Reasons to wary about booking a holiday villa direct with the owner instead of using an agency.
Faced with the dilemma of which accommodation to chose on your next holiday is a challenge in itself however choosing whether to book direct with essentially what is an anonymous owner or using a reputable agency is an even tougher decision for some. Travel specialist Helen Cobb from Luxurybreaks.com examines the pros and cons of booking directly with an owner and discovers why for the price of a bottle of wine a day you can minimise the risks of being badly let down on your next holiday home experience.
Choosing a holiday villa or apartment has become an increasingly popular choice as more holidaymakers want to have that “home from home” experience. An increasing trend in the last 18 months has been to have what is termed a “villahotel” experience whereby you can have most of the creature comforts that you might enjoy in a hotel such as daily maid service.
Now here comes the toughest step. Where and with whom do you select you holiday accommodation? The internet in the last 4 years has seen a significant increase in traffic from users looking to source that ideal “home from home” holiday villa or apartment and during that time two key sources have emerged.
One of the most popular sources is using a holiday home agency. A good reputable agency will display a selection of properties all of which have been inspected and carry a valid and accurate description of the property itself and of course its local area.
The other alternative is websites that list properties uploaded by the owners themselves. For a fee circa 200-300$ per year the property owner can list pictures of the property and his own description of the property. The initial advantage to you the customer is that buying direct from the owner is often cheaper than booking through an agency.
This aim of this article is not to malign those who chose to go direct to the owners. Far from it as you should be entitled to choice and choice can be healthy. No in fact the aim of this article is to help you the customer who has worked hard all year round to save for your well earned vacation to make as an informed decision as you can to ensure you minimise the chance of being let down or ripped off when it comes to your holiday home experience.
Here are some key things to bear in mind when making your choice:
Q. Do you think the owner would upload awful pictures of the exterior and/or interior of their property and then write in the description that the pictures actually have taken in such a way as to make the property look better than it really is?
A. We often here from our clients that prior to booking with is they tried the “booking direct” route and when they arrived the property looked completely different to the pictures they saw on the internet.
Q. Will the owner be completely honest in his/her description of the property and state exactly what the property is like?
A. We have heard many disturbing accounts from our clients who arrive to find that the description the owner made on the internet was in many respects different from what they experienced upon arrival. More worryingly they encounter blatant omissions in the description which would have influenced the client to chose an alternative holiday home – for example the property has a noisy railway nearby or on a flight path of a local airport etc.
Q. Do you think the owner will be able to provide some key services to make you REALLY feel you are on vacation? For example when you arrive at the villa – are you faced with a lengthy manual which you need to sit and read through for half an hour OR perhaps bare cupboards or fridge (or if you’re lucky a token bottle of cheap wine and some bread and milk) which necessitates the first half day of your vacation finding the local shopping mall do get food and drink in?
A. We invariably negative feedback on this one. A reputable agency will provide a meet and greet service at the airport and/or at the property. A guided tour explaining how things work and contact numbers for any queries is normally provided. Also in advance of your arrival an essentials shopping list will be taken by the agency and then bought, delivered and stored for you.
Q. You’re very unhappy with the holiday accommodation you purchased and want compensation. What do you do?
A. Our experience has shown an owner will be very difficult to get some form of compensation from. However if the owner is registered with an agency they will be more inclined to co-operate in the unlikely event something was not satisfactory. Firstly the owner will be contractually obliged with agent to do so and they will not want to upset the agency for fear of losing future bookings. Don’t forget if you pay by credit card with an agency (few if any owners have this facility) then you have the right to complain to your credit card issuer and make a claim against the amount that has been charged. It’s easier for an owner to get away with poor service than an agency that relies on word of mouth and referrals to function.
These are just a few of the key thoughts you should bear in mind when making your decision. For the sake of the price of a bottle of nice wine a day you give yourself peace of mind and security and what appears to be a great saving by going to an owner direct turns out to be a false economy.
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.
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