VILLA OWNERS! WANT MORE RENTALS?
Don’t we all! So how can you get more clients into your villa? What can your villa offer that perhaps your competitors don’t?
You must put investment in to get rentals out, if you stand still your rentals will suffer. The fact is that there is too much to choose from to be off the pace at all.
Firstly, if you really do want rentals outside of peak season (July/August ) you will need a pool heater.
Heat exchangers or Florida heat pumps as they are often referred to take the heat from the air and transfer this to the pool water making it a far more pleasurable experience to swim than it would normally be.
In reality rentals outside of peak season are hard fought for and without a pool heater you will struggle to attract renters for your villa if you’re up against a villa that has one. Why rent a villa without a pool heater when the water is too cold to swim when you can rent one with heater? Simples!
The price of pool heaters were historically very expensive to buy and indeed run. Now, in a more competitive and greener market, this is not necessarily the case the heaters are much cheaper on both fronts and are considerably more reliable.
Perhaps it’s worth another look? You might even decide to swim and use the pool in the winter months yourself!
Secondly, think about getting a child friendly pool fence.
More and more families are asking us “Is the villa child friendly and is the pool fenced off?’ In Florida this is not a question which would need to be asked as the answer would always be ‘Yes!’ You simply cannot rent your home without a pool safety fence, it’s against the law.
In Spain and Turkey at the moment (in older houses anyway) it is not the law and certainly not policed in the same way. However, leaving the law aside, a pool safety fence would actually make you villa much more appealing to a family with small children. The adults can relax and not have to worry that their little ones have taken an impromptu (and very dangerous) swim. Its well worth considering many of your rentals will be to families with little ones and a safety fence may just be a valuable and not too expensive point of difference over your competitors.
Thirdly, think about getting a pool table/table tennis table.
Again, in Florida providing games and entertainment is an accepted addition to most rental homes. If you don’t have it, expect to lose rentals as your competitors certainly do. Peple want to spend time in the villas that they have spent their hard earned cash on so make their time there as enjoyable as possible. Small additions such as this can make a BIG difference to your rentals.
In the current climate we all know ‘Price is king’ but excellent standards, quality and USPs also may just what is needed to get holidaymakers to pick your holiday home. You have to speculate to accumulate as they say!
