Camping boss: one job, many hats!

Name: Camping La Brouquere
Address: Betbeze, Gondrin, Gers, 32330, fr
Telephone: +33 562 29 19 44
Price range: 15-26 euro

Sonja and Wouter tell the story of what it is like to be campsite owners
January 2021

The best thing about being a camping boss?

Of course the satisfying compliments from camping guests after having a fantastic and relaxing time here at Camping La Brouquere.

Camping boss: one job, many hats...

In addition, the enormous diversity of responsibilities of running a small campsite in the countryside of South West France. In fact, we are wearing so many hats that we don't even have enough closet space to put them. Of course, all day long we wear the most important hat of hostess and host during the camping season. But the hats of chef, gardener, translator, driver, oracle, vegetable grower, cleaner, handyman, administrative assistant and 'CEO/COO/CTO/CFO' are always within close reach. And in between we also wear the hats of the storyteller or the listening ear. Which other profession offers so much variety and diversity?

'Don't you have staff for that?'

No, preferably not. Wouldn't it be a shame to leave all those satisfying chores to others? We prefer to enjoy such pleasures ourselves. Even if a camping guest looks over with a longing look as we make our rounds on our sit-on lawn mower. Such pleasures are the sole privilege of the campsite owner himself/herself. Sure enough, one job is more fun than the other. For example, cleaning the toilets is not quite at the very top of our top 10 of favourite activities. But seeing the toilet block shining clean again, a deep feeling of satisfaction emerges. Something we are quite proud of.

From a dilapidated winery...

'Then what do you do in winter time?'

is a question asked by many campers. Well, outside of the camping season we are wearing a whole set of different hats: those of bricklayer, cement mixer, electrician, plumber, contractor, painter, carpenter, roofer, tiler, architect, driver of excavators, bulldozers and other roadwork engines, geranium grower, landscape designer, gardener, IT specialist, web designer, programmer, marketing specialist, just to name a few. All challenging and exciting jobs that we never thought we could ever do. But where would we be without the help of the YouTube instructional videos and the enormous helpfulness of the local hardware store...? We certainly won't be bored any time soon here outside the camping season.

'And don't you have people for that?'

Well, of course we could. But for a small campsite, with a limited revenue the expenses must of course be kept under control. Then 'do it yourself' seems very obvious. And after all, we are always physically present at the campsite, even in winter time, so why not? Moreover, it is greatly satisfying to see what beautiful things you can build with your own hands. In our opinion, no office job can compete with that.

To a beatifully renovated campsite with all facilities...

'And always with perfect results?'

Well, the key to success lies in starting small. But above all, listening carefully to advice from professional experts in the area. From time to time we do our best to suppress our Dutch stubbornness and do as the experts recommend. That's not always easy, but with a little patience results are getting better and better. And oh yes, that obsessive punctuality in making appointments that the Dutch consider being a tremendously good quality: try exchanging that for a 'laisser faire' attitude when it comes to dealing with the concept of 'time', which the French here in the Gers know how to do so well. It makes life a lot more pleasant, although it doesn't necessarily get the job done faster...

'Any hat that is still missing?'

Well, our collection of hats is already quite substantial. But maybe someday we might want to take up welding. Our retired Armagnac neighbour and good friend a little further up the road has already offered to show us the ropes. But for the time being we will stick with our current to-do list: building a new toilet building, a new swimming pool and creating a few more camping pitches......

And when asked when all of that will be finished, we do what every Frenchman would do: with a gentle shrugging of the shoulders and a mischievous smile say

'on verra...'!

Sonja and Wouter welcome you at Camping La Brouquere...

This is a story of Sonja and Wouter about their lives as campsite owners at Camping La Brouquere (January 2021).

Would you like to read more stories? Then follow this link: Stories about Camping La Brouquere

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