14 Leggett International Real Estate
SEASONAL RENTALS: BORDEAUX AND ARCACHON
Cash in on the sunshine, and
earn an income from your
holiday home.
With rising inflation, particularly
energy costs, an increasing number
of second-home owners have been
turning to seasonal rentals to cover
the running costs of their holiday
home.
SeLoger estimate that, before
Covid, the number of holiday homes
available to rent rose by 9%, with the
number of rental nights increasing
by 14%. Abritel estimate that the
average occupancy rate for holiday
homes is 72%.
Bordeaux and Arcachon sit on the
Atlantic coast and are popular with
tourists and second-home owners.
They boast around 2,200 hours of
sunshine each year.
Let's compare the two markets:
Bordeaux
Globally renowned for its wine, food,
culture and architecture, Bordeaux
attracts around 9.6m visitors per
year. The tourist office confirms that
visitor numbers rose by 6% before
the pandemic, with this trend likely
to continue. The historic centre was
listed as a UNESCO heritage site
in 2007 and the city has around
12,000 hotel rooms with an average
year-round occupancy rate of 72%.
The top 5 visitor nationalities, in
order, are French, British, American,
Chinese and German. Florian
Votion is the Leggett Property
Management representative in
Bordeaux, he tells us:
"In Bordeaux, the seasonal rental
market has been highly regulated
since 2018.
Hosts must deal with the tourist tax
and renting a secondary residence
for the night is prohibited. Renting a
main residence is limited to 120 days
per year. In addition, a registration
number is now required.
The difference between Bordeaux
and the Atlantic coast (Arcachon,
Lacanau) is that tourism in Bordeaux
is urban and short-stay. Tourists
come for the weekend to visit the
city, its heritage and the various
wine châteaux in the region. A lot
of new housing is being built mainly
apartments, allowing investors to
offer more on Bordeaux's rental
market."
Arcachon
This is a popular seaside town,
around 45 minutes drive from
Bordeaux airport. Renowned for its
natural beauty and sandy beaches
home to the Dune du Pilat, the
highest sand dune in Europe, and
Arcachon Bay, known for its oyster
beds and bird sanctuary - all adding
to the approximate 2.5m visitors p.a.
The tourist office estimates that the
town has around 2,000 hotel rooms.
This is a more seasonal destination
than Bordeaux, but they estimate an
average occupancy rate around 80%
in summer.
The top 5 visitor nationalities, in
order, are French, British, German,
Belgian and Dutch. Héloise