Villas in Seminyak are the biz - but buyer beware

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Villas in Seminyak are the biz - but buyer beware

Villa Atas Ombak - Villas in Seminyak

Villas in Seminyak - Booking a holiday can be a difficult process, holiday companies advertise special offers to entice you to make a booking through them, these offers often appear to be unbelievable, but when you try to book them they add many mandatory extras such as; Luggage allowances are so low in their weight allowance that you have to pay for an additional amount in order to carry what you require for a good holiday. On the plane if you want an aisle seats, or if you are travelling as a family or just a couple and would like seats together this can again be an extra charge, you may find that you are restricted as to your time of departure, or there is a requirement to stay away from home for a minimum period of 16 days etc., by the time that you add all of the extras then these “special deals” are not special at all.

Villa Atas Ombak - Villas in Seminyak

All too often resort hotels and holiday companies have offers of all inclusive packages (room, breakfast, evening meal and sometimes, as can be the case in the Caribbean, free drink) all of this look to be good value in the glossy brochure, but when you arrive at the resort you are given sets of meal vouchers for a 3rd rate canteen. A canteen which is surrounded by 1st class restaurants which you can of course use, but you have to pay extra by redeeming your vouchers and your voucher is suddenly almost worthless. In the Caribbean some resort hotels have all inclusive drinks offers, often the bars are few and far between. When you do find their bars they have employed so few staff that it is like visiting an International rugby match at one of the worlds stadiums, the customers waiting to be served could number 20 people wide and 5 people deep, whilst there is only one bar tender on duty.

In order to avoid disappointing holidays many people are opting to book Villas in Seminyak private villas for their exclusive use, where they are not in a scrum when ordering a refreshing drink, where they can prepare their dinner or choose to go to a quality local beach restaurant. A Villas in Seminyak private villa will have its own pool with pool side beds, ample shade so it will not be necessary to climb out of bed at 4am to make sure you get a sun bed in a good location around a crowded hotel pool. Holidays should always be a true definition of the word holiday, to take a break, to relax from the rigors of your everyday life.

Villa Atas Ombak - Villas in Seminyak

The only real way to be sure of a true holiday, a place where you can truly relax is to book a Villas in Seminyak private villa, where you have your own pool, a bar that you bring with you from duty free or stock locally from the nearby Minimart. So you can make a cocktail as and when you want, your own crisps or nuts to savoir as you maximize your time around your own pool under your own gazebo.

Solution:

There is nothing wrong with a property being owned by a developer, a lawyer, a butcher, a baker, a candle stick maker (you get the picture), as long as their villa has been contracted out to a management company for this company to operate the villa on a day to day basis. The management companies are invariably from the hospitality industry and know what linen to provide, how often to change the bedding, towels.  The management team know that if you order a fruit basket that they are to provide that basket at a time that you asked for it, they will know when to clean the rooms and when to give you peace and quiet. The management make sure that the TV's are tuned and that the remote is clean, they know when to remove lime from the shower head or polish the taps and that they know they are to provide mineral water.

Villa Atas Ombak - Villas in Seminyak

The management will know that they can not cut corners when it comes to basic services such as; the supply of electric or water.  They will have contracts in place with the utility providers, they will pay based on used units as determined by meters, they will not pay by a pre-paid arrangement, as they will not take the risk that the supply will be cut during a period when it is most needed i.e. in the middle of a hot night shutting down the AC’s to the bedrooms (as is often the case). Important always make sure your villa is managed properly and by those in the know.

The basic rule to follow from all that I have said above is:  Never go to an unlicensed agent to book your villa, licensed agents have spent good money to establish a reputable business, to register their company and to understand the mechanics of the villas that they offer. These agents on the whole rely on their reputation, on word of mouth to build their businesses; they have a good mix of regular clients as well as new clients. They're pursued by the villa management companies to offer their villa properties so an entry on the licensed agent's website comes with a guarantee of a certain standard. The reputable agent will inspect the villas regularly but importantly they inspect prior to the arrival of any of their guests. Complaints are encouraged to be directed to the agent and if the villa management are in anyway non-responsive then these villas are removed from their listings.

Which means; the unlicensed agents take these Villas in Seminyak and publish on their websites for the un-suspecting public to see, these are second tier properties. These second tier properties also find their way onto the global hotel booking web-sites, as I have said these sites do not provide staff to audit these properties as they only provide a brand which gives access to the web.  The unlicensed agent rather than investing in a reputable business will establish many websites to market these villas, in some cases they have over a 100 websites, they have no interest if the electric goes off in the middle of the night, they have no interest if the owner is responsive to the guests needs or not.  As the demand for villas is big here in Bali if one website loses reputation then another of their sites will grow.

Villa Atas Ombak - Villas in Seminyak

It is worth knowing that rates for villas are usually the same across all the providers of luxury villas.  However, one villa owner recently said to me that when he offers his villas on these global web-site windows, he increases the price as their brand already implies ‘late deals’ giving the impression the rate is already low,  he relies on their customers loyalty to this global brand.

How do you know a licensed operator, what do you look for?

A registered agency with a registration granted by "Pemerintah KotaDenpasar" (Government, area: Kota, Denpasar) and that they have a "Dinas Perijinan" registration number, furthermore that their registration identifies them as a "Jasa properti" provider (permitted to provide a property service). If it is not on their website then ask to see evidence of their registration.