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Villa Holiday Versus Package Holiday
by Peter Hartley
Everybody knows someone who has been on one and an awful lot of people
have been on one themselves. Yes we are talking about the age old
Package holiday. The safest, most common holiday. Package holidays have
been around for years and I am sure everyone will know someone that has
went to a travel agent and booked a holiday through them. Is the tide
turning though? Have people found a better way to enjoy their holidays
costing them a fraction of travel agent prices?
Villa Holidays is now becoming the main way to book a holiday. For the
first time since villa holidays came on the scene more holidaymakers are
booking their holiday direct with the owner or through a website that
offer villa holidays than with a Travel Agent.
Let us have a look at the Pros and Cons of both types of holidays.
Firstly the Package Holiday. Most people know this as the safest way to
book a holiday because travel agents are ABTA approved and feel more
secure booking holidays through a travel agent. You do have the added
guarantee that if anything is wrong with the holiday you have some
governing body to complain to and for that peace of mind you pay a
premium for this. Travel Agents charge customers per person for their
holidays.
On the other hand if you were to book a villa holiday then you don't
have the guarantee of the governing body, you deal directly with the
person that owns the property therefore you cut out the middle man.
Instead of paying a per person price for your holiday you pay for the
villa or apartment as a whole no matter how many people are travelling.
Let's say for example you were wanting to go on holiday to Spain.
A travel agent could easily charge about £300 per person for an
apartment in Costa Blanca, if 4 people are going on that holiday that
would cost £1200 and that is including flights. Okay now lets look at
the pricing for a similar apartment in Costa Blanca. 2 weeks at the
height of the season in July or August would cost £550 but that is for
the apartment, that is £137.5 per person, just for the accommodation.
The days of the internet are upon us and even flight companies are
offering cheap flights to their customers. An average price of a flight
to the Costa Blanca is about £59 so the total price of the holiday
booked direct with the villa owner is £196.50 now the total cost of the
holiday for 4 people is £786 saving you £414 that is over £100 per
person.
Now I hear you cry but you have no guarantees! If you follow a few
simple steps you can have the guarantees in writing. We spoke with Peter
Hartley the Managing Director of Last Minute Villa Holiday who said "
Villa Holidays are a boom at the moment, people are wanting to go on
holiday and have more money to spend when they are on holiday. You can
save a lot of money by booking a villa or apartment rather than booking
with a travel agent but I would advise on following these simple
guidelines to make sure you have the guarantees you are looking for.
Firstly always speak to the villa owner by telephone, it is better than
just talking by email, Before you phone make sure you have a list of
questions written down that you want answered. If you do not feel
comfortable with the answers then you do not book the villa or
apartment. Always make sure you get emailed confirmation of the
reservation of the villa or apartment before you send a deposit or the
full payment. If you are still feeling unsure about booking with a
certain villa owner contact the website you found it on and speak to
them directly.
Our Company LastMinuteVillaHoliday.co.uk always ensure that our
customers are happy before they book the accommodation. We can put them
in touch with the villa owner directly or if they would rather deal with
a company we would make the booking for them. In Summary if they follow
these simple rules then they are assured a great holiday."
So is it a Villa Holiday or a Package Holiday this year. I would always
go for the one that saved me the most money and allowed me more money to
spend on Holiday.
About the Author
Peter Hartley is the Managing Director of
Last Minute Villa
Holiday and specialises in Villa holidays throughout the world.
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