necessarily appreciate too many personal items on display, and they will certainly not appreciate clutter. Keep the lines clean and simple – it will be easier on the eye, and easier on the cleaning.
• Act on the generous side when it comes to cutlery, crockery, glassware and linen. If your house sleeps four, don't just leave four of everything but add extra plates and glasses etc.
• Consider making your property wheelchair-friendly; people with disabilities are just as in need of a holiday in the sun as those without.
• Health and safety are paramount. Your swimming pool has to be securely fenced or alarmed, and any sudden drops in the garden need to be either secured or mentioned on the property details to protect small children or the infirm.

One of the most helpful tips that we can offer you is this: act as a client and spend some time in your own property. Cook, relax, watch TV, sunbathe by the pool, ... use every facility on offer in your rental property, and make sure that every aspect of the house is functioning, clean and has everything needed in order to make the most of it. Also make sure that there is enough of everything, if your house sleeps maximum 8 people, provide sufficient cutlery, glasses, pots, pans, sunloungers, etc. This has proven to be the most effective way of making sure that your property is ready for clients.