Villa owners adverts

[Snapper]

Surely it is relative though. If you take even the most basic villa and compare it against a bargain basement motel the villa is quite clearly luxury accomodation.

Luxury is your problem word, in that it is subjective, rather than an objective measure.

If a home was advertised as having a 60" widescreen TV when it only had a 32" widescreen TV then this would cleary be a breach of the TDA. If it was advertised as having a huge widescreen TV then the 32" set would be fine. Who's to define how big a TV has to be before it's huge?

Anything subjective is, by definition, just that. Subjective.

Even the Mercedes might be considered far from luxury motoring by someone who has just bought a Maybach.

[Dopeysfriend]

Well said Steve. I totally agree.

[luckylady]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Snapper
Surely it is relative though. If you take even the most basic villa and compare it against a bargain basement motel the villa is quite clearly luxury accomodation.

Luxury is your problem word, in that it is subjective, rather than an objective measure.

If a home was advertised as having a 60" widescreen TV when it only had a 32" widescreen TV then this would cleary be a breach of the TDA. If it was advertised as having a huge widescreen TV then the 32" set would be fine. Who's to define how big a TV has to be before it's huge?

Anything subjective is, by definition, just that. Subjective.

Even the Mercedes might be considered far from luxury motoring by someone who has just bought a Maybach.
[/quote]

Steve you amaze me, your postings are spot on
You would make a great lawyer[msnwink][msnwink]

[Arby]

Sorry Steve I totally disagree, you cannot compare villa accommodation to hotel accommodation. The fact of the matter is you are saying that the most basic villa is more luxurious than the most basic hotel. Not true, it's the same standard it's just bigger. If you think basic beds, quilts, seats and tables are better standard than a cheap hotel/motel you are quite mistaken. It's the same calibre, except like I said, one is bigger in the form of a home and the other is smaller and hence that's the only reason there is a difference in price.

Hotels have star rating and if it's 2 star with 2 star furnishings, it's listed as such and priced accordingly. Some of these villas are not. They are 2 star accommodation in 2 star communities, wanting 4 star rental fees and giving 4-5 star impressions in their description.

If you are really wanting to hear what potential renters or the general public are thinking then take what I have said on board. I am sure I am not alone in this viewpoint. I wish the villa owners would just face reality and realise that I'm not downgrading anyone's home but I'm just merely pointing out that a lot of these homes are no more prestigious or luxurious than the average home in Florida, they are just merely the ones available to rent for holidays to the general public. When others are pointing out what could be put right in these ads, this is meant to be a constructive feedback and help not to be taken as personal criticism.

There are many as equally nice homes available for X amount per week or even less. It depends when you bought your villa and how. If you have a high mortgage and bought at the end of a development or you have a low mortgage and bought at the beginning this will all affect how much rent you can afford to take. Now THAT is all relative. The description of standard accommodation as 'luxury' is not.

[Arby]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Snapper
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Arby
Ok Mach has basically hit on the head what I was originally trying to say. Like hotels there are levels of accommodation. 2 star, 3 star etc. And virtually every advert is saying prestigious, luxury etc and in fact - all the villas on this site are lovely homes, I think you all have something to be proud of, but the reality is that a lot of them aren't luxury or prestigious, they are basic accommodation. I think a star rating would help with this. Because the prices are so close in a lot of instances, it's very hard for a novice to tell whether they are actually getting luxury, upscale accommodation or your usual villa. And I think to this end it's very important to actually clarify this because if it was a honeymoon or something and I had booked 'luxurious', 'prestigious' accommodation to find my house overlooked a dozen others immediately at the back, and it was really basic furniture package furniture, then I would not be at all happy. The pictures do obviously speak volumes but it's not until you actually get into the property do you often see carpet stains, rips in furniture or how MFI looking the furniture is...not saying that's the case with these villas, but you get my point.
[/quote]
Even a star rating might not help that much Arby. It would be way easy for villa owners to manipulate their star rating by simply making sure their home had the requisite bits and pieces and ticked all the right boxes.

The beauty of this site is that it hooks you up directly with the villa owner so, in theory at least, it's as good as it gets for allowing you to make you own informed decision as to whether a villa is prestigious, luxurious or otherwise. Ask the owner to send more photos including close-ups of the furnishings, or different angles of the pool deck, or the house in situ to see how close the other villas are, or the view from the pool to see if it is overlooked. Ask if the furnishings shown in the photos are still in the house, or whether it's gone floral. Ask if there are any visible marks, tears or stains on the carpets. Ask when the carpets were last steam cleaned, or even how much they cost to fit in the first place. Ask what temperature the pool heater is set to, how many channels the TV has or whether the kitchen has a coffee grinder and waffle maker. Ask the owner to justify why they believe that their villa is prestigious or luxurious.

Everyone booking through this site has the most amazing opportunity to know exactly what the villa is like before they even book it, let alone before the arrive and set foot through the door. There should be absolutely no surprises whatsoever; other than a very pleasant one when the reality exceeds even the highest expectations.

This next statement might sound a little harsh, but if anyone books a villa direct with the owner and is then unpleasantly surprised when they set foot in it; well, they've only really theirselves to blame.[/quote]

I find that statement not harsh but absolutely unacceptable. I don't think anyone who hands over a significant amount of money in exchange for any service, goods or accommodation is to blame if they have been misled in any sense.

A villa is not luxurious because it's a villa. A luxurious villa is one because it is of exceptional standard in an exceptional location, with exceptional facilities and amenities. You wouldn't call any house in England luxurious because it's a house would you? The fact that it has a pool is neither here nor there. Most houses in Florida do have pools. It's the climate and location. So does that mean that every pool home in Florida is prestigious [?][?]Reading some of these villa owners reminds me

[Arby]

Sorry hit it twice.

[Macka]

Arb, I totally agree with you on that point, noboday should have to shoulder the blame themselves for booking a villa that is unacceptable, as no villa should fall short of expectation. That said, I also agree with Steve, this is a forum that will take the huge majority of guesswork and risk out of the decision to book a holiday villa.

I think we're all getting things a little out of perspective here If you don't mind me saying so, and arguing about semantics. Luxury, executive, prestigious, yes, all descriptions that can be viewed rather subjectively. I don't believe we can put right any wrongs that may be done outside of this forum, so let's not try, however if someone believes that an owner here is exagerating the quality of a villa, then there is a mechanism on the forum to feedback that to everyone else and the owner constantly runs the risk of that. Some may be too polite to give negative feedback but I certainly won't be. I think that the feedback thread is an excellent quality check. Personally, I don't read anything into phrasings like prestigious or luxury, I prefer to find out for myself.

[Carla]

Arby, there is no organised or official body that is prepared to offer a grading service to the vacation rental homes sector of the accommodation market, so basically each owner is on his/her own when it comes to writing descriptions. Each of us is running a small business and wants to ensure that our business is successful. As far as any authority is concerned, providing we keep our homes up to a strict code, pay all Sales and Tourist tax that is due, and file our annual accounts, then that is where the interest in our business ceases. The code includes safety features and doesn't discriminate between gradings of furnishing/fittings supplied, providing that they are in good condition and suitable for purpose.

Rating homes is something that gets discussed on owners forums, but it is almost impossible to put in place and to run. Unless it was done by some kind of official body then it would not have any meaning or teeth.

I'm think that initially many guests ignore the superlatives and other words used in the adverts and concentrate on the pictures, which generally tell the story "as it is". They will then tend to read the text if they liked the pictures. Guests are then able to determine whether what they see matches what they are reading about. The use of the word "luxury" or any other descriptive word for that matter, tends to be subjective. One guest's idea of luxury may be another guest's idea of either a top quality or basic home. As Steve mentioned, guests are able to ask the owner as many questions as they wish to ensure that what they are buying for their vacation is what they anticipated.

Many owners are frequently told that the pictures don't do their homes justice and that the home is in fact so much lovelier in reality.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Carla
Arby, there is no organised or official body that is prepared to offer a grading service to the vacation rental homes sector of the accommodation market, so basically each owner is on his/her own when it comes to writing descriptions. Each of us is running a small business and wants to ensure that our business is successful. As far as any authority is concerned, providing we keep our homes up to a strict code, pay all Sales and Tourist tax that is due, and file our annual accounts, then that is where the interest in our business ceases. The code includes safety features and doesn't discriminate between gradings of furnishing/fittings supplied, providing that they are in good condition and suitable for purpose.

Rating homes is something that gets discussed on owners forums, but it is almost impossible to put in place and to run. Unless it was done by some kind of official body then it would not have any meaning or teeth.

I'm think that initially many guests ignore the superlatives and other words used in the adverts and concentrate on the pictures, which generally tell the story "as it is". They will then tend to read the text if they liked the pictures. Guests are then able to determine whether what they see matches what they are reading about. The use of the word "luxury" or any other descriptive word for that matter, tends to be subjective. One guest's idea of luxury may be another guest's idea of either a top quality or basic home. As Steve mentioned, guests are able to ask the owner as many questions as they wish to ensure that what they are buying for their vacation is what they anticipated.

Many owners are frequently told that the pictures don't do their homes justice and that the home is in fact so much lovelier in reality.
[/quote]

I can definitely say that Carla's villa is First Class, Luxury etc etc as I have stayed there[msnwink]

[LiesaAnna]

Sorry for two posts back to back but I don't know how to join both into one!
[/quote]

clcik edit and scroll to where you want to begin!!



just want to add i know where your coming from!!