Villa owners adverts

Like many of us I am and have been a Florida addict since 1983 and I spend hours going through all the villa ads to find my dream villa that ticks my wish list[msnsmile][msnsmile]

One thing that stands out is how I (and others I'm sure) react to some of the ads compared to others. The ads that have the 'slide show' have so much more impact than ones that don't and to have the virtul tours just complete the picture.

I think its so important if you want to get full rental potential for your villa to keep your villa up there being rented out to the max.

When I click on an ad if hasn't got a 'slide show', free international calls and wireless internet then I don't look any further[msnwink]

So my advice is get a slide show on your villa ad page asap[msnwink][msnwink]

P.S Just a final point I don't expect something for nothing and I always pay a prem to get all the things on my wish list[msnwink][msnwink]

Thanks for the comments, I think the slide shows are pretty great too, brings the adverts to life somehow. [msnsmile2]

Me too....i have only just added the slide show and i agree it does appear to bring the advert to life ....so thumbs up:D

Yes, it is a really brilliant addition to the site, and one that sets it head and shoulders above the rest.[clap]

I agree. Absolutely.

It is just one of the great things John and Roger have added to the sites recently and most of us use it.

Re not looking any futher if the villa does not have your particular wants, I would imagine this is true for most potential guests if they are looking for something specific.

Its always great to hear what potential renters think about our advertising. This sort of constructive advice is very useful.

Margaret

I think it was very thougtful of you Mach 2 to take the time to tell us what you think, and I do agree with you, the slide shows are excellent, also the virtual tours, they do a good job of conveying the 'feel' of the homes. Chloe

I get bored with watching virtual tours....but the slide shows are first class..........

The virtual tours fill in the gaps, they are brill in my view[msnwink]

With a virtual tour guests get to see exactly what the villa looks like and where it is situated, with just photographs it can be difficult to be absolutely sure what you are getting.

The virtual tour is our best bit on our website. It is a great tool to showcase your villa.

I do like the slideshow and think it is another great tool to have.

I have both on our advert and it is great for prospective guests to get different views and angles of your home. Combining the two together gives the guests a great feel of what your home is like.

i like reading and viewing anything to do with villas, preferred where i fancy staying tho

Thankyou for your comments Julie it's great to get feedback from the other side of the coin
I love the slide show a few other webside have them but not many

Julie, thanks for your comments. We agree with you that the slide show looks great on this site. When we used to rent villas we always wanted to see as much of the villa as possible so that is why we had a virtual tour done ourselves with our own villa.
Hannah

Definately agree with you about the slideshow,makes the villa seem more appealing.

It's great you posted this topic Julie.

I have been looking with interest to see if I can get any ideas about what renters want.

The slideshow does look great, this is the only website I know of who have this feature.[msnsmile2]

Good post. I have been looking madly for a villa, and the slide shows are great. I want to see as many photos as possible, and even the bathroom shots! Gives me a clearer picture of what the villas are like! Especially for bedding arrangements, and sharing bathrooms, etc.

Don't forgot to list items like BBQs and Bicycles and Pool Toys if you have them. All those things really help with deciding, those 'extras' you add, really do add to the feel of your villas.

we're a soppy bunch arent we!! every little detail helps!! and every photo, no matter how its displayed but slide shows are good

Pool toys is a tricky one as they are very transient. I don't know of an owner who does not have them but they tend to wear our or get punctures very easily but we find guests replace with new ones as required and in fact over time the number of pool toys increases, which is great for all guests.

They are very inexpensive from places like Wal-Mart so you tend to find guests buy a few while shopping for other things (pressure from their kids no doubt [msnwink]).

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Twiglet
Don't forgot to list items like BBQs and Bicycles and Pool Toys if you have them. [/quote]

I agree with John. I don't advertise Pool toys for that very reason. We tend to find loads which guests have left behind. We always pick a few up from Walmart or Publix.

We also normally have to weed out the number of pool toys or we get overrun with them. They are only a few $s in the supermarkets and guests usually leave lots of them for us but some go and new ones come as they wear out and get replaced so we don't tend to advertise them either.

I think you'll find most pool homes probably have them when you're looking around at homes, even if they don't mention them. If in doubt, ask the owner and they'll be happy to tell you. :)

Same with us, the ones there now are totally different from the original ones I put in when we closed.

However, they never feature on the photos of the pool. Perhaps they should.

Our Man Co reckons he could start a business selling the pool toys left behind each time guests leave.

As for BBQs .. great untill guests dont clean them, do I pay the Man Co extra to do it, do I leave it for the incoming guests or do I not have one ?? unfortunately not everyone leaves a home as we would expect to find it.

Rob

We never actually bought any pool toys so don't advertise any but when alst at our villa found we had quite a collection, including a rather large inflatable whale.[msnsmile2]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Ray&Sarah
We never actually bought any pool toys so don't advertise any but when alst at our villa found we had quite a collection, including a rather large inflatable whale.[msnsmile2]
[/quote]

We left a very large 'Shamu' at the villa last year we had had him for years and used to bring him home each trip but we had too much shopping last year[msnwink]

He's still there Mach 2 and is a favourite with other guests too!!

He's huge and I have to admit that last December I let the air out of him (no mean feat in itself!!) and put him around the side of the house, because we were having a new virtual tour done and I didn't want him "starring" in it. Low and behold he was back perched on the hot tub when I went out in May. [msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2]

but do any of you villa owners mind if we leave bits and pieces behind such as pool toys etc????

have never thought to ask before just did it, but if you have so many guests doing that during the year you will be snowed under with them?
hope nobody minds me asking???:D

I don't think any owner would mind at all - speaking for myself we're always delighted when guests leave things for future guests at the villa.

For example, we have a small book exchange thing going on at our 3 bed where you can take any book as long as you leave one in it's place and it's lovely to see a new collection of books each time we go [msnsmile].

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LiesaAnna
but do any of you villa owners mind if we leave bits and pieces behind such as pool toys etc????

have never thought to ask before just did it, but if you have so many guests doing that during the year you will be snowed under with them?
hope nobody minds me asking???:D
[/quote]

thats good to hear, i have left a book, and travel games before when we stayed in florida pines, but pool toys we have left a big whale when we were in corfu, wont buy one again, but we did have to leave our humungus rubber ring, (well it fitted my bum in it) couldnt get another thing in the cases!!
very disappointed with walmarts choice of swimming/pool toys!! only had goggles and 1 type of rubber ring!! most boring, but did find some bits and bobs for the pool in the 99cent store

WE too get all sorts of things left at the villa. Additional books, games, pool toys. It is lovely for other guests and I always thank guests when they tell me.[msnsmile2]

Liesa it's lovely when guests leave things behind for others to use, especially pool toys, because as you've found, depending on the time of year, you don't always get a brilliant selection in some of the stores.[msnsmile2][msnsmile2]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LiesaAnna
but do any of you villa owners mind if we leave bits and pieces behind such as pool toys etc????

have never thought to ask before just did it, but if you have so many guests doing that during the year you will be snowed under with them?
hope nobody minds me asking???:D
[/quote]

We too don't mind our guests leaving things, its quite nice to find little extras like pool toys, books and games. One of our guests left a PS2 game too, as they realised it wouldn't work on their PS2 at hone.[msnsmile2]

bonus then!!!!

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Carla
He's still there Mach 2 and is a favourite with other guests too!!

He's huge and I have to admit that last December I let the air out of him (no mean feat in itself!!) and put him around the side of the house, because we were having a new virtual tour done and I didn't want him "starring" in it. Low and behold he was back perched on the hot tub when I went out in May. [msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2]
[/quote]

Ah thats nice to know Carla, he was $9.99 from Walmart and we bought him back in 1998! Glad to know he is still going strong[msnwink]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by floridadreamvilla.co.uk

For example, we have a small book exchange thing going on at our 3 bed where you can take any book as long as you leave one in it's place and it's lovely to see a new collection of books each time we go [msnsmile].

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LiesaAnna
but do any of you villa owners mind if we leave bits and pieces behind such as pool toys etc????

have never thought to ask before just did it, but if you have so many guests doing that during the year you will be snowed under with them?
hope nobody minds me asking???:D
[/quote]
[/quote]
We are encouraging this as well John and being a bit of a bookworm, it's one of my favourite bits, seeing the books that other people have left behind[msnsmile2]

We also provide a load of books, CDs DVDs games etc and encourage exchange. Our repeat guests love this, and they often deliberately bring more books for our home the next time they come.

We also provide inflatable chairs for the pool for the summer. Most of the other pool toys don't last for very long as they get well used.

We have never visited our villa twice and found the same selection of books and toys. It makes it more exciting for us wondering what we will find.

Our funniest find to date was a pumpkin lantern. We found a plastic bag in the garage where we keep our Christmas decorations (so perhaps should have guessed to start with) but when Stuart looked to see what was in the bag it looked like a mouldy pumpkin. We thought yuk could the guests or cleaners not have binned rather than leave it to go mouldy. We then realised it was not soft but hard and found this wonderfully realistic mouldy pumpkin face with a light inside. We had a good laugh and have left it for our current guests to use come the witching hour later this month

they have some truely amazing pumpkins and all sorts of halloween things........if we were there over halloween i would love it, people decorate there gardens!!!!
lots of fun to be had!!!