THE BOOKING PROCESS
"BEGINNING THE SEARCH"

If you need to know one thing about the process of reserving a property from us, it is this: We will not rent any property to you unless you phone us and we have a dialogue (or a discussion, if you prefer) about your plans, your expectations, and the property you think you want. If you think you know enough about a property from its Web description, you are wrong. Other agencies will allow you to click on “Book Now” or something like that, but we will not; if you are booking from someone who has listed their property on VRBO, or something similar, they would probably prefer that you not waste their time with a phone call. We want you to be happy---no we want you to be overjoyed---with your rental and we need to talk to you in order to increase the likelihood that this will be the case. Why are we so concerned with your happiness? Two reasons: 1. Would you want to do business with us if we did not want you to be happy? 2. We want you to come back, and if you don’t come back then we want you to send a friend.

We’ve spoken about our rental, what next?

Our Web site will not tell you if a property is available. Why is this so? For some of our properties, we can tell you on the spot if it is available for your time period. Others require a telephone call or e-mail from us to the owner. Only after we hear from the owner that the property is available, we will hold it for you.

How long after we have asked for a property will you hold it for us?

Not long, particularly if you are renting in the busy period. What is the busy period? At this point, it is from May through September and perhaps even into mid-Oct. Why can’t we hold it for long? Because it isn’t fair to either the owner or to us? During that period we are holding it for you, we will turn down other requests for it; if you then decide against finalizing the rental, we and the owner have lost not one, but two possibilities. One week is how long we will hold most properties without having a deposit from you.

The deposit, the balance, etc.

The deposit, in most instances is half of the rent. If you have booked a property for the week of Mayh 19-26 and the rent is $1200 for that week, then we will need a deposit of $600. The balance is due no later than 2 months before the start of the rental period.

What form of payment do you accept?

A check! Simple, isn’t it?

Damage/telephone deposits

It is a rare owner who does not require a deposit. This amount will cover possible damage to the property, heating in the heating season (we haven’t mentioned yet what is included in the rental amount, but one thing that is almost never included is the cost of heating oil, for what should be obvious reasons.) Some owners are quite trusting and ask for a very small deposit; others are a bit more concerned about their houses which are frequently worth millions of euros and ask for a more significant deposit. Ask what the deposit is at the time you reserve the property; it is never a secret. The deposit will always be returned either by the owner on the morning you leave the property, or if we are holding the deposit, as soon as the owner tells us we can.

BEGINNING THE SEARCH

You’ve decided that you would like to explore the possibility of renting a house in Europe for a week or two. This will be your first experience doing this; yes, you rented a cabin on Lake Michigan a few years ago but this seems a bit different. The answer is, that it is both different and quite similar in a number of ways.

Most important, we think, is that you start by asking yourselves some questions about what is is that you are really looking for; we have found and I think that you will too, that telling us about your hopes and wishes for your rental before you even begin looking at actual rental properties helps you to focus on what you are looking for, and it genuinely helps us in narrowing the search for you and in allowing us to ask you the questions that will need to be asked, sooner rather than later in your search.

Because we did not want the site to be overwhelming, we have included only a relatively small number of the properties we represent. You might not find the place that seems right for you, but there is a real possibility that we offer the property that is very close to your “dream rental”. There are many hundreds of rental places that we represent, running the gamut from small and simple to large and grand. The more information you provide us about your plans, your requirements, your fantasy of the “perfect” stone farmhouse in Tuscany or that dream “mas” in Provence, the better we will be able to find the place that is right for you.

Is renting right for everyone? Although it is not in our pecuniary interest to suggest that renting may be what you should do, the simple answer is that it is not right for everyone! Some people, and we do not fault them for this, need some amenities that most hotels have and that most rental places do not. Are you willing to pick up the telephone and call that restaurant that you have read all those wonderful things about in Gourmet or Bon Appetit? They may speak English, but then again, they may not. Are you prepared to attempt your high school French (or phrase book Italian)? You’ve lost the hot water at your hotel; simple enough, the front desk will see to it, generally within an hour or so, although we must warn you that whether in a hotel or elsewhere, many Europeans, particularly those of the Meditteranean Basin, have different notions of priorities than we do, especially when it comes to the loss of a creature comfort that does not appear to be life-threatening to them. If you can not figure out why there is no hot water at your rental house, then it means phoning the caretaker. However, the caretaker frequently has another job, a full-time one, and he may not return your call until the evening and perhaps a part is needed, which is not available until the next morning. Are you ready to live without hot water for 12 hours? If not, we will be the first to tell you that renting may not be the right thing for you.

One thing I know for a certainty: Unless you are one of the very, very few, this rental will be a memorable experience. We have clients who have returned year after year, and they send postcards, they send us a box of Perugina chocolates, and they send us their friends and business colleagues, not because we are such lovable people, but because we work hard to make sure that your stay at La Cavalette, per esempio, is something you will cherish for many years.

So get started in the quest; we will try to hold your hand along the way, when one of us feels that it needs holding.