Small villa rental agencies are not afraid of the big boys!

It seems that Expedia are taking over the VRBO and Home Away group for a mere 3.9 Billion dollars!! They have announced that from 2016 they will be implementing a booking fee that holiday makers will have to pay!

So not only are they charging huge fees to the property owners (costs have increased dramatically over the last few years) they are taking money from the end user as well.  The goal posts have been changing over the last few years, one must upgrade if you want your advert to appear..... one must accept immediate on-line bookings..... one must etc......


As the proverb goes can they have their cake and eat it?
It may sound like they are trying to "oust" the small family companies, but bring it on we say!

The larger they become the harder it will be for them to offer any real customer service, and how do you find the perfect villa amongst thousands of properties?

Our sentiment is "We want to plan your holiday the way your would plan your own".

South France Villas do not charge the client any booking fees, we also provide financial failure insurance at no extra cost offering peace of mind to our clients.

South France villas are celebrating 15 years in the holiday rental business and we thought we would share some of the changes we have seen over that time, our top 5 are:

1 - WI-FI, clients now wish to have high speed and free internet access on holiday and even on the beach, when we first started very few houses even had the internet!

2 - Bathrooms! We have a joke that the French want to know the size i.e. the M2 of a villa and the British and Americans want to know how many bathrooms and loos there are! Gone are the days of 2 or 3 families sharing a bathroom!

3 - Low cost airlines, Ryanair and Easy-Jet have opened up the Languedoc Roussillon area to the whole of Europe, there are now 5 airports in the region. With a flight time of less than 2 hours this can be more appealing than the 10 hour drive, with the added bonus of not having to pass through Calais.

4 - Credit Crisis, this had an impact for off season bookings, however July and August continues to be popular. So many people have happy memories of childhood family holidays in the South of France and want their children to also experience the unique French culture, however with a little more luxury than a tent or caravan and of course not forgetting the holiday essential WI-FI!

5 - Direct marketing sites, Owners Direct, Holiday Lettings and the like made a huge impact on the market place. However owners and clients are now returning to the more personal, specalised agencies like us, not just for the personal service but also after seeing the amount of scams that have taken place on the direct websites.

So if you are thinking of booking a villa holiday in the South of France maybe in the
Languedoc Roussillon, Cote d'Azur or Provence then you know where we are!

www.southfrancevillas.com

Why is it a Great Time to Rent a Villa in the South of France? The Sterling Surges!

Why is it a great time to rent a villa in the South of France?  Expert currency advice from our guest contributor Peter Lavelle alerts you to the pound surging in the last few weeks making your rental this summer in the Languedoc, Provence or the Riviera cheaper.

Great news for you if you plan to rent a villa in the south of France this year! It's currently less costly to do so, because the pound has hit its highest versus the euro in 20 months, or since October 1st 2012, at approximately 1.2563. So when you exchange currencies, you'll get a higher euro total!

How many more euros will you get when you rent in the south of France?

If you were to exchange £1,250 into euros to rent a villa in the south of France, you'd receive approximately +/- €150 more at present than if you'd done so when the pound was weak, back in March 2013, at around just 1.1371. So this isn't pocket change - the strong pound will add significantly to your final euro total!

Why is the pound rising against the euro now?

Sterling is strengthening against the euro for 2 reasons. The first is that the UK economy is forecast to grow 3.0% this year, more than any other major country. The second is that the Bank of England looks set to become the 1st major central bank since the recession to hike interest rates.

Will the pound continue to rise against the euro, further cutting the cost of renting  in the south of France?

The pound may just continue to rise further! This is because there is absolutely no sign that the UK's economic revival will let up any time soon. Quite the opposite, there are more people in work in the UK now than any time since records began, while prices in the UK housing market are surging.

So as the pound rises against the euro, it's a great time to rent a property in the south of France!

About the author

Peter Lavelle is a currency dealer at foreign exchange broker Pure FX. For free expert currency advice when you rent a property in the south of France, call him on +44 (0) 1494 671800 or email peter.lavelle@purefx.co.uk He'll be glad to help.

Here are 2 examples of rental properties in the South of France showing your approximate savings on booking a weeks' holiday in August now compared to March 2013: 

La Petite Bastide (HE091A) - A Languedoc Villa on a Golf Course near Beziers and the Mediterranean Beaches.The villa sleeps up to 6 people, has Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, private pool and a summer kitchen.  A week staying here in August is €2375. Paying in £ sterling in March 2013 this would have cost approximately £2088. With the current favourable exchange rate the same property costs approximately £1890 - a saving of around £200!

Benefit from getting more for your £'s! La Petite Bastide (HE091A) is approximately £200 cheaper in August when you book now compared to March 2013 due to the current great exchange rate.

Villa Ilana (AM035A) - A beautiful villa on the Cote d'Azur, above Sainte-Maxime with views of the Mediterranean and Saint-Tropez. Sleeping up to 8 people and equipped with air-conditioning, Wi-Fi and a large, curved, heated infinity pool. 

A week in August is €4375. If you booked and paid in £ Sterling in March 2013 this would have been approximately £3847. The same week booked now would be approximately £3482 - a saving of around £365!

A saving of approximately £365! Villa Ilana (AM035A) near Sainte-Maxime on the Cote d'Azur.

Please note; The bank rates used by South France Villas may differ slightly from the rates shown above, however they do follow the same trend. To benefit fully from the strong £ sterling rate, you may find it advisable to research all options of payment before making the transaction.

If you would like any more information about our properties and their prices and availability, please do not hesitate to get in touch with South France Villas!

UK: +44 (0)207 060 5414

France +33 (0)4 67 36 05 54

Email: info@southfrancevillas.com

Saumane - Provence - taste of real France

Last minute deals - Provencal Holiday Home Rental.

'Saumane' - 25% off remaining July and August weeks

A perfectly located Provençal house which sleeps up to 12 with spectacular views, and a private heated pool, set within 2.5 acres of land with an orchard of olive trees.

The house is set in a breath-taking location with a fantastic infinity heated swimming pool built into the rock face and has an overflow which cascades into a lower pool area. The area around the pool is beautifully landscaped with stone patio areas along with wooden decking. 

Floodlit at night, swimming under the stars is one of the true highlights of the summer holiday!

The garden and olive groves are set on stone built terraces, and the property 'domaine' is so large it even has it's own mini-forest of green oak trees.

         

         

Just a few minutes walk takes you to a small hill-top village which one can see from the house terrace and has only 200 inhabitants. It has a small friendly bar/restaurant. 'Isle-sur-Sorgue', famous for its antique shops and with a huge choice of restaurants, many on the waterfront, is only about 10 minutes away and Fontaine de Vaucluse is only 5 minutes away

The property is decorated and furnished to a very high standard and has a total of six bedrooms, five of which are ensuite.