Ski resorts are taking on the Residence de Tourisme concept to an increasing extent these days. The idea has been around since the 1980s, but do you know what it involves and what are its advantages? This article explains everything.

A Residence de Tourisme is an apartment block that is intended exclusively for tourist use. This gives the apartment owners the official status of being a 'Loueur en Meuble' (providers of furnished accommodation) which entitles them to claim back the VAT on the purchase price of the property. It can be applied to anyone, and represents a great opportunity for buying to rent. The buyer owns the apartment outright and decides at the time of purchase how many weeks he would like to occupy it himself.

He then draws up a contract with an agency which is responsible for renting out the apartment for the remaining weeks, thus guaranteeing an income.

Another advantage is that the occupiers of an apartment in a Residence de Tourisme enjoy a whole range of top quality hotel facilities. So what do these facilities involve? Investing in a Residence de Tourisme removes all the usual constraints and hassles of being a 'classic' owner; such the cleaning, laundry, and periodic maintenance of the apartment. It also allows access to some high quality services like spas, saunas, hammams, swimming pools,fitness rooms, well being treatments etc.

Every ski resort needs to manage its property developments, offering top class facilities and optimising occupation rates; On average most residences are occupied for 15 weeks each winter, which is a lot more than is usual for classic apartments. In addition, clients in winter sports resorts value the apres ski culture. Holidaymakers now expect to have a range of facilities available to maximise their comfort and enjoyment. So from the client's point of view, the Residence de Tourisme is the way forward.

Serre Chevalier now has quite a few 'Residence de Tourisme' properties available and it does seem to be a trend that is set to continue.

Serre Chevalier property has certainly been a good investment for the last 20 years or so and I believe will continue to be so as there is so much development going on in the resort.