private villa rental and vacation home specialists ~ villas with pools, penthouses with jacuzzis, rentals on the beach, luxury holiday homes ~ florida, spain, cyprus

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Can't login to the members area? To protect both our owners and members alike we require that you register as a member. This is simply so we can hide contact information from those unscrupulous soles who trawl websites looking for email addresses to spam. If you find you cannot login there could be a few things potentially wrong, try the suggestions below or contact us and we would be glad to assist you. Be sure you typed both your username and password correctly. Seems obvious but is a common mistake. Try using the email address you used when registering instead of your username. Passwords are case sensitive so check if you have Caps Lock on. If the above doesn't help click the 'Forgot Password' link below the username and password fields on the login page. Then check your inbox for your new password. In the event none of these steps solve your problem contact us and we will investigate.

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Finding that perfect rental Our highly functional search facility allows you to customise your requirements making your vcation as personalised as possible. Like the idea of a luxury six bedroom villa with a private pool but can't bare to think about being in a nudist resort? Well that's fine you can specify almost every aspect of your vacation including the property type (villa, apartment, penthouse, studio, townhouse, countryhouse, cottage, B&B, gite or farmhouse) - you can even make your decision based on the distance from the local airport. You should start by clicking the 'search rentals' button in the menu and define your perfect rental or specify the dates you wish to travel using the availability search on the same page. Click the search button on the search page and you will be presented with our databases closest matches to your requirements.

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Contacting the rental owners Contacting the owner couldn't be simpler. Once you have found a rental you like the look of just click the 'Contact Owner' button and type your message. You will receive a confirmation email from our system which will give you further information on communicating with owners. Please be sure to provide your email address correctly as the owner will only be able to reply electronically initially. Feel free to contact as many owners as you wish but try not to ask questions which are answered on the rental page of the rental you are enquiring about. Most information like availability, pricing and locale can usually be found on the rental page.

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Documentation requirements Every passenger travelling will require a passport. Many immigration services will also insist that your passport is valid for at least 6 months from the date of your arrival in the country. Some -like the UK- are also very insistant on your passport being in near perferct condition, so if it's been through the wash get a new one. You will also require a visa for some countries like Turkey but this can be acquired on arrival and can cost upto £10($20) per passenger. If you have any questions regarding visa requirements you should go to your national travel advice bureau here is the UK website and here is the US website. Some countries such as Egypt, Cancun, the Dominican Republic and Turkey require a tourist stay visa. This visa is inexpensive but must be paid on landing and cannot be pre-arranged.

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Making a booking request If the owner of the rental you have decided to book has the availability & booking manager enabled then you can click the 'availability & booking' button at the bottom of the rental page in question. This will take you to the interactive calendar where you can select your desired dates (if unbooked) and click 'Make Booking Request' button. The next step is to check your dates, leave any comments or queries you might have in the box proveded and click 'Proceed'. The owner will then receive your contact details and should contact you personally within 48 hours. In the event the owner has chosen to disable the availability & booking manager you can simply click the 'Contact Owner' button on the desired rental page.

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Modifying your rental details The rental wizard handles modifications as well as additions to the rentals database. If you wish to modify an existing rental you should click this button found on the members homepage. All steps in the wizard are accessible from the preview page you will be presented with after clicking the modify button. The rental wizard contains context specific help on each page (step).

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Accepting or rejecting guestbook comments To manage your guestbook just click this button on the members homepage. That will launch the guestbook management console where you can examine the comments and ratings left by members for each rental. You can either show, hide or delete a comment by clicking the relevant button. Once deleted comments cannot be retrieved so it makes sense to just hide a comment until you are certain you want to remove it. People viewing your guestbook do so by clicking the 'view this guestbook' on the rental for each rental. nb: you will be presented with a notification of any guestbook comments requiring verification by you in the messages window at the top of the members homepage.

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Enhanced listings & Featured rentals Enhanced listings are a great way to improve your rental's visibility. It works by giving extra focus to the rental in the search results. An added bonus is that all additional images are also displayed in the results rather than just the primary image. Also the length of the rental description will be extended and the rental name will be emboldened. If your rental is in a prime spot for golf or skiing enthusiasts or if it's in a nudist resort, city centre, rural landscape or coastal location you may wish to consider dramatically increasing your exposure by becoming one of our featured rentals. Featured rentals attract a much greater number of viewers as they are linked to from the thatVilla home page. Featured rentals and Enhanced listings are applied via the 'extend subscriptions' button on the member homepage. To read more on extending subscriptions see this FAQ article.

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Location not listed in Rental Wizard If the country and/or region in which your rental is located is not available in the rental wizard you can still add it by simply selecting any region in the list. Once you have completed the rental wizard send us an email containing your unique rental number plus the country and region you would like us to add to our system. We normally perform region updates within the hour during Western European business hours. We have offices in London, Marbella and Northern Cyprus.

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Accepting or rejecting booking requests Managing bookings is simple. All you have to do is enter the booking manager by clicking the 'manage bookings' button on your members homepage. Once there you can review any comments left by members, contact them directly using the member contact form, accept or reject any booking requests using the respective buttons for each request. A new feature of the booking management is the booking calculator which calculates the approximate cost of a booking based on the seasons you defined in the rental wizard. The booking calculator cannot take into account any discounts you have negotiated with the renters so be sure to factor those in if necessary. The booking manager becomes enabled automatically when you activate the availability manager during the rental wizard. You can activate these, and other tools, using the 'extend subscriptions' button on the member homepage. To read more on extending subscriptions see this FAQ article. nb: you will be presented with a notification of any booking requests requiring verification by you in the messages window at the top of the members homepage.

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Modifying your rental availability The availability wizard is very simple to use, just click this button found on the members homepage and specify whether you want to make your given dates available or unavailable. Once you have selected which state to make the rental you should specify the start and end dates for the given period. You do this by clicking the calendar icon to the right of the date fields. nb: you can only specify these dates using the calendar. If you find the calendar does not launch it is likely because you have javascript disabled. Read more here.

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Activating Guestbook OR Availability & Booking Management systems You can activate either the guestbook or availability & booking manager for each rental by clicking the 'Extend Subscriptions' button on the member homepage. To read more on extending subscriptions see this FAQ article.

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Don't have any pictures of your rental You cannot complete the rental wizard without uploading at least one image. If you have no pictures of your rental or have only physical photos there are a few options available to you. Only got real (physical) photos? - Until you can get digital images of your rental we suggest you search the internet for pictures of the surrounding area and any local landmarks of interest and use those. In the meantime you can either opt to use a scanner (cheap and simple to use) to scan your images and upload them or you can use a digital camera to take new images which will allow you to transfer them directly to your computer. If you plan on taking pictures we highly recommend you read this FAQ article about best photography practices.

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Improving the visibility of your rental page You can greatly increase the number of viewers of your rental page by making your rental a featured rental Featuread rentals have a direct link from the homepage to the featured rentals section and also are chosen at random to appear on selected pages by the random rental selector. This can be done by clicking the 'Extend Subscriptions' button on the member homepage. To read more on extending subscriptions see this FAQ article. You can also give out your own private rental page web address to anyone you think might be interested. Unlike many other rental websites we provide each rental with it's very own web page. You can find out your private web address by copying the URL (web address) from the bar at the top of your browser or by using the 'Build Link' facility found on your members homepage. We also allow you to place this link on

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Best photography practices Lighting - Turn on all your lights. A well lit room always looks better than a dark dismal one. Light a fire if your rental has a fireplace. Quality - Always use a digital camera. You get the added bonus of being able to review your images and decide wether to keep or delete them instantly. Size - We only display images at 300 by 225 pixels so having images which are best measured in meters is pointless. Not only will they be heavily zoomed-out but they will take a very long time for you to upload and for your viewers to download. Restriction - We have some reasonably lenient conditions for uploading your images for the good of our site visitors. They must be less than 1099 pixels wide by 799 pixels high. Simply because once we resize them there will be no focus and the image will appear shrunken. They should be around the 4:3 ratio. This is to prevent the squishing effect you get when displaying them at 4:3. This is less a restriction and more a piece of advice. They must be either .jpg or .gif file types. nb: .JPG and .jpeg is different from .jpg etc. Changing the file type.   Changing the image ratio.   Changing the image dimensions.

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Extending subscriptions (activating thatVilla management systems) There are two options for subscriptions terms with thatVilla.com - 12 & 24 months. Both include three months free trial period during which you will not be billed. You can also activate various tools like guestbook and availability & booking management by clicking the 'Extend Subscriptions' on the members homepage. Other tools include featured rentals and enhanced listing which both go a long way to improving your rental's visibility. Read more here.

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Viewing your rental statistics Each rental has it's own statistics recorder which is shown to the right of every rental on the members homepage and looks like this. The statistics we generate include the number of unique viewings, the average guestbook rating (if applicable), the number of members with your rental in their favorites list, the number of interactions (contacts & guestbook comments from thatVilla members) and finally the number of bookings secured with thatVilla. All statistics are rental specific.

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My favorites list Every registered member on thatVilla has their own members area which allows them to store a link to their favorite rentals for quick access at anytime. Members can store up to 12 unique rental links in their favorites list. They can be deleted by clicking the small cross to the right of the link on the members page. Favorites are added by clicking the 'Add to my favorites' link found at the very bottom of each rental page.

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Doing your rental justice After photographs the first few lines of description someone reads about your rental are absolutely critical. Recent research featured in the Daily Mail has shown regular internet users can make an opinion on a webpage within two seconds. With this in mind you stand a better chance of keeping viewers engrossed long enough to decide whether to read on or move on. Since studies show it is mostly the women who source and secure the family holiday give them something to 'tell the hubby about'. For instance, if you have a widescreen TV sell it like the saleperson in the shop sold it to you. Or rather than just say you have a fully equipped games room (if you are lucky enough) try elaborate on what it means to you (and what it would mean to them). For instance you might say 'after a grueling day of theme park hopping you and the kids can relax in front of the big screen, watch a movie or let your hair down with an always enjoyable round of pool'. Be sure to describe the surroundings as well as the property early in your description. Most people search by location before anything else. Keep your rental title compelling. A guarenteed flop is something like My Nice Cottage try something more romantic like Secluded Hideaway Nestled Between Mnt. This & Lake That. Stay informative and brief. You might have composed the most elequant short essay on your rental but if it looks like a chore to read most won't even bother. Remember the greater or more varied the choice the shorter the attention span of the viewer. Bullet points are great. People prefer lists, they are easy to read and make remembering the content much easier. Be personal. Write as if you were telling an old friend about the great new rental you have just bought. Try writing in the first-person and keep to present tense. Use 'You', 'We' and 'They' to describe the feelings and thoughts about certain things like 'You'll absolutely love our pool, we keep it nice and warm all year long. Perfect for an early morning dip.' Humour is a great way to reassure a reader. Internet transactions are becoming more and more common but still only account for less than 10% of consumer spending in the UK, so you will need to convince the reader you are a nice friendly human and not an emotionless droid with a single objective. Nothing is more powerful than good testimonials. However if a past guest says something negative like 'the weather could have been better', leave it in to give it a feel of authenticity. Also we suggest you read the 'Best photography practices' FAQ article.

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How best to respond to a rental enquiry How you respond to a potential renters enquiries is absolutely crucial. 'First Contact'  is a vital opportunity to convince people into feeling comfortable about the situation. Professionalism - Remember you are not likely to be the only person to receive an enquiry from this person. With the range of options available to most competant internet users in this digital age, most people will have the common sense to 'shop around'. Therefore if you respond promptly, you have a greater chance of securing the booking. So check your inbox regularly. Efficient Use Of Time - Save hours of writing the same old responses to the most commonly asked questions by preparing them in advance. You might have already answered the typical questions before, check your 'Sent Items' folder and save a draft version of things like preliminary enquiries, payment enquiries, rental contracts, things to see & do and best directions. Be Personable - Since you're probably not the only person the enquirer has emailed, identify yourself in a friendly manner. Remember for some people the whole process of handing over cash to nothing more than an email address can be daunting. It's always a good idea to call an enqirer after first contact but be sure to give some thought to what questions they might have first. Most importantly they are not just a number, they are your new best friends so treat them so. If they wanted the impersonal relationship you get with a hotel then they would have booked one. Emotional Involvement - Tell them how you fell in love with the property. Tell them about how you miss being there when you're not. Tell them about its history. Tell them about the location, the people, the views, your most cherished memories etc. If you make them feel about it the way you did it should be enough to entice them, afterall it's what made you buy it in the first place. Surprise Them - Try holding something back from your rental description, which you can reveal when they enquire. Don't hide something big like a second floor, but something like there are loads of large pool towels, or there is a cabinet full of complimentary drinks or there is a childrens games room. That way they will feel they are getting more than they thought when they made the enquiry. Occupado - Occasionally you will get enquiries which cover all or part of a period which is already booked, in which case you should suggest a time that is available. Some people will change their dates and some won't be able to, in which case suggest a neighbours property - they might return the favor when in the same situation. Next Move - In your correspondance be sure to put the ball in their court. Either leave them with a question to answer or say what normally happens next. For example 'Just let us know if you want to me to reserve your dates'. Many people respond well to direct affirmatives. Contact - As most people only check their email every day or so response times are often slow. After the first contact has been replied to you may wish to give them a call. Most people find switching from email to the telephone will improve their conversion rate dramatically. This is not always advisable for everyone, if you don't come over very well on the phone you may be better off communicating by email, giving you the time to compose your responses.

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Repeat Business Unless you are very lucky or very successful you will find that returning visitors are essential. So what's the best way to get them back? An effective way of reminding your past visitors you still exist is by simply contacting them. A cunning way to get them to remember the good times they had is to ask them to sign your guestbook and leave a testimonial. You could even offer them an incentive like last years prices on this years bookings. Be sure to contact at a key time like Christmas, when a large number of holidaymakers are thinking about next summers getaway. Alternatively contact them a couple of months before their last booking was made. You could email them but a more personal method would be to create a greeting card with a complimentary picture of your rental on the front and a nice message inside. Another way to help them consider returning next year is by making this years vacation as memorable as possible. Obviously most things are out of your control, like weather and local attraction during a given season. However you'd be surprised by how the little things stick in peoples minds. Small gestures like a welcome hamper comprising of a nice bottle of local wine some essentials like milk, butter, bread etc. perhaps even include any vouchers or flyers for local attractions and restaurants. One of the most effective things you can do is to leave a personalised -wellwishing- note with your recommendations. These things normally take only a few minutes to compile and cost very little but make a great impression. If you live local to your rental you might want to consider a meaningful parting gift, perhaps something produced locally - anything except a straw donkey will be gratefully received.

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Billing All new rentals are eligable to receive a three month free trial of our services. However this only applies to the standard 12 or 24 month listing. All extra features are totally optional but are charged respectively. If you choose to add any features with your rental they will become active immediately. We operate a satifaction guaranteed policy which means if you are not totally satisfied with our services your subscription fee will be refunded before the trial expires. All payments are handled by PayPal which guarantees your security. PayPal handles $2 million worth of transactions every hour of every day and includes a £500 protection limit. We store no financial details so you can rest assured. See this FAQ article for more info on our additional services or click here for all the reasons our services outshine the competition every time.

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Internet Scams & Fraudulent Web Use Almost everyone who uses thatVilla.com does so safely and securely. We never store sensitive financial or personal details on our servers. However occasionally we do get reports of an internet scam known as phishing. This is where someone posing as a prospective renter will send you a cheque for, often, thousands more than their rental agreement requires. Once the cheque is paid into your bank account the con-artist will request the excess to be wired back to them. Shortly after their cheque will bounce and you will be seriousley out of pocket. We have compiled this FAQ article for the good of our customers, it's in our interest to keep you safe. Please note hese scams are not unique to our system or even the internet. This is a common form of postal fraud. We blacklist and ban any member suspected of fraudulent use of our site as well as reporting them to the IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center). Our administrators constantly monitor many of the communications sent via the thatVilla system but once you have secured your rental agreement with the customer we are removed from the loop. We catch nearly all efforts by scammers but every now and then one slips through undetected. To avoid being drawn in follow these simple steps. Use common sense and caution with all financial transactions: never wire funds to someone you don't know and fully trust always refuse if someone insists on using an escrow service like as BidPay or Squaretrade never hand over financial details, passwords or personal information, ever! always trust your instincts, if something doesn't look right it probably isn't Who should I contact if I receive a suspect email? If you suspect you have been sent a suspicious email or worse been scammed, contact us immediately. We might be able to advise on what you should do next. If you suspect a rental posted on thatVilla.com may be part of a scam, please let us know asap. How to spot a scam Most scams involve mutiple parties, wired funds, cashiers cheques or personal cheques from foreign banks. If a propsective renter isn't willing to give you enough time for funds to clear in your account then walk away. Sample email from known scammers - note poor english Hello, How was your day today, Am so much glad to read your mail back response with the price for the rent..I want you to know and aware that my family will be coming for an holiday stay.actually,am not in the state at the moment cos I have a message yesterday from my business partner's that will be leaving the state early today on a business trip and now am on my way to Australia. I ought to have received your full names,address and and your contact phone number,so as to mail out the payment to you before I left this morning and all the same,I will contact my associate and instruct him to mail out the payment to you on my behalf, ok.So my associate will mail out a cheque of(€4,000),So immediately the cheque arrive in the mail and received by you,I will want you to do get the cheque deposited into your account for clearance, so as soon as the clearance of the cheque has been done,I will want you to deduct the sum of(€975 )as your rental payment for my wife and her 2 children stay.after all neecssary deduction have been made I will want you to get the remaining excess amount of the funds sent to the shippers via WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER that will come down for the delivery of my family belongings for thier stay, due to the shippment payment policy.So that all the necessary preparations and arrangenment can be procuring for the delivery before my wife and her 2 children's will arrive for the RENT. I willing to compensated you with the sum of €50 for the stress and inconviniences you may went through. So,kindly provide me with your full name that will appear on the cheque..Address of the recipient with your contact phone number incase of an urgent awareness.I wait to read your mail back response today with the details of payment, so that the payment can be mail out to you intime... Have a nice and lovely day. My warmest regards, Ronald Howell.. Known Scammers & Blacklisted Members     Chris Berry - chrisdberry82@yahoo.co.uk     Howell Roland - ronwell11@yahoo.com.sg

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