Interhomes...anyone know them

[tansy]

I came across interhomes.com today via google.co.uk

holiday-rentals.com didn't even show when I typed in holiday home France.that's probably why it's gone quite again

Anyway - interhomes can work with you or take over the whole running of the house...has anyone any experience or knowledge of them?...they look very professional and have offices through the world, you are inspected, they have very powerul marketing. they do all the bookings etc. you get a monthly list of who's coming & how much money is coming - this is all their claims.

It looks tempting - but no such thing as a free lunch!! But if it could fill the gap for off season...

[paolo]

holiday-rentals.com didn't even show when I typed in holiday home France.that's probably why it's gone quite again

Is 'holiday home france' a popular phrase used by people who want to rent a house like yours? I think people search with a narrower idea of where they want to stay. If they don't know any more than that they want to rent in France, the chances of them choosing your particular location are statistically very slim.

You could get a better idea of which sites are best for you by typing into Google the key phrases listed in the 'Building a website from scratch' section.

Interhome - I have seen one of their offices in Richmond. It struck me they must charge a significant commission for each rental. I don't know how much it is, but for a full-on agency like this you could pay them 40% or more per booking.

Again I am only guessing, but if you are thinking of using them only to fill in gaps - I'd be amazed if they didn't require all your bookings to be made through them, or at least your peak months. Otherwise it simply wouldn't be worth their while.

[tansy]

I kept clicking & read all their bumpf...at the end a message flagged up someone from their Paris office will be in contact...then an instant emails confirming Paris is on the case...so we'll see..I'll report in!

[alexia s.]

"Interhome - I have seen one of their offices in Richmond. It struck me they must charge a significant commission for each rental. I don't know how much it is, but for a full-on agency like this you could pay them 40% or more per booking.

Again I am only guessing, but if you are thinking of using them only to fill in gaps - I'd be amazed if they didn't require all your bookings to be made through them, or at least your peak months. Otherwise it simply wouldn't be worth their while."

That's right, Paolo. I used to know the local director of Interhomes here in the Var. Interhomes (this is going back a few years but they probably haven't changed their system) would freeze your bookings for a period of the booking year, manage the property (arrange cleaners, key pick-up, handle problems) - and charge you a hefty percentage of your income. I do remember that in the case of cancellation by the tenant, the owner didn't get to keep all the rent paid. (This means that you could be out of pocket because of a late cancellation. Most letting contracts foresee this possibility and provide for forfeiture of the rent - this is only fair, as the tenant can insure against unforeseen cancellations. The owner can't.)
If anyone does want to go with a letting organisation, Balfour in the UK (google for full name) has a great brochure and doesn't require exclusive letting rights (unless they've changed for 2005). I think that they only handle properties in France.

[alexia s.]

ps Interhomes is a Swiss organisation.

[Darren]

Interhomes also have 'travel agent' style bases in various countries. So not only are you getting enquiries via it's website but your getting bookings from people visiting a destination and looking for a rental.

They also have a commission style scheme too, so your property isn't just on the interhomes sites, but on a large number of websites.

Can't comment on it's commission rates as it seems a closely guarded secret (i.e. can never find it on it's websites)

Darren

[tansy]

I've got very bored with them....I replied in English stating I have property in France...so French person has emailed me in French....so we are at deadlock now...sorry I am intollerant of businesses that say one thing on their blurb and do complete opposite....so even if they did come back to me...sling & hook are in the few words I use!!

But the info I got I did glean they will only represent you if they have the property for July & August ...do they think I am totally mad