Consumers in a recession are looking to cut costs, especially when you consider the price of a holiday for families during the school holidays. This has made renting a holiday villa attractive to many. Book your own flight and then search online for holiday accommodation, what could be simpler. Fake villa scandal Over the last few weeks I have been reading the Moraira bogus villa website coverage on Times Online. Around nine months ago the site was set up and the villas advertised online on sites likeHoliday Rentals and Holiday Lettings, it has since then materialised that the villas are fake. According to the Times, possibly hundreds of families have had their holiday spoilt, which is never good news. It is difficult for both rental sites and consumers to identify fake ads and this is why last year I called for there to be protection for consumers who book accommodation-only online. Tips for consumers While initial communication might be through email, it is always important that you speak to the person who you are renting the accommodation from. Only pay by means where a trace can be put on the money should you have problems later. Ideally, book with a credit card, that way you are covered by the consumer credit act. They are other ways in which consumers can check the authenticity of the website by checking the ownership and age of the domain name, check the ISP details within the emails sent. You could also check the search engines for any negative comments by other holidaymakers. If something does not feel right. Trust your gut instinct. Millions of holiday rental sites worldwide Home Away turned over approximately $140m in 2008 and this is why they are so many holiday rental websites offering accommodation to consumers. So, how do consumers know who to trust when there’s the potential of fake ads being published to book? How do we know that all of these sites have practises in place to protect travel consumers? I do have some thoughts on how rental companies could put more protection steps in place and I am happy to discuss these outside of this post. Not a widespread issue Time for financial protection scheme In my opinion it’s time that a joint bonding scheme was introduced, and consumers would then have the option of only booking with those companies serious enough to join such a scheme. As usual I am happy to hear your thoughts and comments, and let me know if you have been affected by this issue
I have to add that I do not think that is a widespread issue because I am sure we would hear many more similar cases, even so, I think it is important that rental companies act on this scandal and find solutions to make sure that this does not happen again.
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