Thread: Carpet & Upholstery cleaning in Spain

I run a carpet and upholstery cleaning company in the UK at the moment and would like your opinions on whether you feel we could make a living by providing our services in Spain.[/IMG]I run a carpet and upholstery cleaning company in the UK at the moment and would like your opinions on whether you feel we could make a living by providing our services in Spain.
I realise that there are not too many carpets there, but that would probably mean that there are not too many carpet cleaners. we also provide tile and grout cleaning and sealing,Natural stone floor cleaning, rug cleaning, curtain cleaning so maybe these services would interest some people there.
If you take a look at our site it will give you an idea of the services we offer and your honest opinions would be greatly valued. ( Please read the guidelines) Carpet, curtain, hard floor and upholstery cleaners in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and the West Midlands
What I would like to know is
1. Do you think we could earn a living in Barcelona?
2. If you live in Spain,would you use our service?
3. If not Barcalona,which part of Spain would you recommend?
4. How would you market a business like this in Spain, eg, Which publications would you advertise in, how would you get the message across to the expats and the Spanish?
Thanks
Phil

In a word No. I am sorry to be so blunt but certainly on the Costa del Sol we tend not to have carpets but a few rugs in winter. We have 8x8 rugs and we wash them in the washing machine if and when. Most of us have terracotta tiling so carpets are surplus to requirement. I would, however, suggest that if you want to 'dip your foot in the water' then I would suggest you do so in some of the more northern areas where winter means winter [ Madrid had over a foot of snow last year!!]
Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

..have to agree with keddyboy for the Costa del Sol area. You are more likely to need a pressure washer here than a carpet cleaner.
OH used to run a carpet cleaning business part time in UK but he wouldn't do it here unless he could get into office cleaning, which is more difficult to break into without good Spanish language skills. His is OK but not good enough.
I think if you tried a major city such as Barca or Madrid or as Keddyboy says, further North, you may have more luck.
There would be more folks with quality persian rugs perhaps in the cities perhaps ? Always a good contract to get.
One part of your business idea - cleaning and polishing floors - terrazo or tiled, to a high gloss - does work here in CDS from my viewpoint anyway. We have employed floor polishers on several occassions in the past and they did a super job and were both Brits. It is a useful service for reformed town houses too. Bars sometimes need the tiled floors repolished too.
We don't have a single carpet in any of our houses, mainly because we have dogs. Many of us don't even have vaccuum cleaners because the need is not as great as in UK, when you are cleaning rooms with mop and bucket. Curtains are not popular with the Spanish - they use persiannas or shutters to keep the dust and heat out in high summer. As far as lounge furniture goes, most house I have been into seem to have throws over their sofas to keep dust off etc.,
I hope I have offerred some constructive ideas and not been too negative.
and that this has been of some help to you, Phil, and wish you best of luck.