You like the villa but don't book it, BECAUSE

[dogken]

One of the things that I do is, when we have found a British owned villa that we like the look of I always get the home address of the owner (in Britain) and check out there house on google street view, if the front of there house is in a good clean presentable condition I think if they look after the villa like there home it should be okay

[georgemac]

Very interesting thread.

I personally like to use sites which allow you to send a general enquiry to each owner by specific communities.
Then makes it easier to sort out the replies, which will hopefully contain a link to the individual website, which will have some nice photos.

Pool heating - I would like the website to say what temperature the pool is heated to, and whether a pool blanket on rollers is available - this information is almost never given.

Wi Fi is a must for me, games room not a must, spa is a very nice extra. I will normally put all my requirements on the general email as posted above.

Price - although most sites show price, my experience is that many owners will give a discount to advertised rates, therefore it is worth asking for a quote for the dates in question. From my persanal point of view, if there are two families sharing, generally it is easier to afford a more luxurious villa.
When I enquire, generally we only need a 3 bed villa, but I am happy for owners with larger villas also to give me quotes, if they have availability (late usually) they may decide to quote a competitive price to compete with 3 bed villas. Gives me more choice.

I prefer costs in £ but $ would not stop me booking.

I agree communication is the key, and if I am unhappy with response or tone I would not pursue the booking, and this is of course a 2 way process, and the owner has also to be happy you will take very good care of their home.

The choice is bewildering, although may becoming more limited.

After my good experience in 2007 (last minute holiday, villa booked 14 days prior to departure with US owner), we have waitied for a late booking this year, mainly as so undecided, and our party size decreased, so hoping for a late discount but also appreciate our choice of villa will be much more limited.

I am now almost certain it will be a villa with pool and not townhome/condo.

[georgemac]

Google Street View - very out of date - our house was taken several years ago and the image is still the same! You could be looking at very outdated views!

The poster above would have nothing to worry about by not doing the garden for 6 weeks.

[Villainlover]

I like the villa but don't book it because...

I put a search in for the villa with a personal message asking for a TOTAL price inclusive of all taxes and pool/spa heating..
if I get back a general message with price per week and pool heating cost... special offers available ... (info I could already see) these go straight into my NO list ..if they can't be bothered to give me a full quote then I can't be bothered asking them again..

those photos of the pool but not the view put me off before I even ask for a quote
as is true with most of my other must haves

[EssexSue]

Originally Posted by dogken

One of the things that I do is, when we have found a British owned villa that we like the look of I always get the home address of the owner (in Britain) and check out there house on google street view, if the front of there house is in a good clean presentable condition I think if they look after the villa like there home it should be okay

See more...

Thats really random as peoples Florida homes are looked after by Management Companies not their owners.

Sue

[Heather1957]

• It is not South/South West facing
• The pool is overlooked by other villas
• The pool backs onto a road
• No WiFi

There is little else that we need having stayed in several villas now.

We don't use the games room, we don't really use a spa either.

We would prefer a lake view from the pool but really as long as there are not other villas backing onto it I wouldn't mind too much.

[georgemac]

Availability Calendar's

Some owners don't like them as people (burglars) can see when the villa is not occupied - I fully understand this view.

As a renter

If the villa site has a search by date availability for villas (some do) then there is no need to show availability calendars, they can be hidden. Also if there is an option to send requests to owners with your dates then again calendars not required.

Searching through individual home sites and checking calendars and setting individual enquires is very time consuming, but this is what may renters like - not me though.

I just like the option to choose a community or serveral communities I would like to stay in, send a request to these owners, and then review the replies and individual sites then.

[gforce_iom]

re Availability Calendars... I can understand the issues re making it known when the property is going to be empty... but as a renter I would always be looking to see a calendar on adverts/websites.

Maybe just me not wanting to send out tons of emails on properties who already have bookings.

Something more annoying though, is having an availability calendar but not updating it!

[sally2808]

Flowery sofas and/or flowery bedspreads.

Date-stamped photos on websites that show they were taken several years ago. Either keep them recent or remove the stamp so I don't know.

Availability calendars not kept up-to-date.

Sally

[pchivvy]

I like to see lots of photographs, have an availability calendar and have good communication with the owner.

There have to be pictures of the pool area, which show whether its overlooked or not. If the pictures don't show it, I assume it is anyway and move on.