Luxury Hotel Barge business for sale

LUXURY HOTEL BARGE BUSINESS

The sale includes:

• 30-metre hotel barge: fully furnished and equipped
• The Business: full itineraries, booking agent contacts, goodwill and training
• The Van – Mercedes People carrier
• The Lease: 2-bed-roomed canal-side house with garden
• Price: €770,000 (includes 3% agency commission) – ref n° 340

This business is much like the other B&Bs and hotels that we sell … except that it floats and navigates all around SW France. And, if run properly, generates a lot more income than a B&B.

There are three main elements to the business:

• The Hotel Barge. This is a 30-metre working barge that has been fitted out as a luxury floating hotel. It is currently used to take groups of up to 6 guests on week-long cruises to the Bordeaux vineyards and tourist spots in the South-West. Containing three double bedrooms for guests (all en-suite), lounge/dining-room, 2 crew cabins, owner/pilot’s cabin, galley, pantry and laundry room as well as a vast sun-deck, it is kept in pristine condition and sold fully furnished down to the last linen napkin. The engine, the battery-charger, the navigation system, the water tank etc have all been revised and passed by the relevant authorities.
• The Business: no good having a barge if you don’t know what to do with the thing. That’s why the entire business is being sold together with the boat. This includes all the itineraries currently used, the Tour Operators with whom the current owners work, the exhaustive list of former clients (who often provide repeat business), the website and – most important of all – the chance to do a period of training with the current owners. Finally, there is a Mercedes People Carrier that comes with the business: essential for picking up guests at the airport and transferring them to the barge as well as making short transfers between barge and tourist attractions.
• The Lease. Not everyone wants to spend 12 months a year on a boat so it’s handy to have a dry-land base for the winter months. The lease in question gives the owners the right to rent a beautiful two-storey house on the canal bank at a very advantageous rate. Best of all, the barge can be moored right in front of the house (it’s a VNF house in fact).

These three elements are indivisible. It’s all or nothing. 

To run the business buyers will need a crew. Typically, a crew will consist of a pilot (who needs a recognised pilot’s licence), a chef, a hostess and a driver. Usually a couple buying the business will fill two of these functions while employing the other two crew. Pilots and chefs are fairly easy to find for the “season” on the waterways of S. France. That is why the business is being sold without any employees or employment contracts.

Our opinion:

The striking thing about this sale is how transparent it is. Unlike most B&B or gite businesses, it is owned and run by an SARL (a French limited Company) and buyers will have access to all the accounts, the licences, the authorisations, the leases and contacts pertaining to the business. A very reputable firm of accountants keeps the books and all taxes, dues and declarations are paid and up-to-date. There are no catches as far as we can see … and if there are, these will become apparent during the training session with the current owners. In our opinion this represents a very good deal. 

CONTACT US NOW for more information and to arrange a viewing

en français