Holidaymaker FAQ - How To Use The Site

Frequently Asked Questions / Help

Using the Site

• What does Holiday Lettings offer?
• How do I use the Holiday Lettings site?
• How to 'buy safe' when booking accommodation direct
• How can I save the details of places I'm interested in?
• Is there a quick way to show someone else a property I'm looking at?
• How can I tell if a property is available?
• I've got some questions about the property - who do I ask?
• What about getting there?
• Is my booking protected by ABTA or ATOL?

Bookings and Payments

• How do I make a booking?
• Who do I pay?
• I haven't heard back from the advertiser - what should I do?
• Why am I being asked for a security deposit?
• Can I cancel my holiday booking through you?

Holiday queries and complaints

• I'm about to go on holiday, do I get keys and directions from you?
• I booked a holiday home, but now I can't see it on your site - where has it gone?
• There is a problem with our accommodation - who do I contact?
• How can I give feedback about a property?

Using the Site

Holiday Lettings is a classified advertising website. We advertise holiday homes for short term rental all over the world. The adverts on the site are created and managed by individual advertisers, just like ebay or Auto Trader.

Our advertisers are either private holiday home owners, property managers or lettings agents. All enquiries you make via this website are sent directly to the property owner, manager or agent and your booking is with them, not with Holiday Lettings.

As you are transacting with a third party we advise you to take due care and diligence when paying for your accommodation and to make sure all your questions are answered before you make payment - just as you would if you were buying a product via ebay.

You can search for properties for holiday accommodation by going to our Search pages and filling in your requirements:

• Search by location - just pick the country, region or town in which you are interested from our list. If you can't find where you're looking for on our scroll down lists, try putting your destination into the 'search site' box at the top of the website. This is also a great way of finding a particular resort or suburb.
• Search by dates - indicate your arrival and departure dates to refine your search results to find accommodation that is available at the right time.
• Search by budget - once you've entered the dates you're interested in you can enter a minimum and/or maximum budget for your accommodation.
• Search by group size - Just two of you travelling or a big group of friends? Select the group size to find a property that will have the right number of beds for you.
• Advanced searching - The range of check boxes should help you find properties that fit your requirements, from those with a Jacuzzi to ski properties.

If your search comes up with no results, we will suggest alternatives. Check your spelling and if possible widen your search.

If you get lots of results back you can use the filters on the right hand side of the search results pages to refine your search. When you are looking at a list of suitable properties in your search results you can also order it by price, size and location.

We recommend that you identify 5-10 properties and send an enquiry to all advertisers in case your first choice is not available. The advertisers will respond to you directly and will let you know the availability, required deposit and final payment dates as well as all the arrival and departure arrangements. Don't forget to ask for a booking contract from the advertiser when you make your booking.

If the advertiser displays a phone number you could also give them a call. Make sure you include your phone number so that the advertiser can call you back - sometimes that's more convenient and more immediate.

Once you have found a property that you are interested in, click on the orange 'Send Enquiry' button.

Adverts on our website are provided and maintained by Owners and Property Managers. We do not own, manage or inspect any of the properties listed and cannot verify any of the advert details. holidaylettings.co.uk makes no warranties or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, legality, performance or suitability of the adverts. We accept no liability arising from reliance upon this information made by any user of the site. We advise you to conduct your own research and to familiarise yourself with our terms and conditions and FAQs.

• Check how long the advert has been on the site. All Holiday Lettings adverts state when they went online. The longer an advert has been on the site, the more people have probably booked that accommodation without having any problems.

• Speak to the advertiser on the phone. A phone call can often be a lot more reassuring than relying on contact via email and the majority of our advertisers will have a contact number on the advert. If they do not then feel free to email them requesting a contact number so that you may speak to them.

• Ask for testimonials and references. Ask the owner for a list of testimonials from past guests and their contact email addresses so that you can talk to their customers.

• Make sure you have full contact details for an owner including their address and a land line number.

• Do some online research. If you have doubts, you can try looking on the internet for references to this owner. Try a Google search, browse other websites, tourist organisations, and online telephone directories or see if they have a personal website for their holiday home.

• Ask for the full address of the property, you can try putting this into Google and Google Earth to see if it is where the advertiser states it is.

• Ask for a Booking Contract. Advertisers should send you a booking contract setting out all the terms and conditions of the holiday letting, including payment terms, legal/insurance obligations and cancellation terms. If they do not have a contract, tell them to contact us for help in creating one.

• Request additional information from the advertiser when you speak to them. These can be questions such as restaurant recommendations, attractions in and around the locality, the best places to partake in leisure activities and even additional photos of the property they could send you. This is information that the genuine property owner or advertising agent would have and should be happy to share with you.

• Consider the payment options presented to you by the advertiser.
• Credit cards may offer the highest level of protection to you under the Consumer Credit Act, Section 75, although cases are handled on an individual basis by banks.
• Visa debit cards may offer some protection through the chargeback scheme, but again this varies from bank to bank and is assessed on an individual basis.
• If the advertiser cannot accept card payments, ask if you can pay them by card via PayPal (they will need a Premium PayPal account to do this). In this situation chargebacks can be raised with PayPal (check their terms and conditions for more information) and with your card provider.
• Some advertisers may alternatively request payment by cheque or bank transfer, which afford very little consumer protection.
• Never pay for accommodation by untraceable methods of payment such as using a wire transfer company e.g. Western Union and MoneyGram.
• Be sure that you are paying the advertiser directly or an established agent. If they ask for money to be paid to a third party or to a bank account in an obscure country, be wary.

• Most advertisers request a deposit of up to 25% at the time of booking, and the remaining balance and security deposit up to 8 weeks before the start of the letting. If payment is requested up front, question whether you feel comfortable with this.

• If you experience any unusual behaviour or requests from an advertiser let us know at support@holidaylettings.co.uk and we will investigate further. If you are suspicious and decide not to book the property it is important that you alert us as soon as possible with your reasons for this.

When you have found a holiday home, or several, that you are interested in, you can set up a Shortlist. This enables you to store homes for future reference, to send your favourite homes to friends as well as to send one enquiry to all the advertisers, saving you time.

To create a Shortlist, click on the 'Add to Shortlist' button found at the top of an advert, in the 'Contact details' section at the bottom of an advert, or on its summary on our Search Results pages. You will need to give us your email address and a password so we can save your Shortlist for you. You can then save the properties you're interested in and access them by clicking on the 'Your Shortlist' link from the left hand side of any page of the site.

Yes, if you want to forward the details of a particular property to a friend or someone else in your group, click on the 'Email to friend' link at the top of the advert or on the 'Send to Friend' button at the bottom of the advert page. They will receive an email directing them to that specific advert page, telling them you've asked it to be sent to them.

Most adverts have an Availability Calendar. To view the calendar, click on 'Availability' at the top of the advert page or scroll down to see a snapshot of the calendar. Any dates marked in green are available, those in red are booked and those in grey are unknown. It is a good idea to check the calendar before contacting the advertiser if your dates are limited and you didn't specify dates in your original search. It also helps the advertiser if you include your dates when you send your enquiry.

Fill in the contact form at the bottom of the advert page and ask the advertiser directly. Give your email address and a phone number if possible so they can get back to you promptly. Most advertisers also display a phone number in the 'Contact details' box at the bottom of the page. It's a good idea to chat to them in person so don't hesitate to give them a call - make sure you note any time differences though as an American may not wish to hear from you at 3am their time!

Speak to the advertiser as they are usually best placed to give you all the travel advice you need - from low cost airfares to driving directions.

We also have a Travel Services Directory to help you source flights, transport companies, car hire and travel insurance should you need any of these services.

You should be aware that you are not automatically protected against loss of expenditure when booking flights and accommodation independently should, for example, your airline go out of business or your accommodation not meet your requirements.

ABTA represents travel agents and tour operators only. As holidaylettings.co.uk is an advertising portal and not an agent engaged in the holiday transaction, it is not a member of any travel organisations and therefore offers no protection against the holiday home booking you make.

Our best advice is to check the small print of your travel insurance policy or find an insurance provider that will cover you against such occurrences. Furthermore, ensure you request a booking contract relating to your holiday home rental so you are aware of your rights and those of the person advertising the property.

Bookings and Payments

The great thing about our site is that you book the homes directly with the advertiser.

When you see a property you are interested in - or put several onto Your Shortlist - you can email the advertisers directly. Fill in the contact form at the bottom of the advert and wherever possible give details about your preferred dates, group size and special requirements, and alternative contact phone number or e-mail. From then on you can correspond directly with them. We do not intervene in the booking procedure. It's a personal and flexible way of finding the best property for your holiday!

Once you have agreed dates, prices and answered all your questions you confirm the booking with the advertiser.

The standard procedure is for the owner to send a booking contract with the agreed dates and price for you to sign and return along with a deposit. Booking details vary from owner to owner, but most will ask for this booking deposit to confirm the booking with the balance of payment to follow closer to the holiday. You may also be asked for a refundable security deposit to cover any breakages or damages.

Holiday Lettings does not intervene in the payment or booking procedures. Once you are in touch with an advertiser you should agree the booking and rental conditions between you.

If an advertiser has not replied to your email within three to five days then look for a phone number in the 'Contact details' box on their advert page and try calling them. It is also worth checking that the email address which you supplied to them was correct and send a second message if it was not. It is also worth checking the junk folder of your email too - just in case something has got caught in there. If you still get no response, we would then suggest looking for other properties on the site.

We encourage all advertisers to ask for a security deposit with every booking as this is the simplest way to cover unexpected costs that they may incur as a result of your stay. If you lose keys, or if you accidentally break a lamp or garden chair, the easy solution is for the owner to use the security deposit to cover this expense and refund the rest of the security deposit to you as appropriate. Details of the security deposit (payment, conditions and refund) should be laid out in the booking contract.

You should expect to be asked for a booking deposit (to secure your booking), a security deposit (as above) and a final payment (usually about 8 weeks prior to the holiday starting).

No. If for any reason you need to cancel your holiday, please contact the advertiser directly. As this is the person with whom you made the booking. Holiday Lettings does not take part in the booking process, the cancellation has to be negotiated between you and the advertiser. When making your booking you should insist on a booking contract that specifies what will happen in the case of a cancellation.

Holiday queries and complaints

No. The booking is made directly with the advertiser, all arrangements for directions and key exchange are handled directly between you and the property owner/manager. Contact them directly by phone or email to clarify arrangements if they are at all unclear.

As an advertising service we remove adverts from the site for a number of reasons. Most often this will be at the advertiser's request because the property is fully booked, or because they have decided that they will not rent it out beyond the present season. We may also remove adverts whilst we await an overdue subscription payment for the advertising. If you cannot find the property you have booked on the site, do feel free to contact us and we should be able to reassure you as to why the advert has been removed.

If you arrive at a property and have a problem, please contact the owner/manager immediately. Some owners give the number for their local contact or a property manager for their guests to call in case of problems. Advise an owner of any problems you have as soon as you can to enable them to resolve the issue for you.

If you have positive feedback regarding your stay at a property displayed on our website, please feel free to pass this directly on to the advertiser. Each advert has a guestbook section that allows advertisers to add guests' testimonials to our website.

If you experience a problem with the property or your holiday experience failed to meet your expectations, contact the advertiser immediately. The sooner you raise your concerns the sooner they can be resolved. Do not leave it until you get home unless you absolutely cannot contact the advertiser. We would advise you to refer to your booking contract which should outline all the terms and conditions of the booking.

As an advertising website that does not take part in the booking process Holiday Lettings cannot get involved in matters that occurred during your stay. We ask advertisers and holidaymakers to correspond directly with each other in order to come to a resolution.