Summer 2022 Holiday Villa Rental Season

 

It’s definitely started.

The requests for summer holiday villa rentals from my business, Experience The French Riviera have been coming in fast and furious the past week, almost as though winter has been forgotten about already and people are ready to move on.

Reminiscent of before the Covid19 pandemic took hold of all our lives, with restrictions slowly lifting globally, it’s time to live fully again with those planning ahead to have the best summer vacation season.

The consensus seems to be the same with our regional villa rental partners, the time to book is now, as we mentioned in our recent meetings, we fear those who hesitate are sadly going to miss out.

All the travel reports we are reading state that although last year felt very much like before, there was still a lot of caution in the air as restrictions could change quickly with most villa requests being last minute. 

You can tell already due to the number of requests and confirmed bookings, this season will be crazy busy.

Smaller quality villa rentals at the lower end of the budget spectrum are already about 70% booked out.

People are also booking for longer periods as they seem to want to discover their holiday surroundings more but also have a base to stay without moving frequently. Weekly rentals are still available with just over half of our clients looking for a month or two vacation stay to enjoy with their friends and/or family.

Helpful tips:

The time to plan is now.

Sit down with who you are traveling with and decide where in the region you would like to be most that will cover your holiday interests.

This next one is big - be realistic in what you can get for your budget.

We want to make your holiday dreams come true but again, in the meetings with other partners of late, if clients are asking for something that completely surpasses their budget, they are going to be left feeling disappointed and we don’t want that for you.

Here in the French Riviera, anything by the sea and within walking distance to everything is going to be expensive, especially at the height of summer.

Keep in mind, even those with a high range of disposable funds, still have to make sacrifices so it comes down to what is more of a want than a need.

Ask yourself what is most important for your holiday rental.

What are your plans while here? Will you be staying in the villa most of the time or out and about? What kind of place will you require that you can afford? What is important in terms of amenities close by? Beach? Shops? Restaurants? Nightclubs?

Most everything in the region is accessible, it comes down to how you will spend your time.

Dates for your holiday are also important for us to know. If you are a bit flexible on those, great! More options might be available.

 

Villa owners book weekly, usually Sunday to Sunday as it works best for their calendars and is easier to manage with maintenance and cleaners for the next guests arriving.

Weekend rentals are very rare to come across and there is really no such thing as renting a villa overnight.

Have an event or wedding in mind? Villa owners usually need a permit for those types of things but we can certainly introduce you to the right partners in mind who work solely with people wanting to have an event.

The number of total guests is also important. It will be one of the first questions a villa owner will ask, also if there will be any children and their ages so that they can make sure their property is safe for them over anything.

Something that also came up quite frequently last summer was clients seeking a 4-5 bedroom villa rental but intending to have 15-20 people stay. Owners won’t go for that and if they find out, the client may be asked to leave their property. Two villa rental options close by might work though as an option.

Having a budget range is also key. This helps us narrow down the search quickly for what is available for the dates requested and again, also offers you more choices.

We are used to and can always negotiate with an owner on rates depending on the situation. We also have a reputation for not being commission hungry and are happy to be more flexible on our commission to get the client what they want.

Again though, a budget has to be realistic. We understand talking about money can be a delicate subject so feel free to connect with us one on one and we can confidentially let you know honestly what properties tend to rent out for in the location desired and what we can do for you.

We don’t want your time wasted, so this helps move things a bit faster for both of us and we can then work on a plan together to get your holiday villa rental.  

When you are ready, it's time to book as what tends to happen here is when stock becomes low for everyone, then the bidding wars for a villa rental start.

Keep in mind, if our properties become completely booked, we can certainly and without hesitation introduce you to one of our local business partners who might be able to help.

One of the main ideas behind starting Experience The French Riviera 11 years ago was to form long-term legal business partnerships with others as part of a shared economy to help those discover the region at its best and so that you have the most memorable stay ever.