Travel specialist Helen Cobb asks what are the hidden dangers of choosing the cheaper option of booking your holiday rental accommodation through an agency or directly with the owner.
So you've decided to stay in a holiday apartment or villa - Where and with whom do you select your holiday accommodation? The internet over the last 4 years has seen two key sources emerge.
The first is a holiday villa rental agency. A reputable agency ensures that all their properties listed have been inspected and carry a true account of the property and its surroundings.
The other most popular source is to find your property through one of several websites that merely list the owner's properties and you can book through the owner direct.The obvious advantage to you the customer is that you buy direct from the owner which is often cheaper than booking a through an agency.
The author's aim of this article is to raise awareness of some of the potential "hazards" that you may find unacceptable when booking direct with an owner therefore the author wants to ensure you're not let down and your hard earned holiday is ruined.
Here are some questions you might like to ask yourself when making your choice:
Q. Will an owner be transparent enough to upload pictures of the exterior and/or interior that truly reflect their home?
A. Many clients have found to their cost that in real life a property looked completely different/better to the pictures on the internet.
Q. Will the description of the property truly reflect what it looks like in real life and will it give a full and candid appraisal of local area?
A. Once again the tales I hear of customers arriving to find that the description the owner made on the internet was in many respects different from what they experienced upon arrival. Sometimes worse than that the owner has seemingly purposely omitted to include key pieces of information that may have influenced the decision to book the property - for example the property has a noisy railway line nearby or perhaps is under the flight path of a local airport etc.
Q. Is it fair or unreasonable to expect the owner to lay on some key basic services as part of your booking or will you face being greeted by a dark lifeless home and a lengthy instruction manual which you need to sit and read through to discover for yourself how everything works!?
Will you be faced with empty larders and fridge (you might be fortunate and be given a bottle of cheap wine, bread and milk) resulting in you spending the first day of your holiday visiting the local shops do get food and provisions?
A. Reputable agencies will have a "meet and greet" service at the airport and/or at the property. They will provide a personalized tour explaining how things work and provide you with a good back up service during your stay. An advance shopping list can be carried out on your behalf and be delivered and stored for your convenience.
Q. You're been let down by the owner in regards to the holiday home you purchased and want to get some compensation.
A. Experience has shown that you would find it very difficult to cost effectively get some form of compensation directly from an owner. However if the owner is listed with a reputable agency he/she will be more inclined to offer compensation in the unlikely event something was not up to scratch. Primarily because he would be contractually obliged to do so and secondly he doesn't want jeopardise his established rental income.
Also bear in mind if you pay by credit card with an agency (owners will be unlikely to provide this facility) you have the right to complain to your credit card issuer and make a claim against the amount that has been charged against your card. Agencies need good feedback and referrals to survive - owners direct can be more anonymous and are less reliant on word of mouth and referrals.
These are just a few things to bear in mind when making your next booking for holiday accommodation. For the price of a good bottle of wine a day you get peace of mind and security that the home you booked is what you will find when you get there!
Helen Cobb is a travel specialist #1 and has been looking after her villa rental customers for over 15 years. Helen and her team at Luxurybreaks #2want to ensure that your next holiday villa rental experience is one to remember for all the RIGHT reasons.
So you've decided to stay in a holiday apartment or villa - Where and with whom do you select your holiday accommodation? The internet over the last 4 years has seen two key sources emerge.
The first is a holiday villa rental agency. A reputable agency ensures that all their properties listed have been inspected and carry a true account of the property and its surroundings.
The other most popular source is to find your property through one of several websites that merely list the owner's properties and you can book through the owner direct.The obvious advantage to you the customer is that you buy direct from the owner which is often cheaper than booking a through an agency.
The author's aim of this article is to raise awareness of some of the potential "hazards" that you may find unacceptable when booking direct with an owner therefore the author wants to ensure you're not let down and your hard earned holiday is ruined.
Here are some questions you might like to ask yourself when making your choice:
Q. Will an owner be transparent enough to upload pictures of the exterior and/or interior that truly reflect their home?
A. Many clients have found to their cost that in real life a property looked completely different/better to the pictures on the internet.
Q. Will the description of the property truly reflect what it looks like in real life and will it give a full and candid appraisal of local area?
A. Once again the tales I hear of customers arriving to find that the description the owner made on the internet was in many respects different from what they experienced upon arrival. Sometimes worse than that the owner has seemingly purposely omitted to include key pieces of information that may have influenced the decision to book the property - for example the property has a noisy railway line nearby or perhaps is under the flight path of a local airport etc.
Q. Is it fair or unreasonable to expect the owner to lay on some key basic services as part of your booking or will you face being greeted by a dark lifeless home and a lengthy instruction manual which you need to sit and read through to discover for yourself how everything works!?
Will you be faced with empty larders and fridge (you might be fortunate and be given a bottle of cheap wine, bread and milk) resulting in you spending the first day of your holiday visiting the local shops do get food and provisions?
A. Reputable agencies will have a "meet and greet" service at the airport and/or at the property. They will provide a personalized tour explaining how things work and provide you with a good back up service during your stay. An advance shopping list can be carried out on your behalf and be delivered and stored for your convenience.
Q. You're been let down by the owner in regards to the holiday home you purchased and want to get some compensation.
A. Experience has shown that you would find it very difficult to cost effectively get some form of compensation directly from an owner. However if the owner is listed with a reputable agency he/she will be more inclined to offer compensation in the unlikely event something was not up to scratch. Primarily because he would be contractually obliged to do so and secondly he doesn't want jeopardise his established rental income.
Also bear in mind if you pay by credit card with an agency (owners will be unlikely to provide this facility) you have the right to complain to your credit card issuer and make a claim against the amount that has been charged against your card. Agencies need good feedback and referrals to survive - owners direct can be more anonymous and are less reliant on word of mouth and referrals.
These are just a few things to bear in mind when making your next booking for holiday accommodation. For the price of a good bottle of wine a day you get peace of mind and security that the home you booked is what you will find when you get there!
Helen Cobb is a travel specialist #1 and has been looking after her villa rental customers for over 15 years. Helen and her team at Luxurybreaks #2want to ensure that your next holiday villa rental experience is one to remember for all the RIGHT reasons.
About the Author:
Before you book your next holiday vacation home, make sure you check out Helen Cobb's excellent free article on why paying less direct with an owner could end up costing you more in the long run, You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.
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