This article is offered to show the steps you need to take to find, book and rent that ideal holiday rental property. Self-catering holidays are ever popular, especially in a recession when you are counting the pennies, for obvious reasons. Hotels are easy to grade and book, but are much more expensive and you have less freedom to do your own thing, especially with a family. Can you easily step outside for a smoke (some of us still do!)? Can you watch the kids when they run outside to play? Having said that, you should be prepared to do some work to make sure you find a suitable property with the right conditions and that you trust the owner.
Unless you already know the rental property you are interested in, eg from reccommendations, friends or relatives, the best way to find your ideal holiday home is to look for websites that specialise in listing holiday rental properties. Find one that is easy to search without adverts and other clutter there to confuse you, with advert pages that describe properties clearly, shows availability and provides owner contact details (not a contact form that provides the website with a lot of your details). It should be a pleasant experience, not a heavy-going one.
Sol Apartments is such a website, that allows you to select what you want (location, type of property, number of bedrooms, disabled access, etc), taking you to a list of properties meeting these criteria, then to the individual property advert pages, which include attractive galleries of photos and interactive maps of the areas around the properties.
When you have found a property you may like to rent and it is available, you should contact the owners directly (either by email initially or by phone). The following is an aid memoir for things to address when you talk to them:
• Adjacent properties?
• Distances to amenities and activities?
• Is a car advisable/public transport?
• Clarify anything not already made clear in the advert: What is not included in the price? Is the pool available on that date? Check-in/check-out times flexibility? Deposit, cancellation, refund and payment policies? End-of-stay cleaning policy? Pets allowed? etc.
• Request photos of rooms not shown in the advert.
• Ask if the owner has a personal website of the property.
• Ask for testimonials from previous renters, if not shown in the advert.
• Who will greet you with the keys and collect these from you when you leave?
• Will there be a local contact to speak to in your language (or a mobile phone number to call) if there are any problems?
• Will there be contact details for maintenance staff and local emergency services?
• Will an agreement covering the rental terms and conditions be sent to me?
After these discussions, you should have a good idea of the integrity of the owners and if you are happy to pay a deposit. Make sure that anything agreed is sent to you in writing (either by letter or by email) to avoid later misunderstandings. This may be in the form of a rental agreement. When you have decided to go for it, you can discuss such things as how to get to the property - the owner may have an arrangement for airport transfers and will have local knowledge of the best deals for taxis, hire cars and public transport.
In summary, speak directly with the owner and ask all the above questions, make sure all the details are clear, decide if you trust the owner and get all the important details in writing before you pay that deposit.
Dave Stuttard (webmaster, Sol Apartments holiday rentals search engine)