The large patrician villa of the Domaine du Rayol was sold by Alfred and Thérèse Courmes in 1925 to be transformed into a hotel amid the development of a seaside resort in Le Rayol. The couple then stayed in Le Rayolet Villa until the sudden death of Alfred Courmes on August 23, 1934. Thérèse Courmes spent another six years on the estate before selling it to the aircraft manufacturer Henry Potez in 1940. Forced by the war to abandon his factories in the Somme department, Henry Potez then moved to the Domaine du Rayol with his family, renovated the houses, and resumed the maintenance of the gardens.