Guest’s Guide to Booking a Holiday Home

With the massive growth in the holiday home industry, forecasted to double in the coming 10 years, the industry is in chaos as large business attempt to de-fragment and streamline a very complex and diverse traditional business. With the major public companies and funded organisations diving headlong in to secure trading or booking margins, the guests are the ones who will suffer eventually as prices rise.

Owners and agents cannot sustain the rising costs, the increasing corporate control as the market pushes to a hotel style booking model.

We thought as a rental agency that it is probably time somebody explained to the public at large, the confusing nature of holiday rentals, also known as self-catering, vacation rentals and holiday homes!

Not too long ago, when going on holiday to a Florida villa or a Devon cottage for example, the communication and booking process was quite simple and everybody knew who they were dealing with! In the last few years the waters have become very muddy indeed. Let's face it who likes swimming in muddy waters,what lurks below the surface, what ailmentsmay you contract and what may happen to you as you drift downstream?

The full article attempts to clear the waters once again and sieve out the debris of the new world rental business! So let's look at the various parts of the process that make up your holiday and pull away the veil that has been carefully branded to divest you of your hard earned money!

The full document is several pages long but covers a number of topics:

1. Owners: Stars of the show!
2. Who undertakes the marketing of these holiday homes?
3. Where does a guest find their ideal holiday home?
4. Searching online: Tips & Advice!
5. Narrow your search and expand your options!
6. Confused! You may be by now; it's a deliberate marketing ploy!
7. The psychology of Booking!
8. Pricing Cons!
9. Availability
10. Not receiving replies to enquiries
11. Cancellation terms, deposits, balances and damage waiver or damage deposits.

All these topics are becoming more and more important and will companies isolating individual elements and monetising them as well.

To see the full article please visit our blog page to download the pdf or see the short slide presentation that summarises our thoughts.

Guest Advice for Vacation Rentals ~ Slide Show