Villa Rental Help Advise Needed

[MsRuthieB]

I'm trying to plan a trip for my daughters birthday in July 2003. I'm confused on what the best way to rent a villa would be. This is our 1st family vacation in 5 years and don't want any hidden surprises. So, in researching lodging I've decided to rent a villa/vacation home close to WDW. The advise I'm looking for is this. Is it better to rent one from a private owner or a company/corporation? My biggest fear is getting there and finding out that it's mistakenly been rented to someone else or the pictures on a particular website weren't representative of what I rented at all. I just don't want any of us to be disappointed. ANY advise or tips you can give me on the process, selecting one, what to beware of, etc. As you can tell, I'm very wary and intimidated by it all. Thanks for the help :D

[Lesley S]

Ruthie,

You won't find any companies/corporations on this website only private owners so the advice will obviously be Private Owner :D.

As for your fear of not getting what you see or are described :

This is a community of private owners. I am sure that if there were any villas that gave a false impression to guests then they would be removed as this would reflect badly on us all.

I have often had guests who said that the website / brochures were NOT representative of the villa. The real thing was much better and photos could not do it justice.

So have a look round and don't be afraid to ask the group anything else to put your mind at rest.

:):):)

[janny]

AS already said ,we are all private homeowners on this site who take pride in representing their homes and enjoy sharing them with other people who hopefully love staying in them as much as we do.Many of us consider our homes in Florida as extensions to our homes here in U.K.Doing things for the first time yourself can be daunting but on this site you will find a wealth of knowledge and information just waiting to be shared.Please do not feel worried about booking everything yourself-we are all here to help you get the best holiday ever in the beautiful state of Florida.

[Harmony]

I felt much as you do about renting a villa for the first time, but was never disappointed with what I ended up with. Now my wife and I are villa owners we see things from the other side of the fence, so to speak. Our villa is our pride and joy. We use it as much as possible ourselves so have made sure it's the best we can.

We are quite nervious about letting strangers into our lovely home, but so far have had no problems. It really makes us proud when renters contact us after their holiday to say how much they liked and enjoyed our villa. They like the little personal touchs that you don't get with company owned properties.

You have been lucky finding this web site as the owners of the site are very strict and remove any villa or owner they find is not up to their standards. If you look at some of the villas you will find a lot that have been marked as verfied. So you can book with confidence. Once you have found a villa you like the owner will be very happy to talk personally to you and give you the benefit of their knowledge of the villa, location and general advice.

We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday where-ever you decide to stay.

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

I'd agree with all that has been said and as co-owner of the Orlando Villas website I can confidently say that all the villas on the site are privately owned and are rented out direct from the owner.

We do not have any rental companies on the website (although a few have snook on in the past - but we have hopefully rooted them all out now).

We too often get guests saying the photos on our advert for our villa (ov ref 3) does not do it justice. I set out below a recent email from a guest who has just stayed in our villa to give you some idea:


Dear John & Sarah

We had a wonderful holiday, the villa was just what we envisaged although the photos on the internet did not do it justice.

It was our 3rd time in Orlando in 4 years, so it may be a while before we return but we will be recommending your villa to our friends, in fact I have already done that with one of my work colleagues. He is planning a holiday next year with his wife and 2 children.

To answer your questions,

Yes, the villa was clean, and well presented.

It was very comfortable and included everything one might need. We did not need assistance from your management company, however they rang to ask if they could fit a new air conditioning switch whilst we were there, I think you knew about this anyway.

There was no sign that they had been, other than a new switch on the wall.

On a scale of 10 we vote it 11.

One comment! we did wonder what was making funny noises during the night, at first we thought frogs or some other critters, but then we realised it must have been the sprinkler system in the gardens.

If you have any information on owning a holiday villa in Florida, (based on your own experiences), we would love to hear from you.
We are contemplating doing the same in the future.

Kind Regards

Colin and Chris

[blott]

Hi Ruthie

You asked whether it's better to rent from a company/corporation or from a private owner and whether the home you booked will be available. With a company or corporation, you're more likely to book 'a home' of a particular size so that the picture of what this is like is not necessarily the home you'll be allocated. You're also likely to pay more for this and if you want to ask any questions at all, will anyone take the time to answer them?

As has already been said, private owners are just that - they own the home they are advertising, in most cases it's their pride and joy and Florida home owners just love to talk about their home or Florida so, if you have any questions either before or after you book, they'll be experts on their own home and be able to answer them for you.

You may have noticed the verification scheme on this site. If you look at this link, http://orlandovillas.com/owner_verification_scheme.asp you'll see what that means, which may give you some reassurance about booking a home from a private owner and whether, when you arrive, the home will be the same one in the photos.

All the private home owners on this website are very friendly and I know will do their best to help you. Have a look around at our lovely homes and please feel free to ask any questions or queries you may have about either our homes or Florida. We're here to help you have a great holiday for your daughter's birthday celebration. I know that she and the rest of your family, will love every minute of it.

[MsRuthieB]

Thank you soooo much everyone for the reassurance :DI feel much more at ease now. And your website has been very helpful. I've started taking notes from the comments on the forum. So many things that I'm glad I now know that I wouldn't have had your forum/website not been here. Like Cinderella's breafast and calling 60 days ahead for priority seating! I hope I get it for her. Her birthday in July 4th so I'm hoping more people will be staying at home with their families. I've also started a list of villa's that I am considering. Now I have another problem.....which to pick! They are all so lovely. My husband said it right. He said that the house we stay in will be so nice we won't want to leave! Thanks again..I am so looking forward to coming for a visit!

[florida4sun]

I could be wrong but I am pretty sure they changed the prioroty seating to 120 days in advance. If you are hoping for july 4th then you need to stat calling 7.00am usa time as it will sell out in around 20 minutes. If you do not get into that one there are polenty of other s that are well worth visiting. Our favorite is Hollywood and Dine in MGM. Great food and you get Minnie, Goofy and Chip and Dale. Thye tend to spend more time at each table too.



quote:Originally posted by MsRuthieB

Thank you soooo much everyone for the reassurance :DI feel much more at ease now. And your website has been very helpful. I've started taking notes from the comments on the forum. So many things that I'm glad I now know that I wouldn't have had your forum/website not been here. Like Cinderella's breafast and calling 60 days ahead for priority seating! I hope I get it for her. Her birthday in July 4th so I'm hoping more people will be staying at home with their families. I've also started a list of villa's that I am considering. Now I have another problem.....which to pick! They are all so lovely. My husband said it right. He said that the house we stay in will be so nice we won't want to leave! Thanks again..I am so looking forward to coming for a visit!

[jen]

Ptiority seating is usually 120 days but for Cinderella it is stil 60 days, I'm ready for Monday 21st Oct, 12noon UK time to book for our daughter's Christmas surprise!

Jen