1. Plan and Book Early – Not only do you get the best accommodation choices when you book in advance, you also get a chance to talk over the destination with everyone. This way, all your friends get to talk about the trip in advance and agree on a destination. No more worries about where to go. Plus, this gives everyone time to get excited and budget for the trip.

2. Look Online and Use a Travel Agent - Local trips, ones where you don’t need your passport, are easy enough to plan yourself. Sites like Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline and many more offer easy booking for hotels, plane tickets and car rentals. Plus, they usually have a selection of attractions for the destination city. For international trips, talk with your local travel agent or an online travel agent like Holiday Velvet. Even if you wind up booking everything yourself, they are a wealth of information. A good agent knows the ins and outs of any holiday spot they book for. Plus, they remind you about things like travelers insurance and currency exchanges.

3. Reviews are Your Best Friend – Don’t simply book the first apartment a travel site throws at you. Take a minute to use sites like Tripadvisor and Urbanspoon to get a good idea of what you’re in for or attentively read the reviews published on the site you will book from. You might find little known local dining spots and shopping districts, or tours that don’t make the top ten list but should.

Plan ahead and enjoy your holiday. Find out all about your next holiday spot well before stepping foot off the plane. Enjoy all the tourist attractions, but make sure to visit local favorites as well. Don’t forget to plan for a day or two of total relaxation. You might be tempted to pack every day with adventure, but at some point a rest day is a good idea. It helps you keep your energy high for the entire trip.

What is the difference between holiday apartments and serviced apartments?
Serviced apartments are marketed most strongly at business travelers, which means that they are designed to meet the needs of the typical businessman or woman. They are generally available on shorter-term lets than holiday apartments, which may insist on a minimum stay of 3 nights or even a week. A serviced apartment is also likely to provide Internet access, a concierge service, and perhaps also laundry facilities, as these are important to business travelers who need to stay connected and look smart when they attend meetings. Of course, these features will also appeal to many holidaymakers. Businesses who pay for their employees to travel tend to be very careful about the cost of the accommodation they book, which means that serviced apartments are usually competitively priced.

Serviced Apartments vs. Holiday Rentals
Both serviced apartments and holiday rentals have their benefits and downsides. Apartments frequently used by business travelers are more likely to be located in the business district of a city, although as serviced apartment for holidaymakers sector is growing they can also be located in central areas close to all the attractions of a city. Serviced apartments are designed with practicality in mind, which means that they sometimes lack some of the character of holiday rentals. If the personality of a holiday rental apartment has a significant effect on your enjoyment of a trip, then you should carefully consider the holiday apartments that are available in your destination and book one through a trustworthy agency. On the other hand, if the most important thing to you is to get a good deal on a spacious, practical, comfortable apartment, then a serviced apartment might be the right choice for you.

When booking holiday rentals, there are a few potential pitfalls to watch out for. You need to be particularly careful when booking online that the person or agency that you are dealing with is trustworthy. The best advice (maybe obviously so!) is to always book holiday rentals through a well-established agency (such as Holiday Velvet!) rather than booking directly with the owner. An agency is more likely to be reliable than a private individual, and you can find peace of mind by reading reviews of the agency that have been left by their other customers. Agencies usually have policies in place to deal with situations where something has gone wrong, such as the apartment unexpectedly becoming unavailable during the time you are supposed to stay there, so you can rest assured that your vacation will go without a hitch if you book your holiday rental through a reputable agency.

The problem of booking holiday rentals a long time in advance is that unforeseen circumstances may force you to change your plans. You should always find out what the cancellation policy is before you complete the booking. Would you be able to claim back any money if you were forced to cancel your trip? You may also want to take out a travel insurance policy at the time of booking your accommodation, which would offer further protection for you in the case of cancellation. At Holiday Velvet, after making a booking, we offer you the possibility to book a travel insurance for holiday rentals at very competitive prices.

Holiday rental agencies usually make their cancellation policy available on their website, so that you can be clear about what will happen if you need to cancel or rearrange your booking. If you do have to change your travel dates, contact the agency to find out whether they can help you; it might be possible for you to stay in your chosen holiday apartment or a similar apartment on different dates to those that you originally booked.