Thomson Holidays Villas Kissimmee [Archive] - Orlando Villas

blott

08-03-2008, 03:31

I'm pretty sure that only Thomson will know where you'll be staying and they won't know that until you arrive. So second guessing isn't really an option as 'allocated on arrival' really does mean just that and you get no choice at all - it's a bit like playing Russian roulette without the bullets!

Tour operator homes are usually quite basic with few frills and enhancements, very much unlike most of the ones you could rent via the OV sites with all manner of included upgrades. There are no home owners on any of the OV sites who would let Thomson or any other tour operator rent out their homes for them.

The personal service you get is second to none from a home owner - if you have a question about that home you would know that you can get info from someone who definitely knows the answer, the person who owns it. And there are no under occupancy supplements either!

Renting a tour operator home is an improvement on staying in a cramped hotel room and, when you've returned from your holiday, you'll have a lot more confidence to book a home that's fully verified directly from its owner I have no doubt.

Whichever community you stay in, have a great time in wonderful Florida. :)

luckylady

08-03-2008, 04:06

Hi David ,
I sure the villa and community you will be allocated via Thomson will be fine.so please don't worry.I fully understand the logic behind your thinking ,booking with a tour operator would give you more security. There are better ways of booking a home for your Florida holiday that are just as secure.
Next time you visit Florida log onto the OV forum and we will guide you through better options.

Unfortunately the tour operators will use any rental homes from any community.
Usually the homes that tour operators use are homes that the owner hasn't the time or don't want to obtain their own bookings,could be anywhere

Please keep in touch, let us know how much you enjoyed staying in s rental home compared to a hotel [msnwink]

ellie

08-03-2008, 04:20

I, too, doubt whether you will be able to get any more information from your tour operator at this stage - if at all, until you arrive. They probably won't know themselves until very near the time, as it all depends on what villas they can obtain.

Unfortunately Thomsons have to source villas - they do not own any themselves - and as they pay very low rates they will only have access to homes which cannot be rented out any other way, or whose owners do not have the time or the inclination to get involved in the rental side of their home. If they cannot get hold of a 3 bed home you could be lucky and be given a larger one. However, I doubt if you will have any choice about either the villa or its location.

All the owners on these sites love their homes and take great care of them. They like to make sure that their guests enjoy a wonderful stay in Orlando, and take pride in adding all the little things which make a villa holiday so special. John and Roger also run a 'tight ship' and all villas have to be validated, giving you great security. John and Roger also have a fantastic reputation to protect so you can be sure that you will be safe booking a home from here.

I am sure you will love renting a villa after having experienced a hotel based holiday - you will have far more space for a start, and your own pool, so you will have a lot of fun.

As Barbara says, once you have had your trip (and I bet you will be 'hooked') then come back and get all the advice you need for your next holiday. You will have even more fun being able to speak to the owner of your chosen home and see exactly what and where it will be.

Hope you have a wonderful time.[8D]

steph_goodrum

08-03-2008, 17:18

Hi David and welcome to the forums. As others have said, I'm sure you will be just fine with your allocation on arrival. All tour operators want to keep people coming back so will do their utmost to keep you happy.
We have a neighbour whose management company rent his home to Virgin and it is perfectly clean and adequate, but as he says for the money he gets which doesn't even cover his mortgage and expenses he cannot afford to and has no wish to spend lots of money on upgrades, so it is a basic 4/3 with a telly in the lounge and dvd player and that is all (obviously has a pool).
I wouldn't hope too much for getting a larger/more luxurious villa when you arrive because the tour operators and managing companies will not wish to allocate them in case a larger party comes along at the last minute. It's exactly the same as car hire companies, when you get to the desk they will only give you a larger car if they have run out of ones booked in your class and even then will try to get you to pay for more insurance for the higher group car.

At the end of the day most owners try to get their own bookings in place because, I'm sure you will appreciate that by the time Thomsons take their cut, the management company theirs and around 14% tax+clean their isn't much left to to even maintain let alone upgrade, so Thomsons will only have a limited selection and if it is peak season may not be so good, and they obviously won't know until the last minute what they have to choose from.

Do Thomsons offer an "upgrade" where you can opt for specific locations like some tour operators do, if so at least that would give a clue as to some of the locations used and if you happen to be near any of our owners, you might get chance to see for yourself some other places.
I can fully appreciate that as a first time traveller you feel safer with a known name , we did ourselves about 10 years ago but then on our 3rd trip when the travel agent accidentally gave me the wrong piece of paper with my documents and I found out they were getting £500 (back in 1989) commission and had been next to useless, the only way I could get some info on the hotel in New Yorl we were staying was to phone the hotel direct and then found out that the travel agent was telling me something competely untrue and covering herself with "I think, or I'm sure", so from then on we've always booked independantly and if we were even a little unsure, paid by credit card to give us some reassurance.

Have a great trip though and if you tell us when you are going we can let you know if there are any special events going on at that time.

Maverick

08-03-2008, 17:53

I booked a couple of Thomson holidays in the past. One was in Windsor Palms (great home) and the other was in Highland's Reserve. Both were very nice homes. I think it's likely to be a lottery where you will get, but I'm sure you'll be very pleased. Remember a lot of the homes booked out by tour operators in England are direct homes from the management companies over in Florida.

Your family will have a great time I'm convinced of it! Have a great trip and let us know how it went.[8D]

DLB-GOUROCK

08-03-2008, 20:09

Guys,

Thanks for all the advice. I had heard Windsor Hills mentioned before and as Maverick said Windsor Palms maybe they will be in that neighbourhood.

We have been to Orlando twice before, most recent to the Rossen Centre which we thoroughly enjoyed being my wife and I. But this time our son and his girlfriend are coming along to thought we would try a villa.

We are coming out towards the end of May and are all looking forward to it. I've just being trying to get my bearings sorted out in advance so I know the general directons to where I know my way around I Drive / I-4. Also it would be useful to plan how to get from Sanford to "our" villa. I will go straight down I-4 and then follow my nose. Never got lost yet,(is that tempting fate).

I fully intend to enjoy ourselves and will try to be more independant next time.

luckylady

08-03-2008, 20:40

Thats good news David, being independant will definately be beneficial to you and your family.
Not long now, once Easter is out of the way, your holiday will be just around the corner.
May is one of mt favourite time to visit Florida, although I would go anytime rather than not go at all.
Keep in touch,we would love to know how you and your family enjoyed the experience of staying in a villa.
Then when you plan your next trip you know where to come [msnwink]

jo-anne

08-03-2008, 22:18

It's those little personal touches like driving directions which you'll enjoy when booking direct with an owner. I even put photos on my driving instructions to make sure my guests feel really comfortable with the route! They can rehearse looking out for landmarks before they even set off from home!
Have fun.

Carla

09-03-2008, 15:22

You'll actually get whatever home is not yet rented for the dates that you have chosen. The better quality homes rent easily - very easily during any school holiday periods such as Easter, Christmas/New Year, Whitsun etc..

The reason that Thomson will not let you know where you are staying until you arrive is because they don't have a clue until about 24 hours before you get to Florida. They contract for a certain number of homes per time period, from various suppliers, large and small, so you and they won't know what type of home or where it is until those suppliers release whatever they have left for your dates.

You also need to ask yourself, why would any supplier rent out their better homes if they have lesser quality homes available for those dates? There is always the chance that a last minute guest will come along and book one of their better homes at full rate. Owners of well-equipped/better homes rented at higher rates, rarely, if ever, subscribe to the theory that any income is better than no income. They really would rather leave their home empty than rent it for a lower, uneconomical rate.

You've booked a 3 bedroom home with a private pool. You are guaranteed that. As Maverick says, the rest is a lottery.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DLB-GOUROCK
This also meant that we will get a better villa because they will let the better villa rather than have it lying empty.[/quote]

DLB-GOUROCK

09-03-2008, 16:24

Looks like I've thrown the dice now. Just need to wait and see if I come up double six or snake eyes. I'll let you all know how it turns out. I don't expect that it will end in tears as Thomson must have standards to keep and the brochure has to be represtative of what they offer. I expect the villa will be acceptable, just the location may be a bit more out of the way than some locations. Time will tell and I'm holding out for a highroller.

Kazzie

09-03-2008, 17:58

Have a great time David, if you have not yet bought your tickets for the theme parks you will not go wrong buying from here:

http://www.park-tickets.com/

clelly

10-03-2008, 22:45

Hi David,

Firstly,there would have been a couple of options for choosing your villa when booking.

Gold Villas- More upmarket
Silver Villas- These tend to be a bit more of the older villas,
Villa on Arrival- Well thats what it means,pot luck.

We have been on many villa holidays with Thomson and always went with the Gold option.Happy with most of them.
We finally bought our own villa as we plan to holiday more in Florida.At least this way we will be happy when we walk through the door and also the guests that arrive will be more than happy.
No matter what,remember you only get what you pay for.Enjoy your holiday in Florida.

Clelly

ali-uk

22-03-2008, 19:59

Hi David

We did 'allocated on arrival' with First Choice 2 years ago and loved the location that much we have booked our next holiday there we were at Oak Island Cove which is a great location and its one of the closest location to Disney.
If you click on some of the links to see the villas the owners have they are to me of a very high standard, renting from a tour operater they are just a normal standard, but dont let this put you off.

The other side of it is we had a lovely 3 bed villa, clean, tidy, no compliants at all, even if you did need to complain you could ring Thomson up while your there and they will sort it out for you.

The owners treat their villas as homes and will always keep on top of the maintenence thats way they are a very high standard you get what you pay for. We found this web site after we booked with first choice, the advice we got before we went regarding other advice needed about Florida was great.

You and your family will have a fantastic time in Florida in a Villa where ever it will be i promise.

Ali

DLB-GOUROCK

23-03-2008, 03:09

Ali,

Thanks for your reply. Can you give me more info on the location of Oak Island Cove os I can take a look in more detail.

Thanks

erowlands

23-03-2008, 11:54

Hi David, we have a villa at oak island cove, it's a smallish estate of some 70 villas,mostly 4 and 6 bed villas that were built in 2001/2. We are located on the Formosa Gardens subdivision which is made up of Oak Island cove and Harbour,Rolling hills,Indian Creek and Formosa Gardens Estate.
Oak Island is some three quarters of a mile south of Highway 192 and some three miles to Animal Kingdom the closest of the disney Parks.
The estate is a walled estate with only the one entrance/exit so we have no through traffic making it fairly quiet.
Of course we love it as we have a villa there but please remember there are many lovely estate in the area all of which will be perfect for your upcoming holiday.
Have a lovely time in Florida we have 46 sleeps before we go back again
Eric

DLB-GOUROCK

23-03-2008, 17:12

Eric,
Oak Island Cove sound fantastic.
I've looked on google maps and found Oak Island Road.
Can you give me some street names in your estate so I can narrow it down.

Thanks,

erowlands

23-03-2008, 19:18

David, we are on Blooming alamanda Loop on the very east of the estate, the other street names are yellow crane and playing otter court.
Hope this helps you.

thanks
Eric

DLB-GOUROCK

23-03-2008, 19:36

Eric,

Thanks for the detail.
I've homed in on google maps and it looks a great location.
I'll keep my fingers crossed I get somewhere close by.

ali-uk

23-03-2008, 21:00

Hi David

I hope Eric has answered your question he will know more than me as he owns a villa there, we have only been to Florida once and like you wanted the security from a tour operater rather than booking it all seperatly. This time we have booked it seperatly knowing where we are going.
We did google our first villa when we returned home and we were in blooming amanda we must of been near Erics villa.
If you have a look on the villa map from this web site you can see where most of the locations are.
Ali

DLB-GOUROCK

23-03-2008, 21:41

Ali,

Both you and Eric have offered good help.
As I have a similar booking to yours with Thomsons / First Choice I hope we are as lucky as you and get allocated Oak Island Cove.

Thanks again,

heathercobbett

24-03-2008, 12:19

David, we have once used the allocated on arrival system and did not fare too weel; rather far out and not many facilities(but clean)

I think I can safely say the vast majority of OV owners would not allow their homes to be let out to tour ops; we are too fiercly proud of the standard of our homes and like the personal contact that renting privately brings.

I am sure all will be fine for you, just be ready to fight your corner if all is not well.

ali-uk

25-03-2008, 17:04

Hi David,

When you arrive have a drive around and look at the different locations while your there, there are some really nice ones. Just incase you want to go back which and sure you will[msnwink]

Nina A

25-03-2008, 23:23

Hi David,

Our management company takes tour operator bookings and we have had them in our homes. I know First Choice is one company they work with simply because guests have left some of their information behind.

Booking direct with the owner is the only way to ensure that you know exactly where your home is located and what to expect. However it doesn't mean that a home allocated through a tour op will be sub standard or in a poor location. Our homes are far from basic and are in a brilliant location. Accepting tour op bookings helped us to get established. While the rates paid to owners are usually low, we used these bookings as a marketing exercise to get our homes known. Fortunately this has paid off for us and we no longer need to take tour op bookings. We left our website information in our homes and have had many former tour op customers happily booking direct with us.

I know through our management company that 3 bed homes available to tour ops are in very short supply, so you could well be fortunate enough to be allocated a larger home. Our homes for tour op bookings were usually reserved weeks or months ahead and occasionally these were 3 bed bookings.

I don't know if car hire is included in your package but even if it is it could still be worth looking at what is offered here, plus they offer sat nav. It could actually work out cheaper for you in the long run, likewise booking tickets here.

At least you have a feel for the area having visited previously and your villa is sure to be easy to find. Ask your travel agent if it is possible to collect the key from the villa lock box, this will save you a detour to a management company office.

Have a brilliant holiday and please let us know all about it when you get back. Meanwhile if you've any other questions everyone here is always happy to help.

DLB-GOUROCK

26-03-2008, 01:53

Nina,

Thanks for the words of encouragement, I have this feeling of impending doom getting an old substandard villa in the back of beyond.

I have booked with Thomsons but the villa is from the First Choice brochure so as I say you post offers a glimer of hope.
Yes a vehicle is part of the package a full size SUV from Alamo. Ali's suggestion of looking around while we are there is a good idea.

Question, what is the "lock box" ? I think that I'll still have to go to the local office to pay the security deposit before we collect the keys. This was a supprise as I asked / insisted that we paid everything up front so we did not have to pay anything afterwards. It was when we got back home I read the "small print" in the borchure and it mentioned having to pay $250 when we collect the keys, also a credit card swipe is neccessary when we collect the rental.

Due out the last two weeks in May so not long now.

Thanks again for your comments and I'll let you know how it all turned out.

David

Snapper

26-03-2008, 03:17

David - a lock box is a very small lockable cupboard (about the size of matchbox) to store villa keys. They are almost always opened with a code that you punch in.

There are dozens of different ways by which your tour company might get the keys to the villa to you. Not all management companies are open outside standard office hours so many of them use lockboxes for the keys to the villa you are allocated. The process might work that you are met at the airport by a rep who has an envelope with your villa's details in it; the address and some driving directions. The keys might be at the villa (in a lockbox) but it's more likely that they will be held at the management company. If the management company will be closed when you arrive the villa's keys will probably be locked in a lock box outside the MC's office, and the details you are given by the rep at the airport will give you the lockbox number and the access code to get at the keys if the office is closed.

The $250 and the credit card swipe are probably one and the same thing, and are just a deposit against any loss or damage to the villa (including losing the keys or finding them in your pocket when you get back home!!) How this happens if the MC's office is closed when you arrive I'm not sure. I'm sure someone else can fill you in on this.

Have fun!

caroline

26-03-2008, 12:12

Many moons ago we rented a villa and had to collect the keys after office hours from a management company office - there was a large lock box on the outside of the office wall, we were given the lock box code and the address of the company before we left the UK - once we found the office and opened the lock box (there were about 6 envelopes in the lockbox - all with guests names on) we extracted our envelope and then set off to find the villa - it explained that we had to return the following day to pay the security deposit.

We were pretty annoyed that we had to go back the following day but as it happened we would of had to go back anyway as the villa they had allocated to us wasn't what we'd paid for - we had booked a villa overlooking a golf course with a spa and also paid for pool heat - the villa they gave us backed onto 5 other villas, didn't have a spa and there was no pool heater so we couldn't have pool heat!

They didn't have a suitable villa available so we had to stay put for a few days until something else became available, when they eventually moved us the villa was lovely.

orlandodaze

26-03-2008, 18:11

Oak Island Cove is a lovely resort . A few years ago some friends of ours rented a lovely villa there . It is a super location you are close to everything. Have a wonderful holiday David. [msnsmile2]

Albert the Frog

26-03-2008, 18:17

We've had a variety of styles of key pick up usually out of hours and I have never returned the following day to pay a deposit. Then again I would "declare" any damage done and either replace or pay for the item-The only one I can think of was a glass we broke so we replaced it.
I have also got to say that overall the standard of villas generally in the States is very good and where "affiliates" to this site win are the reassurance of familiarity, the add ons , and the level of customer service.
I fully understand people who go for the first time wanting the reassurance of a tour operator but as has been stated many times once you've been and seen what it is like you are more inclined to book separately on subsequent visits.
I'd hate anybody to go away thinking that they were going to be stuck in a hovel for 2 weeks!!

Nina A

26-03-2008, 23:38

Just another thought David. This was a comment written in our condo guest book; 'we didn't use the telephone as we were warned not to use it by First Choice'. This despite information telling our guests all calls and internet are free! We pay a set amount every month so our guests can use our wireless high speed internet connection and make unlimited phone calls including international calls free of charge. Tour op's use many different homes, some will provide a free call service and some won't. Those that do all use different systems and some will allow only limited calls. I presume First Choice just cover themselves by telling guests not to use the phone. If your villa has a free call service, I suggest you contact the management company and ask what the score is rather than taking what First Choice say at face value. We were devastated to think our guests thought they couldn't use our phone.

Just thought it was worth letting you know this. Anything else I can help with, please ask.

DLB-GOUROCK

27-03-2008, 00:39

Thanks to all for the comments. All that is on our booking is a Kissimmee villa. I'm hoping that it will be more to the west for ease of access to travel up and down I-4 to the parks etc.

We will be arriving early evening and will probably be around 8pm or so by the time we drive down from Sanford, so I don't know how late the management office will stay open.

Nina, I only recently picked up on the telephone situation by browsing owners villas on this site and noticed that it is a offered feature. We will be bringing our mobile phones just to advise those at home that we had arrived safe and sound. But this would be of great benefit and worth checking out the facilities we get bundled with our villa.

Any other tips will be appreciated.

Our local Thomsons rep said that out flight tickets, park tickets, car rental documents will be arriving at various times and they will let us know when they have all came in so we only need to go back to the shop once to pick them all up. I'll have a few questions to get sorted out then.

Arn't vacations fun, so much for taking the easy option.

Thanks again,

David

Snapper

27-03-2008, 00:49

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DLB-GOUROCK
Arn't vacations fun, so much for taking the easy option.[/quote]
LOL!

But isn't that an interesting thought that when you look at the full end-to-end process (including trips to travel agents) it's probably heaps easier, faster and more convenient (not to mention better!![msnwink]) to put your own trip together online.

DLB-GOUROCK

27-03-2008, 01:23

Steve,

This has been a learning experience. The "easy option" was because we booked this on impulse about 4 weeks ago. We had always intended to holiday in Orlando this year but we all of a sudden decided to do it one Saturday. I kept saying well book it soon and my wife was getting fed up with me procastinating. Anyway we are where we are and deep down looking forward to holiday in a month or so.

Hey, life on the edge is how we do it !

Will definately look around on this trip to explore other options for the future.

SandraBulmer

27-03-2008, 01:39

Hi David

I think you will now be prepared for just about every conceivable eventuality and I join everyone in wishing you a wonderful holiday.

Just be prepared for a bigger security deposit. Ours is $500 for our 4-bed villa and I think you will find that is more the norm. It's not unreasonable if you think about how much furniture/equipment could be potentially damaged or stolen. And I would expect the management company would only swipe your card as "security" in the unfortunate event of any damage, rather than charging and then refunding.

Sandra

DLB-GOUROCK

27-03-2008, 01:45

Sandra,

The one thing I have in writing is the villa security deposit is £250, I think I said dolars in an earlier post, so that's about what you suggest in dollars.
Thanks for the good wishes for our holiday.

orlandodaze

27-03-2008, 06:32

Hi david I had a look at your family website ,and I very much enjoyed it . Congratulations on your work with Wateraid ,well done and well deserved . You have a lovely family . We have happy memories of Scotland as my daughter went to university in Aberdeen and made many good Scottish friends lets say the only time their friendship comes into question is during an Irish/ Scottish Rugby match and when the result is announced its "the best team won" lets party .[clap][clap]

DLB-GOUROCK

27-03-2008, 11:48

Olive,

Thanks for your kind comments. I'm afraid our website needs to be updated as it has got a wee bit our of date. Will update with this years holiday photos later. I've been to Northern Ireland a few times mainly with the WaterAid team as I run events for them and have put on 5 Black Tie Balls in Belfast over the years. Set to come back in October for this years. Always had a great time, bring acts from all over the country, Scott from Tenors Unlimites is from Chicago and he thought that the place was briliant. Josephine from WaterAid was born in NI and my wife used to holiday in Portstewart with her grand parents when she was a little girl. Don't want to stray too far "off topic" (kind of travel related) but thanks again for the comments.

Nina A

27-03-2008, 14:12

Hi again David,

What a small world, WaterAid is my 'pet' charity! I was at the WaterAid Ball at the Europa Hotel in Belfast last year with Laing O'Rourke. Great James Bond theme [8D]. I hope we'll go again this year.

Please DM me your website as I'd love to see it, it was edited out before I saw it as links are not allowed in signatures.

DLB-GOUROCK

27-03-2008, 15:28

Nina,

I've just DM'd you.

Sorry about the link just got my fingers burned.

andrewmckay5

31-03-2008, 17:06

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think anyone thinking of booking with a tour operator should read this previous thread:

http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/topic_19629.asp

It may be tough reading if you have already booked with Thomson's for example but personally I can't understand the idea of security through a major company when you don't even know where you are going to stay. Renting privately is now a huge industry and you get the personal attention of the owner directly. Big companies are run by accountants whose ONLY worry is the bottom line.

Please look at the link above.

andrew

DLB-GOUROCK

31-03-2008, 23:14

Andrew,

So you are referring to something that happened in May 2004.

I agree it is disgusting and I would have not stayed in it one night. If I had arrived in the evening I would have slept in the car and would be on the tour operator’s door in the morning. This is difficult if you book with an owner who lives in a different country.

All very well saying that they have a local management company but your “contract” is with the owner not the management company. The management company has a contract with the owner not the renter they could just ignore any complaints and fob you off back to the owner.

If you go with an obscure tour company well Unitours (google them - specialize in pilgrimages to the middle east !!) well I would question booking a villa in Orlando with them.

If you book with major tour company you are at least assured of some redress and they are customer focused and ABTA approved with a code of conduct which governs their relationship with their customers. I don’t suppose private villa owners offer this amount of reassurance. Which if you read the proposition I made in my initial posts was the reason I went with a tour company, for security. The security is with the company not the property.

I would insist on getting another property and a BIG company would have the resources to do this. A private owner would not. Particularly that owner’s property is the standard as depicted in the other thread. If the company could not secure another villa I would expect a 5 star hotel for the inconvenience. Show me an owner with this resource to fall back on.

I would like to thank you for trying to spoil our family’s anticipation of our forthcoming holiday.

When an owner resorts to this type of scaremongering in makes me question their motives. Considering you dug back 4 years through all the threads on this forum to find this example, or do you keep this one up your sleeve for special occasions.

Should I consider another villa holiday and be swayed to book direct ( this is making me feel more secure in my decision to stay with a major tour organization) I afraid I won’t be coming to your door.

Frosty

01-04-2008, 00:45

Well said David.

I don't have a villa to tempt you with, i just live here now:D

I have to say that the majority of owners on here will have beautiful homes to tempt you with.

I think its distastefull that someone feels they need to do this to try spoil your excitement of an anticipated wonderfull holiday.

Yes there are many horror stories of what people have found on tour operator villas, but this is rare and you have no reason to think that yours will be anything other than a beautifull home.

I think what the people who posted were just trying to give you, was an idea of the many benefits and fun you could have from booking your own villa direct with one of them.

I don't blame you for backlashing at that post, it is out of order.

You have a great time and expect nothing other than a wonderfull home.

Just one word of warning, "beware the Hurricanes":D:D:D:D

Just messing with ya[msnwink]

DLB-GOUROCK

01-04-2008, 01:06

Sorry guys. I've calmed down now.

Just got the wind up me. Must have been one of the hurricanes from 2004.

Don't want to offend anyone.

andrewmckay5

01-04-2008, 01:45

David and Neil,

The original post was by a non owner and one I came across yesterday that a guests was reading via "active user" section.

I have no wish to get into a "virtual" argument on the forum and there have been numerous posts supporting you choice. I just felt that there is another side and it is not all fantastic with tour companies. Believe me there are many many posts dissatisfied with tour companies and problems that have occurred and many many posts happy with the OV service.

As owners we do have resources to fall back on via our management companies but I for one have never had a guest wish to move either in our Orlando property or the Gulf Coast one.

Andrew

Snapper

01-04-2008, 02:03

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DLB-GOUROCK
I agree it is disgusting and I would have not stayed in it one night. If I had arrived in the evening I would have slept in the car and would be on the tour operator’s door in the morning. This is difficult if you book with an owner who lives in a different country.[/quote]
Not wanting to put a downer on things but I do feel that I need to correct the above.

If you were to find a villa like the one in the thread (and sadly they do exist, but thankfully not here!!) it's good to get rage but I'm not sure you would be able to go bang on the tour operator's door first thing in the morning. One of my last experiences with a tour op guest was when we found someone looking lost near the entrance to HR. They were a tour op booking looking for their villa and the directions they had were quite shocking. Useless is an understatement. The directions they had didn't even come close to matching the address of the villa. We took them to the bottom of the street they needed (so they only had to match the villa's number), as I'm sure anyone of us here would have done, and left with a parting offer that if they had any trouble to come give us a knock. Five minutes later they were sitting in my kitchen all looking pretty fed up as the key they had didn't fit the villa. They also had only one emergency number to call back in England, but that would be pretty useless as they wouldn't have a clue where the nearest phone was. No matter how much we called the number there was no answer! The kids were also really upset because they thought the ice cream they had just bought as Publix was going to melt. (I guess problems are all relative!!) Once we had their ice cream safely stored in our freezer and everyone had a cuppa we got them sorted out, but only because I recognised that their villa's key-card meant it was managed by my MC, so I could run them up there and twist a couple of arms and get a correct key encoded for them. I should add also that my MC were absolutely faultless in this escapade. The reps at the airport who had met the incoming flight had somehow managed to screw up all the villas, directions and keys. It took maybe a couple of hours to get them in to the villa they were paying good money for. As for the emergency 24x7 number back in England ... no matter how much we all called it that night there was no answer. When we caught up with the family days later there was still no answer, and they were dying to get through to someone to have a good old rant.

Now you could say that I own a villa and so I'm bound to be biased, however if you really want to know just how often this kind of thing happens why not start a new thread and ask the other owners here if they've encountered anything similar. I think the answer would shock you!

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DLB-GOUROCK
All very well saying that they have a local management company but your “contract” is with the owner not the management company. The management company has a contract with the owner not the renter they could just ignore any complaints and fob you off back to the owner.[/quote]
Actually nothing in the world makes a management company react faster than an irate owner shouting at them to fix something for a guest. If you have an owner who cares about what they do (like everyone here) they will make sure that you have their personal contact details. If you ever believed the management company were not sorting something out in a satisfactory manner a quick call or email to the owner won't half change things. Don't forget that we pay the salaries of the management companies. They know that. We know that. There is no shortage of MCs in Orlando. You don't have to be a genius to work out just how qui

DLB-GOUROCK

01-04-2008, 03:03

Andrew / Steve,

I have viewed many of the homes here on the OV site and I would be more than happy with the standard and quality that is offered. I also notice the many extras that private owners include with their homes and I am more than impressed.

I believe that the quality currently offered by a major tour company will be of an acceptable standard, and have confidence that there is sufficient recourse to sort out any problems. I would be more concerned if your example had occurred yesterday. My major concern is convenience of the location of the villa we will get.

I have said I am using this experience of a villa holiday to assess if it is an alternative which suits our holiday style and have admitted that I would be prepared to book direct if all goes well.

With regard to the excellent help that Steve provided these are exactly the steps I would be pursuing at the local office where I got the key and the local company reps, not trying to get back to a call center.

With regard to the buck stopping with the owner, I don’t think I would want to deal with the owner of the property being offered in the example of tour operator villas. In fact if I am faced with this type of problem the owner of the property is the last person I would want to speak to. The tour operator who I have a contract with is the party who will sort things out for me using their local staff. I deal face to face no drama just get the problem sorted.

So far there have been 2366 views of this thread and 52 postings ( I know some of them are mine ) and this instance has only been the really negative view of tour operators all others have understood my position and wished my family a good holiday and encouraged us to come back next year as they are sure that we will be sold on the villa experience.

I don’t think that there is much more to say. We’ve committed to this holiday and will ride it out and deal with whatever comes our way.

steph_goodrum

01-04-2008, 04:18

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:So far there have been 2366 views of this thread and 52 postings ( I know some of them are mine ) and this instance has only been the really negative view of tour operators all others have understood my position and wished my family a good holiday and encouraged us to come back next year as they are sure that we will be sold on the villa experience.

I don’t think that there is much more to say. We’ve committed to this holiday and will ride it out and deal with whatever comes our way.[/quote]To be completely truthful David, the only reason there have not been more negative stories posted (and between us we have a whole host of horror stories we could recount) is that it is not good business practice to build your own business by running down the competition (the fact that approx 2000 owners work TOGETHER on this site is testament to that). Although strictly speaking as we are all individual advertisers we are effectively each others competitors, you wouldnt believe the lengths that owners will go to to help each other out in times of need (and of course good times)

It is the same if you ask about doctors, holidays, cars etc., there will be those that favour one over the other or that one person will rave over and another reject completely.

As you say the decision was made before you asked the questions and hopefully will work out in your favour but whatever I'm sure you'll enjoy Florida.

DLB-GOUROCK

01-04-2008, 04:44

Steph,

I agree with you that it’s not good business sense to build your business by knocking the opposition. It is better to develop the quality and standard of the product you offer and let it speak for itself. I have stated that I have been impressed with the many offerings on the OV web site and in browsing my way through I believe that I would have the confidence in dealing with these owners.

This is why I was so surprised to read the particular post.

I did post the question as suggested by snapper but it was removed. I agree that in hindsight it would probably not have been productive as if you ask for the negative you will no doubt open the flood gates, no matter what the topic was.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread as I have enjoyed the process.

No doubt you will all be waiting to hear how things go.
I’ll be back home in June and will post the experiences from our trip for you all to read.

Tavles

01-04-2008, 12:01

Hi David & Jan
Im sure your going to have a great holiday.We stayed in a Tour Company villa on our 1st trip to florida a few years ago.The villa was fine, very clean but basic although it was quite a distance from Disney.On our 2nd visit to florida we decided to book a private villa and the difference was immense there were loads of extras the villa owner had provided,It made our holiday so much more enjoyable.We are on to our 6th trip this July and have booked private villas every year.there is not one I would not return to.Each one was furnished to a very high standard with loads of extras thrown in, which would not be available in the tour company villa.Im sure your holiday with thompsons will be brilliant,but please consider booking private for future trips,you will not be disappointed.
[msnsmile2] Alan]

floridadreamvilla.co.uk

01-04-2008, 12:14

This has now wandered totally off the topic of the forums (not that it was ever on topic as this is a forum about renting a privately owned villa in Florida and not a place to start detailed discussions on renting a villa from a tour operator).

If you wish to talk about renting from a tour operator and the pro's and con's of that, I suggest you go to a more appropriate forums as it's not something that is appropriate to discuss here in detail.

All of us private villa owners on here are deeply passionate about our own villas and will obviously want to try and persuade guests that this is the best option for their vacation (which I too truly believe it is). You are never going to get a very positive view of tour operator villas from a private owner as most of us have seen the kind of homes some of them use and there is just no comparison with most privately owned and rented homes.

I'm sure you will get a very nice (if not a little basic) villa for your vacation from the tour operator. If you want personal service where nothing is too much trouble and a home with lots of extras that really feels luxurious and homely then a private home is the only way to go. I know which one I'd choose (but I would say that, wouldn't I?).

Im locking this thread now as it has well and truly run it's course.