complete package

[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.

[christhear]

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.

[Jill]

<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.

[mfairhurst]

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

[ukman]

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.

[lafifille]

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?

[sammibabe]

<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

[steph_goodrum]

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.

[Albert the Frog]

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

[FraserLynn]

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.