About the author: Stuart has spent many years travelling throughout Europe, America, the Caribbean. More recently trips have included Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah in the UAE. Stuart also enjoys travel writing and the daily management of a holiday rental company.
Getting Started with this Website
by Stuart
June 2007
Getting Started with this website…
Holiday Rental Centre (HRC) offers a selection of world-wide properties advertised for rental by their owners. Visitors to the site can make their booking arrangements directly with the owners of each property (or their appointed agent in some cases) and a simple step by step guide is detailed below to assist those who are not familiar with this style of advertising for holiday property renting.
Any query you may have regarding the use of this website, please check our Help section where there are a number of Frequently Asked Questions-FAQ’s or contact us directly, by sending an e-mail to: admin@holidayrentalcentre.com from where you will normally receive a prompt reply.
There are a number of different ways in which HRC displays the details for the property owner and this will become apparent as you become more familiar with the website. In some cases, property owners do not enter information in all of the necessary sections, such as the Availability Calendar, and therefore in the sections where this occurs, no information will be displayed.
Choosing a Location and Property
Make and ‘select’ your choice from 1 of the 5 Continents as displayed on the Homepage. Then ‘Select’ a Country and / or a Region in the same way. A quantity of holiday rental properties will be displayed on screen from the selections you have made. The detailed information and any photos you will see, have been specifically displayed by the owner, in the sections and under the headings that HRC have provided.
You will then see a list of ‘Property Search Results’ showing a selection of properties, each with its’ own ID number, and an initial photo. The Country/Region/Resort are usually displayed at the top and Property Details, and Availability & Rates are displayed at the bottom, all of which are highlighted in blue and are called ‘Links’
There are several ways for you to view an individual property from the list of Search Results. First, type the ID number of the property into the Box at the top of the page and select ‘GO’. Next, you may ‘click’ on the photo, or any one of the headings or ‘Links’. There are generally at least 6 ways to search for most properties from this page.
It is best to select and ‘click’ on the Photo. This will take you to the owner’s information section that they are displaying for you to view. You will see a selection of Photos that automatically scroll. You can stop and re-view photos by ‘clicking’ on the appropriate arrows below the photos.
Below the scrolling photos, you will be able to read all the property information that the owner has chosen to detail under the appropriate headings that HRC have provided. In some cases there are no relevant details supplied under our headings and they may be left blank.
If you have any query about a particular property or wish to make an enquiry, in all cases you are advised to contact the owner. (See items 8-10 below)
From the Property Search Results, selecting a ‘Link’ will take you directly to that particular section of the owner’s property information e.g. Select Availability & Rates and you will see if the property is vacant or booked for the dates you wish to enquire about, and you will also see the rental costs in the owner’s choice of Currency.
When you have found a suitable property that meets your rental requirements, click on the word ‘Contact’ at the top of the Property Details Page you are viewing. The Contact page will open up and usually display the owner’s name and / or telephone number for enquiries. There is also a facility to send an enquiry via email, with your precise requests. Simply complete the information boxes that are provided, add any questions or other requests in the Comments Box, and click the Submit button.
Your enquiry is sent through our systems and issued as an e-mail direct to the owner. We retain a copy of the information in archive for the owner’s record purposes and we do not forward to any third party companies for marketing purposes. The response you get from the enquiry may determine if you proceed and make a confirmed booking arrangement with the owner. However, if you do not receive a response from the owner within 2 days, we recommend you phone direct and, failing that, search for another property with an owner who is more keen, to let out their property.
When booking accommodation, Holiday Rental Centre recommends that all renters agree in writing direct with the owner, all booking details prior to departure. When renting a holiday property, ensure you take with you the contact details of the property owner (or their recommended local agent) and the address of where you are staying.
We hope you have found this guide useful for finding your way around the HRC website and enjoyed the experience, viewing the properties in the style that HRC display them. We also trust you are successful with your search for a suitable holiday rental property, but if you are not, please send an email enquiry to: admin@holidayrentalcentre.com or telephone
Holiday Rental Centre Team
13/06/2007