When to start? In February
The first enquiries for July arrive in January. Guests who book early are those who stay long and compare carefully; they look at the photographs, read last summer’s reviews and choose before the Easter holidays. A residence not ready by March has already lost its best weeks.
February is also the month when one sees everything. The light comes in low, the rooms are empty, the wind has left the windows clean. The tired sofa, the stain on the bathroom ceiling, the socket that no longer holds: nothing hides. It is the moment for the list.
What to redo, what to keep
One does not redo everything. One redoes what the guest touches: the bedding first, because a bad night becomes a bad review; the sofa, because it is in the second photograph; the lighting, because a room lit by a white ceiling fixture looks smaller and cheaper than it is. Matching tableware, new tea towels, one good knife: these cost little and show at once.
One keeps what holds and what has a story. A wooden table marked by thirty summers is worth more than a new one that looks like the neighbour’s. Shelves with real books, an old mirror, a wool rug: these are what turn up in the reviews, not the dishwasher.
Linen, shutters, light
Linen makes the bed and the bed makes the room. We ask for hotel linen — heavy, white, pressed — and two sets per bed, so that the change between two stays never depends on a late machine. Towels are counted per person, not per bathroom.
Shutters are a matter of season. In July they are left ajar in the morning to keep the cool; in October they are opened wide. The guest book must say so, because northern guests close everything and complain of the heat, and southern guests open everything and complain of the noise. As for light, it is free in Villeneuve-Loubet: it is enough to take the heavy curtains and the objects that block it out of the frame.
The guest book, written for the house
A good guest book is short and true. The code, the Wi-Fi, the bins, how the air conditioning works, the number of steps down to the beach. Then five addresses, not fifty: the bakery open on Mondays, the Saturday market, the restaurant where one goes without booking, the quiet beach, the Vaugrenier path for a morning run. The rest, guests find on their own.
What paperwork before letting in Villeneuve-Loubet?
Before the first booking, one must have read the co-ownership regulations — some restrict or forbid short-term letting — and checked with the town hall what it requires: declaration, registration number, tourist tax. These rules change, and every commune has its own. We point out what to verify and with whom; we do not give legal advice, and compliance remains the owner’s. It is less daunting than it seems when one starts in February. The details, town by town: the 2026 holiday-rental rules.
How to set prices for a first season?
Finally, the owner’s dates are blocked first, then the calendar opens with prices that follow the season: higher from June to September, gentler in April, May and October, honest in winter. A residence ready in March, photographed at the right hour and priced with discipline, fills without needing to be discounted. That is the whole point of preparing.
Further reading: preparation and renovation before letting · Airbnb management in Villeneuve-Loubet · the hour and the angle of the photographs.
This note describes our way of doing things, not a general rule. Every home and every commune has its particulars; the property study is there to look at them one by one.