Frustrated and disappointed

[FraserLynn]

After 3 years living and working in Shanghai, we are back to the UK. Lots of positive reasons to come back, not least the opportunity to holiday in Florida again early next year.

Flights booked and on to finding a villa and this is where the disappointment kicks in. Hundreds of emails full of claims that are just not backed up in the pictures. Words like luxury, executive, 5 star used to describe what are clearly the basic furniture packages 10 years ago. Really poor photography included in the email that make the villas look drab and boring. Stupid fonts and colours that only serve to make the emails difficult to read "Brand new" is the opening line in one that we actually stayed in ourselves 8 years ago and it wasn't brand new then! Yes, this was from this site, then and now.

One email even started with the line "by now you will have hundreds of emails using the word executive of luxury" how right he was. In a relationship that only works on 2 way trust, starting off with a misleading comment just breaks this straight away.

I guess times are tough and people want to stand out but on the other side there have been some really professional looking emails with quality format, simple pictures and factual relevant information rather than ludicrous claims.

Come on owners, I think you can do better!

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

If anyone on any of our sites is mis-representing their villa then we'd really like to hear about it by email please. Any details you can provide to john@orlandovillas.com would be appreciated.

[Sandra M]

That's such a shame. We update our pictures each time we come home so that they stay current and we try really hard to describe our home so people know what to expect.

I hope you find one that suits you and am sure there will be many on here which will fit the bill.

as for fonts etc, it's all down to personal taste, I like Ariel and Calibri but that's just my taste.

when I send a e-mail reply I bold both our website link and our youtube tour is bold blue so they stand out a bit... never thought of it as being difficult to read... I hope it's straightforward [msnscared]

[MTP]

Just checked the wording that I use in my response and it doesn't mention luxury once, but then again, I didn't respond to your enquiry[msntongue] [msnsmile2].

Harsh words of criticism there, FraserLynn, but it is really actually very useful to get feedback like this as a villa owner. We send out e-mail after e-mail and it is difficult to gauge what works and what doesn't. You are also completely unaware of who you are sending the e-mail to, so it is hard to fine tune it too much, although I do think many of us continually tinker with the wording and format. It is very difficult to ensure the your description is different from the rest as there are only so many superlatives to use and I doubt many of us would wish to describe their villa as "a bit so-so" or "rather standard and ordinary". As an aside, what is amazing is that when compared to other holiday destinations, what is standard and ordinary in Florida is an incredible standard elsewhere and when you factor in the pricing the value is tremendous.

I have to admit to being guilty of not having photographs of our villa with the up to date furniture in it, though, but at times it is difficult when you are constantly updating and renewing the furniture to also manage to capture up to date photographs as well, so guilty as charged. In saying that I am hoping to add a 360 tour soon so will get new photos then. Part of the problem I find is that when we stay in the villa we are ... staying in the villa, so to try to create a moment to get some new photos isn't always easy. Personally, though, I appreciate the kick up the rear so will look at prioritising this for ourselves (although, I'm toying with new TV and stand, etc, in the main room which would completely change things again ... what to do ... what to do ...).

[SDJ]

I am very aware that my pictures (although up to date) appear quite fuzzy on this site whereas on my own website, they are not at all fuzzy. As I am not a techie not sure how I can get my photo's looking better on here. Other than that, I am sure I am honest in describing our villa.

[FraserLynn]

I am pleased that this has been received as it was meant, constructive criticism for a product I love... first choice holiday for me is always a Villa in Florida.

I appreciate that a lot of this is personal taste and of course you don't want to undersell your villa. Some of the emails looked really well thought through, had everything you needed to know as a first enquiry (availability, couple of visuals, easy to find link and price) whilst others you had to search through paragraphs and paragraphs of outrageous claims picking out the pertinent facts yourself. The most frustrating version of this was one which on paragraph 6 told me that they weren't available on the date I wanted..... important information to lead with you would think! After a while I just hit delete on these straight away. It was like the Villa owner was thinking..."if I make hundreds of claims, one of them will stick"

I guess some people (probably the same ones who have a cupboard full of wonder mops and fancy cheese graters that they bought of the advertorials on the TV early mornings) might like this so I appreciate it is a difficult balance, but, I can't imagine for a minute that anyone books a villa because the email says it's luxury or 5 star etc. People must look deeper than this.......surely

[autumnc]

I have looked for vacation homes in Northern Florida and also other parts of the USA/world and some of the replies I have received have been so embarrassing it has made me cringe, Motel 6 standard rooms described as pure luxury. I always thought that because of the high level of competition, Orlando owners had the 'edge' so to speak, so it's interesting to see this kind of feedback from the point of view of a guest.

[MTP]

Anyway, I always reassure my guests that our villa is super-luxury and 6 stars, so I don't think FraserLynne's advice is really for me.

[Carla]

No one should have replied to you Fraser unless they have availability. The only exception to this is if you made a direct enquiry for a particular villa. In that case the owner can reply to you and let you know that they are not available.

Your enquiry was a General Enquiry for a 4 bedroom home and you stated 0 flexibility on dates, so you should only have received replies from owners who have availability for your exact dates. This is a rule that ALL advertising owners are aware off. The last thing that any guest wants is to wade through a reply and then to find out that the home isn't even available.

The most frustrating version of this was one which on paragraph 6 told me that they weren't available on the date I wanted..... important information to lead with you would think!

[luckylady]

I try my very best not to mislead any potential guests. My ultimate goal is to ensure my guests are not disappointed on arrival. After all I want my guests to fall in love with my home and return again on a future visit.

I am very much aware a Florida holiday is expensive and can be a lifetime trip for some families. I cannot see the point of selling a product that doesn't offer what I promote .It only leads to unhappy guests which is hassle for me.I certainly don't want that.

My photographs are up to date, I admit some rooms on my video tour have been upgraded since the tour was completed. This is inevitable as most owners plan upgrades each visit.
Would not be realistic to have a new video tour every visit.

I am very sorry Fraser Lynn you are frustrated and disappointed. I welcome your feedback,there is always room for improvement from owners .