RF Newsletter 22, April 16 2000

There has been so much happening the last few weeks that I could fill ten newsletters, but I won't. I have promised to keep these newsletters brief and informative.

I have also promised never to sell my mailing list or to let any other mailing service have access to your e-mail addresses.

The vacation rental market in France has been very strange this year. We have had a lot of inquiries, about 60% up on last year and are filling up many of our properties, but some properties are getting little or no interest at all. I am concerned that there will be a late rush and than many people will be disappointed. In case you are new to our sites I should explain that the properties we list or find for you are not our own properties, except for our two apartments in Nizas, and we do not take paid advertising for the properties on our sites at...

http://www.RentalsFrance.com/
and
http://www.GoTo-France.com/

Our client is you, not the owner. We try to find the best properties and the best deals for you and we charge the owner a commission only if you book and accept the property. We guarantee that the property is described accurately and we will add your comments about the properties to the site or in this newsletter.

Here is some feedback from a guest who stayed at Chateau Ricardelle, which is on our RentalsFrance site :

=== Tony,

We just returned from Chateau Ricardelle, and wanted to tell you our impressions. First of all, the location is excellent -- close to Narbonne, a little further to Gruissan, and also close to the hypermarket. The Chateau pushes the hypermarket for shopping, but the meats and cheeses are better in the Halles in Narbonne, and the bread is better at the baker in Gruissan. The touring in the region is excellent, with one week hardly scratching the surface of places to go. As for the Chateau. The apartment is quite comfortable, and the staff are very helpful. It is not a 4 or 5 star property, however -- probably 3 is a fair assessment. This didn't matter to us, but if someone went expecting a luxury situation, they might be in for a surprise. All of this notwithstanding, we would have no qualms recommending it for a vacation. ===

===

Each year the road traffic increases The new highway to the south from Paris (La Meridienne) is nearly finished, but there are still two bottlenecks, one by Milleau and the other at this end. At weekends it can take hours to cover the last few miles so try to avoid the roads at peak periods. The Autoroutes have warning signs at the entrances, from green meaning all clear to black meaning avoid at all costs. They ain't kidding. The radio and television keep up to the minute news about traffic and I am trying to make a WAP site to give hour by hour traffic news on the GoTo-France WAP site which I plan to be on-line for the summer rush.

===

Talking about WAP, this is why I have been very busy the last few weeks. In recent newsletters I have been asking you for any thoughts or contacts to introduce my Ceetel project...

http://Ceetel.com/

...well it looks as if it is taking off. A lot of interest, some help and now I can take it forward to the next step.

All of you who helped will hear from me when I have got the structure sorted out, anyone who is interested in learning more just send me an e-mail. Ceetel could be a leading product in the next generation of wireless applications. You read it here first !!! ===

I have had a lot of mail from people looking for employment in France and asking my advice. I can only speak for our region where we have just wine and tourism plus very high "official" unemployment. It is hard to get any job and it certainly helps if you are French. There is a lot of news about the "silicon valley" of France being right here, from Arles to Toulouse and centered on Montpellier, my nearest city, but it is a well kept secret if it is. If you are looking for something special in France, write to our notice board which you can access from most pages on the sites. I will also try to put a special page on the www.GoTo-France.com site about jobs and job opportunities.