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In this economy, an agent can always use a new revenue stream. It makes sense to investigate vacation rentals, a popular and growing segment of the travel market and a $24 billion plus industry in the U.S. alone. With more and more consumers looking to spend quality time with friends and family in a relaxed setting as well as seeking credible, authentic experiences, a vacation rental is the ultimate live like a local insider experience. The islands of the Caribbean are studded with stunning villas and many rentals are in locations where hotels or resorts will never be built, offering amazing settings and amenities.
Agents understand the ins and outs of booking a Four Seasons or a Peninsula and they have a certain comfort level with the process. It’s BeautifulPlaces’ job to give agents the same level of comfort and assurance when agents book a villa.
BeautifulPlaces is a company that offers a superb collection of villas range from sprawling mountaintop vineyard retreats, and tours de force of modern architecture to painstakingly restored farmhouses; stately contemporary homes and even large chateaux and villas. In addition to the Caribbean, their villas are located throughout Northern California wine country, the French regions of Bordeaux and Provence, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast in Italy and Punta Mita and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico.
Professional villa rental managers – unlike independent villa owners - are in the hospitality business. They vet the homes, have quality standards, legal agreements with homeowners and guests and consistency of inventory. They ask the vital questions to achieve the best villa/client fit.
Travel agents are largely left out of the lucrative villa rental market. Agents may not realize their clients are booking vacation rentals and clients may not realize their agents can book rentals. BeautifulPlaces positions the travel professional as someone in the know about the villa and about the destination. Agents should ask up front about the vacation rental firm’s policy on travel agent commissions and repeat bookings by the same client if client goes direct in the future. While villa rentals are not for every client, vacation rental guests report high satisfaction with guest stays and the desire to vacation again in a private home. So a travel agent is likely to realize continued income by helping clients with vacation rentals.
Beautiful Places respects travel agents and considers them partners. The company understands that agents can be a source of ongoing bookings from a variety of clients to a variety of destinations.
www.beautiful-places.com |
