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.

So you've decided on an apartment or a villa - this is now the increasingly popular choice especially those properties that offer a "villahotel" experience - in other words you have the space and privacy of a "home from home" with the added benefit of services such as daily maid cleaning.

So the difficult decisions are made in terms of where to and where to sleep - but on of the most nervous decisions holidaymakers have to face with whom to book the property they desire. Over the last 4 years two key sources of holiday homes 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 most popular method is to book your property direct with owner. There are 4 or 5 main websites available which list the owners property so you can contact them directly. The owner will have paid the website a fee of around 200-300$ per year and for that they get to upload their own pics of their property along with their own description. The initial advantage to you the customer is that you can buy direct from the owner which is often cheaper than booking a property through an agency.

The aim of this article is not to criticise those who chose to book direct with the owners. Not at all, you should have choice and choice should be healthy. Our aim is merely to make you aware of the potential pitfalls that lie ahead when booking direct with an owner thereby minimising the chance of being let down and ruining your hard earned holiday experienced.

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. Many of our clients have tried booking direct with owners and the following year when they come to us we hear tales that property looked completely different to the pictures they saw on the internet.

Q. Do you think the owner will 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 not pleased with your the holiday you home you paid for and want some 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.

Article Source: TravelFreeGuides.com

About the Author

Helen Cobb #1 and has been in the travel industry for over 20 years and has an excellent portfolio of VIP clients. Helen and her team at Luxurybreaks #2want to ensure that your next holiday villa experience is one to remember for all the RIGHT reasons.

by: Fred Cobb

Total views: 7 Word Count: 987 Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 Time: 5:03 PM - 0 comments

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