This has been an incredible week for enquiries here at Villas Worldwide, particularly for the number of people who have been let down by their villa supplier, who can offer no support, comeback or alternative when things go wrong. This reinforces how important it is to book with a specialist operator with sufficient back up resources, such as Villas Worldwide.
Examples include a family that was due to go to the Dordogne in two weeks time and incredibly their French gite with swimming pool has been struck by lightning and burned to the ground, one of five similar cases in the area, which made headlines in the national news in France.
Then there is the family due to go to Silver coast in Portugal with a private owner that called them two weeks before departure to say that they no longer able to go due to unfinished work at the villa. They have booked flights, a rental car and everything and they are left with no alternative or comeback.
Then last week a Dutch family who has been told that the Dutch operator that they have booked a holiday in Spain with has closed and disappeared with all the money, theirs and the hard earned money of over five hundred other travelers. Again it is national news in the Netherlands.
The clear message is be very careful with whom you book your villa holiday. It can seem cheaper to book with a private owner, but often, it is no guarantee for your money back, and even if there is, there is little chance to organize an alternative to a reasonable cost. If necessary a larger organization has resources to assist. If you book with an operator must be absolutely sure that there it is a bonding system in place such as the IGI security protection offered by Villas Worldwide.
If you are in resort and you need assistance you need to be able to have peace of mind, as one of our customers on holiday with us in a villa in Corsica wrote this week, quote "Thanks again for a fantastic service from you. We would feel a bit lost in this situation without you".
It is worth paying a little extra to put your villa holiday in the hands of professionals. At Villas Worldwide it is what we are, click here for more information about our villa holidays.