Don’t be scared to book villas in Mauritius
January 2, 2015
Fear might be one of the reasons leading you to not having a fulfilled beach villa holiday in Mauritius. While on one side you might be craving to book a private villa, on the other side the fear factor might push you to book more the conventional holiday packages. If its going to be a Mauritius holiday, then make it Special.
Let me share with you a story how a client that has become over the years a repeater how scared she was before she did indeed book a private villa, due to no more holiday packages left on that day where she wanted to go initially. She made the step to book with us a villa during the December peak season after a Google search, and has no regrets. She has now booked several times villas with my agency Isla-Mauricia, for her and her family it is simply way more easier in a villa than in a resort as they have toddlers.
A few days ago I visited my German client at a private villa that they booked over the peak season to drop some mangos and have a chat. After a while she mentioned that she is so happy that on the day she was planning her holiday that she couldn’t book what she usually booked and opted for Mauritius and a private villa – a holiday option she didn’t know of and is really more than satisfied to have discovered this holiday option. For her, after touring the world, Mauritius is the best place to be. This is quite a statement!
She then confessed to me that she was actually scared to book a villa in Mauritius with a local agency. And she considers that this is going to be a big stumbling block for Germans to book such a type of vacation product: FEAR!
Mauritius has a well regulated tourism industry. Beach villas advertised by agencies have tourist residence licences therefore verified by the tourism authority to be in compliance with various standards. It is also the job of the agency to visit villas and offer a selection of properties they consider apt and ideal for a clientèle niche that they work with.
Mrs S. told me then the steps she carried out in order to feel confident that is booking with the right agency. She started looking at my agencies guest testimonials. Though this wasn’t enough as she thought it could also have just been written up by myself. Since the villa I proposed was an IRS Villa, I also sent her the brochure of the villa and the company that manages the villa. After having had several phone calls with me, she also called the property management company to make sure that they really exist. I totally agree with the client that when you are booking from a country abroad and if you have never been to Mauritius before, and know nothing about the island, you will be in doubts because it is known that on the internet there is a lot of fraud. This is in my opinion the strength and raison d’être of villa rental agencies as they offer villas they have seen and it is absolutely not in the interest of an agency to practice dishonest villa proposals as this would be their end. There are web portals that do not act as agencies, but operate more like a directory where owners can advertise their villas directly to you. Some big brands have emerged who have worked hard to reduce the risk of someone advertising a fake offer. Yet, since those websites offer thousands of offers, you can get a nasty surprise. You need to check in that case what mechanisms does the directory use to check if the offer is for real. Frankly, it is quite easy to just upload photos and descriptions on a lot of these directories.
This is definitely a plus why you should consider an agency to assist you in your Mauritius Holiday planning and receive a personal account manager to handle your requests.
Would you book a villa in Mauritius with a local agency located on the island itself?