complete package

We have been going to florida for many years, but this is the first time that we have done a full package, ie. flight, villa and car hire. Today we have recieved our itenary and concerned about the amount of money still to be paid.

There is Home insurance fee of £25 per week which is optional but if we opt out we would have to give a deposit of £150 per week, then there is the deposit for the car hire which it states you must need a credit card, gave up all my credit card as I prefer my debit card instead.

Then there is pool heating which they are charging crazy amounts for so will wait till i get there and contact Management company.

Why do companies not make those information available from the beginning.

Can I ask why you decided to do the package. It looks as though you normally book things yourself and then you are in full control.
Have you requested pool heat, not sure when you are going so don't really know if you need it. IF you have booked as a package I don't thnk the Mc will have any control over the pool heat price.
Next time go back to booking things separately at least there will be no nasty surprises that way.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by ukman
We have been going to florida for many years, but this is the first time that we have done a full package, ie. flight, villa and car hire. Today we have recieved our itenary and concerned about the amount of money still to be paid.

There is Home insurance fee of £25 per week which is optional but if we opt out we would have to give a deposit of £150 per week, then there is the deposit for the car hire which it states you must need a credit card, gave up all my credit card as I prefer my debit card instead.

Then there is pool heating which they are charging crazy amounts for so will wait till i get there and contact Management company.

Why do companies not make those information available from the beginning.

[/quote]

Perhaps companies do not make all the information available because if they did you would see just how expensive it is and decide not to book (sorry that answer is tongue in cheek from someone who has been caught out before a long time ago).

I know with some of the 'free' car hire involved with tour agency packages it is still cheaper to hire from the link above than pay for the additional insurances you can be charged for (as happened to us) so I would recommend you check back with the agency and find out whether you might be involved in additional car hire costs normally insurances. Depending on what they are then I would do what I have since found others do and that is not pre pay anything else for car hire, do not collect the car at the airport but book through http://www.floridahire.com/ where you will know exactly what you are paying for and have no nasty surprises.

As above there is a lot sence to doing it yourself as you have control were you stay and the carhire on here there are people who can help with just a e-mail to them if you need here are in Florida .
We used to do a package but we had so much trouble we started to do our own and saved money and was pleasantly surprised how villa ownere help with anything you nee to know.
Good luck and hope you enjoy your vacation in Florida again.
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

Did package, as there is two other family coming along and could not pay up front,so deposit was best and if we had done it seperately we feel that we may not have gotten the same flights nor staying within close proximity for the kids. But next time will be back to doing it myself.

Agencies that sell packages don't want you to realize how expensive your trip will end up being until it's too late. There's a good chance most people go for it because it's easier too, or seems to be easier.

I'm curious: how can you be sure you'll get three villas close to each others?

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:

I'm curious: how can you be sure you'll get three villas close to each others?


[/quote]

I would definately ask the question if you don't already know. We started stayig in villas as there are 5 of us and in a hotel we were told we would need 2 rooms and they couldn't guarantee they would be together; not much of a family holiday if they're not! So if you want to be close to others check that this is gonna happen

Ukman

One point in your post has made me curious, regarding the damage/loss deposit for the villas. As owners we have been having some discussion about which Guests would prefer to see as an option.

Some Management companies offer the option of either a non-refundable payment or a refundable option (usually a higher amount).

I wonder if as Guests you would mind telling us which you option you prefer? My gut feeling is that I personally (as a renter) would not want to pay extra as a non-refundable payment, knowing that in 30 years of holidays in the UK and abroad, have never left any place in a condition that would warrant the use of the insurance provided, that I would feel I was subsidising the ba behaviour of those who didn't respect the place they were staying. Some of the things (extra cleaning for example, which would be deductable from a damage/loss deposit but not necessarily the insurance would be offset by taking the charge from every Guest regardless of if they caused it.
It's a standing joke with families who we have been away with that between us places are always left cleaner and tidier than when we arrive.

Regarding the "added extras" which in effect are compulsory, we try to keep everything as simple as possible, so things like pool heating, taxes etc. are all factored into the price and the price you see is the final price. This is for exactly the reason you say so that youu know what you are paying rather than get nasty surprises. Even hotels are guilty af adding things on, you find a place and then when you arrive there is often surcharges for resort fees, energy tax, internet usage etc., which had they been known about and factored into the equation of pricing when bookings may have led to a different outcome.
We booked somewhere that advertised "free tennis" which we thought would be good, on arrival we found that the tennis courts were free but it cost $20 an hour to hire the rackets etc. (on principal we went to the Flea market on the 192 and bought our own which was less than the cost of an hours hire but meant we could use them as much as we wanted. This played a part in our pricing strategy and so , on paper our villa may look higher priced than others but means we can say honsestly that there aren't any hidden extras.

It is more likely that whenever there are 3rd parties involved there are costs which may not be outlined initially as each party relies on the other to tell you the answer , if youu remember to ask the question.

Great discussion point.
From my point of view when I go into somebody else's property I want to do everything I can to ensure that I leave the property neat,tidy and with nothing broken or damaged.
My overriding concern is causing major accidental damage-if I had to pay a premium to cover that then I would prefer that it be included in the overall cost and I be provided with a copy of what is covered. If I had paid that I wouldn't then expect to have to pay a security deposit on top.
Last year I paid a deposit and when it was returned it was a small amount light £20-£30-with no explanation. I didn't question it because of the amount and the fact that apart from that the holiday had been wonderful but that is always a risk, from my point of view, with leaving a deposit-so in a nutshell, it wouldn't affect how I behave but my preference would be for a 2 /3 week accidental damage insurance

Tough one. We (like I imagine 99% of guest do) also want to leave everything as nice as we found it, we are living in someone else's home after all. I wonder though if the sort of people who don't care will see the insurance rather than deposit as another reason not to be bothered, i.e. they have already paid for any damage through the insurance, it won't cost them anymore so why bother looking after things....

As I have often said, this whole process (private rental) is underpinned by mutual trust and respect, but a bit of financial leverage surely helps?

Personally, I have never had an issue with handing over a deposit to cover damages, have always received it back in full and consider it to be a perfectly normal and acceptable thing to do.

In terms of transparency of pricing, think the challenge here is getting the message over. When I am flicking through a pile of emails that have come through, there are always so many villas to chose from that if the majority price one way (excluding pool heat for example) then one with this included will look expensive without me realising why and get put in the no pile. Having said that, what I don't want is any extra surprises, although I have never had any with villa rentals.... One list of what I am paying for and how this is made up (rental, pool heat, cleaning etc) I think is easy to understand and transparent enough.

Quote:-we try to keep everything as simple as possible, so things like pool heating, taxes etc. are all factored into the price and the price you see is the final price

I find it "very" amusing when I'm checking out prices to see (usually) the lower price villa, at the bottom of the description, in small print state "Does not include local taxes";)

I always delete those as I think there not being totally upfront. It can make comparing like for like for the first timer more difficult.

Maybe villa owners could all use the same pricing format so people don't get suckered in[msnwink] but then again it would take away the fun in checking :D

I now scroll straight to the pricing and check if taxes are not included, so I don't waste any time.

Mike
It's a bit difficult on that score for us owners as the US market traditionally doesnt include tax in their nightly rate. hotels etc will always show it extra. I think its partly so that people can see that the hotel (or in this case villa owner) diesnt get that portion of the money, much the same as airlines often show it separate.

I don't mind leaving a refundable deposit as i got no reason for wanting to destroy anyone villas and have never done so in many years, always do my hardest to leave the villas the way I found it or better, but it was the non refundable £25 home insurance which I found puzzling and worried I was not informed of prior to booking.

I am always happy to either provide a deposit or credit card details for the owner to hold. I prefer this to the insurance which to me just seems like a way of putting up the price of the accomodation and as has been said previously will make some renters take less care.

In many years of renting both in the US and Europe I have only once had an issue with a deposit. 'It was said' that we had spilt nail varnish on the carpet. If I had then fair enough, but as I didnt have any with me, I knew 100% that this was not something I was responsible for. On contesting this, the charge was quickly withdrawn from my credit card - it left me feeling bad. Not with the owner who I suspect was never even aware of it, but the management company!

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:I find it "very" amusing when I'm checking out prices to see (usually) the lower price villa, at the bottom of the description, in small print state "Does not include local taxes"

I always delete those as I think there not being totally upfront. It can make comparing like for like for the first timer more difficult.
[/quote]As others have said this is a difficult one for owners as the US & Canadian markets like to see the sales/bed taxes separately, this is what they are used too.

Whereas us Brits our VAT is included in the price.

I have compromised and show my sterling rates inclusive of taxes but with my Dollar rates taxes are shown separately.

The only other item which I quote separately for is electric pool heat and this is where the coast differs to Orlando insomuch pool heat is really only necessary October thru April and occasionally May. Also we do get lots of guests usually the winter ones who do not swim, they like to sit by the pool and dabble their feet but that is all. Based on this we have chosen to show the pool heat as an optional extra. If we included the cost some guests would be subsidising others which would not be fair.

However would like guests opinions on this one.

Lynne

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Pookie
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:I find it "very" amusing when I'm checking out prices to see (usually) the lower price villa, at the bottom of the description, in small print state "Does not include local taxes"

I always delete those as I think there not being totally upfront. It can make comparing like for like for the first timer more difficult.
[/quote]As others have said this is a difficult one for owners as the US & Canadian markets like to see the sales/bed taxes separately, this is what they are used too.

Whereas us Brits our VAT is included in the price.


I have compromised and show my sterling rates inclusive of taxes but with my Dollar rates taxes are shown separately.

The only other item which I quote separately for is electric pool heat and this is where the coast differs to Orlando insomuch pool heat is really only necessary October thru April and occasionally May. Also we do get lots of guests usually the winter ones who do not swim, they like to sit by the pool and dabble their feet but that is all. Based on this we have chosen to show the pool heat as an optional extra. If we included the cost some guests would be subsidising others which would not be fair.

However would like guests opinions on this one.

Lynne [/quote]I think listing the pool heat separately (provided it is clear and up front) is a more sensible way of doing it, we always have pool heat when I am there with the family, but I have been a couple of times with just my wife and on both of these occasions we chose not to have pool heat as we knew we wouldn't use the pool... for me, giving me the option to take or leave it is the best way.

I was more worried when you said that you did not use credit cards. I have not had to hire a car for some years as we have our own car in Florida, but I am sure that it is almost impossible to hire a car without providing a credit card. Perhaps someone will correct me if I am wrong on that point, but I do know that a friend of ours some years ago was unable to hire without one and he had to get someone else in the party to hire the car for him and put him on as an extra driver.

Something else also occurred to me - do you know exactly where your villas will be? Or are they allocated on arrival. If they are allocated on arrival you cannot be sure that your villas will be close to each other. Do be sure that you have checked this out.

Andrena

Hello Andrena, we do not know where the villas will be but I have been given assurance we will be on the same complex or within walking distance. I have made sure that I have had written confirmation on that, signed by the director and if they were not to deliver and I was not happy with the distance, I would take legal action.