What guests really want in a villa...

Up, down, could be better? How to get more bookings is our number one obsession. Talk shop here.
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

No way bunny! :lol:

A friend does have a piano and mentions it in his advert (!)...he has yet to hear the ivories being tinkled though.

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Bunny
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Post by Bunny »

Perish the thought of a piano in a holiday let. Every single child wouldn't be able to resist. Pity the poor parents the noise and pity the owner the sticky ivories!
annedab
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Post by annedab »

We have a piano in one of our gites.......in fact last year a family specifically asked to have the larger house so that the kids wouldn't miss out on piano practice. I sensed that the kids didn't really take to me :lol:
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Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

I've had many a quiet laugh when my sister has been haranging her children about their lack of piano practice. She was the world's worst at doing it herself :lol:
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Bassman
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Post by Bassman »

I have a Yamaha stage piano which ive leant to guests on a few occasion. Some family groups we have had have been quite musical, a couple of weeks ago we had a large group who brought along and play a variety of instruments including bagpipes, not my favourite instrument but they were very entertaining. I also have a small studio which i also have let guests on occasions use
Entirelyidentifiable
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Post by Entirelyidentifiable »

Hi, I am the Mumsnet OP!
Just joined this site on the recommendation of some of the posters over there and I can see it will be very useful.

Very aware that it's a balance between providing what appeals to guests but is also practical and won't get trashed. It is a high(ish) end villa though so some luxuries are going to be important.

The piano...!! The villa is for us too and my husband desperately wants this. We won't be buying a Steinway - just something fairly cheap and hopefully with a lock. I was thinking we could ask for a deposit for it to be left unlocked and that way if kids with ice cream come along and trash it, there is at least some coverage of that. Or a rental fee, or both?

A small issue at this stage as we still have to actually complete and make more urgent changes (aircon in the bedrooms that don't have it being top of my list) plus going on how long it took him to find the right piano here for at home, it'll be ages before he actually gets one.

Can't wait to make the most of the site and all the tips and one day contribute back.
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pambon
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Post by pambon »

I leave all dry goods in the kitchen and remove everything else.

Loo rolls are new for each arrival and I generally leave extra. Same applies to tissues in the bathrooms without extra boxes though!
AndrewH
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Post by AndrewH »

Entirelyidentifiable wrote:Hi, I am the Mumsnet OP!
Just joined this site on the recommendation of some of the posters over there and I can see it will be very useful.

Very aware that it's a balance between providing what appeals to guests but is also practical and won't get trashed. It is a high(ish) end villa though so some luxuries are going to be important. ... A small issue at this stage as we still have to actually complete and make more urgent changes (aircon in the bedrooms that don't have it being top of my list) plus going on how long it took him to find the right piano here for at home, it'll be ages before he actually gets one.

Can't wait to make the most of the site and all the tips and one day contribute back.
Welcome to the site EI (sorry about the abbreviation!). If you're going to the Algarve, which I haven't visited in years but I know it's good and hot there in high summer, then air con. in the bedrooms, and probably in other rooms as well, is a must if you want to use the word "luxury" or even "luxury(ish)". It would be expected.

Air conditioning pumps up your electricity bill in a big way, mind. Don't we know it, particularly when we hear those fans still buzzing, while the guests have gone out for the day.

There is a neat little gadget mentioned in a topic somewhere on this forum called "Ecosense", which discretely switches off the air con. when it detects that the place is empty of people, but it is clever enough to distinguish that from someone lying motionless, asleep in a bed.
Entirelyidentifiable
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Post by Entirelyidentifiable »

Hi,

No question in my mind that it's essential to get aircon in the remaining three bedrooms at the very least. I will wait and see with the living/ dining room area. It has lots of windows and there is usually a decent breeze there.
My next big buy down will be pool heating but that will have to wait until next season.

I've factored the higher electricity bill into my aforementioned massive Excel model and already had my eye on those sensors which seem like a brilliant idea and are not that expensive.

Looking at budgeting about 3000Euros for three air con units. Sound about right?
Zingara
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Post by Zingara »

It might be worth thinking of your 'air-conditioning' units as reversible climatisation (which is what they're called in France). They cool in summer, and heat in winter. You may, therefore, want to consider one for your living area, on the basis of cooler evenings?

Price will depend on a number of factors, as with all things...the size of unit varies with sq. meterage of room, for example.

Pool heating is a big draw for rentals, and there are ways of factoring the cost in. We describe our pool as 'heatable'. You'll find several threads on the subject on LMH: a wonderful resource, for information and support!
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Post by AndrewH »

Entirelyidentifiable wrote: ... Looking at budgeting about 3000Euros for three air con units. Sound about right?
I would say about half that amount for three units. I haven't included the cost of installing, perhaps 300 or 400 euros per room/unit including the fan unit outside.

The 'inverter' units cost more than the 'non-inverter' ones, but the claim is that they are more energy efficient - less electricity for the same effect.
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PW in Polemi
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Post by PW in Polemi »

Zingara wrote:It might be worth thinking of your 'air-conditioning' units as reversible climatisation (which is what they're called in France). They cool in summer, and heat in winter. You may, therefore, want to consider one for your living area, on the basis of cooler evenings?
However, the aircon unit is usually fixed a little below ceiling height, so if the ceiling is (as in many Cypriot properties) high for the cooling effect (heat rises, leaving cooler air at people-level), then the unit is not very effective as a room heater because you would have to set it to a high enough temperature to overheat the air just below the ceiling in order to warm the air nearer the floor, and I'm not sure that is feasible/desirable. Plus, not everybody likes the feel of air (even warmed) being blown past them in the cooler months.

Can you insulate the ceilings, which will help reduce air con costs in summer and heating (of whatever sort) in winter?

By the way, Entirelyidentifiable (I can understand why AndrewH abbreviated your name :D ), welcome to an extremely friendly, helpful and informative forum - you'll spend many dozens of hours reading and researching on here! :lol:
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Casscat
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Post by Casscat »

Haha, how brilliant that you are over from Mumsnet EI! :lol: Welcome, and you will indeed find this site a mine of useful information as a new-to-it holiday rental owner. I have only owned my place since the back end of June last year and it has been a steep learning curve.

On your question about air con, I had three units installed and from memory the cost was €2.700 all in. All three were inverter units operating a cooling/heating system and one unit was a larger capacity because it was for the living room which is a much bigger space than the bedrooms. I opted to put air con into two out of the three bedrooms but also have super-silent floor standing fans. I charge a supplement for air conditioning and my man on the spot removes the remote controls if people are happy to just get by with the fans. You really do have to charge extra because people will switch it on to 'fridge' setting and then go and sit in the garden! If the air con is running 24 hours a day you are going to have one heck of an electricity bill.
Entirelyidentifiable
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Post by Entirelyidentifiable »

I'm already finding it incredibly useful!

The ceilings are not especially high - just normal- in those three bedrooms. The master bedroom has air con already and does have a vaulted ceiling.
The house has gas central heating though so the heating function isn't especially useful and I think guests in Winter would prefer the central heating to having to turn individual heaters on. Having been out in Winter myself I found this much nicer.

I'm wondering if that's a selling point for Winter lets as I guess not some villas don't have central heating out there (I might be wrong though).

I've definitely been guilty as a renter of leaving air con on at times and feel bad now!

We have a weird thing in our house of having fans on at night even in Winter for white noise. Husband started it and I do like it now. So we will definitely have some decent fans. God forbid if someone uses both the fans and the aircon for my electricity bills!

Most of the villas on the agency website I'm hoping to use initially charge extra for aircon and pool heating.

I'm just going to struggle to pay for pool heating on top of everything else on day one but let's see. Ideally I want to get it rented asap after we get the keys but it depends on what's missing and how easily I can get those things from afar/ or during a weekend trip over and how quickly. Want to cover next winter's fixed costs ideally.
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GRL
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Post by GRL »

Casscat wrote:Haha, how brilliant that you are over from Mumsnet EI! :lol:
And I just joined Mumsnet to promote my survey :lol:
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