Questions: About us

• What is Holiday-Velvet.com?
• How long have you been in business?
• Are you a registered company?
• What accommodation do you deal with?
• What destinations do you cover?
• What about privacy and confidentiality?
• Can you find me a specific accommodation for my holiday needs?

Questions: About using the site

• How do I use the site to find the perfect accommodation for me?
• Can I make a shortlist of the properties I like?
• How do I contact the owner?
• Did my request get sent to a Holiday Velvet consultant or directly to a private owner
• How do I make a booking?

Questions: About dealing with private owners

• What do I do if I get no response to my request?
• Do you have more information about the property?
• How do I get to the property?
• What if there is a problem during my holiday?
• What happens when I leave a private property like an apartment?

Answers...

What is Holiday-Velvet.com? - Holiday-Velvet.com is an online portal promoting holiday accommodation to travelers across the world. The accommodation owners provide you with full details of their property including photos, a full description, prices, availability calendar and location. At the bottom of each page you can enter your contact information and dates of travel and send an email direct to the owner. You will be contacted back by the owner of the property - alternatively if you have submitted a request to a property with Velvet Support or a VIP request in the following destinations Rome, Venice, Florence, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Barcelona, Phuket, Ko Samui, Bangkok, Orlando you will be contacted by a Holiday Velvet representative.

How long have you been in business? - Holiday-Velvet.com has been live since January 2006 but the idea was formed in June 2005.

Are you a registered company? - Yes, Holiday Velvet is a UK registered Limited company:

HOLIDAY VELVET Ltd
68 Thetford Road
New Malden KT3 5DT
Surrey UK
+44 208 123 5035

What accommodation do we deal with? - We work with pretty much all types of holiday accommodation. From apartments, villas, farmhouses, cottages, ski chalets, hotels, B&B’s and even sailing boats. We offer you a huge selection of holiday rentals to ensure that we cater for all tastes.

What destinations do you cover? - We have decided to start with 83 carefully chosen destinations. But we are looking to grow.

What about privacy and confidentiality?

- Registration: The information requested when you register at Holiday-Velvet.com or request a property is completely confidential. We value your privacy and do not pass, sell or rent any of your personally information to third parties.

- Credit Card Details: On some occasions you will be asked to make a deposit to secure your reservation via our online payment partner, www.paypal.com Your credit card information is not kept by us and all payments through PayPal are automatically encrypted using the Secure Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available).

How do I use the site to find the perfect accommodation for me? - We are continuously growing Holiday-Velvet.com and already there are 3000 pages online. We know that people look for properties in different ways - so we have devised various user-friendly search functions for you to be able to find exactly what you what in the quickest possible time:

A. Choosing your Destination: - We believe that people generally know what they want before they come to Holiday-Velvet.com and therefore you can search for a specific location in three ways.

1. There is a drop down menu on the top left of every page. First you need to choose the country and then the city or region and it will automatically take you directly to the area of your choice.
2. At the very bottom of each page, we have provided a direct link to all our destinations. All you need to do is click on the location you want.
3. There is also a search facility on the homepage of Holiday-Velvet.com. Here we have categorized each destination by continent. All you need to do is click on the location of your choice.

B. Destination Page: - Once you are in the destination of your choice you now have the facility to specify exactly what accommodation and area you would like to stay in.We offer you 6 different search functions to find your ideal property.

• By Area: Each destination is divided into a number of areas for you to stay in. E.g. In Rome, you have the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, Trastevere, Vatican, Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and other.
• By Type: You can specify exactly what sort of property you are looking for. The four accommodation choices are hotel, apartment, B&B and Villa.
• By price per night: This gives you the option to search according to your budget.
• By number of people: This gives you the option to search according to the size of your group.
• By bedrooms: This gives you the option to search according to the size of the accommodation.

C. Property search: This search function is for those people who already know the name of the property. Just put the name into the search box and click “search” and it will take you directly to the specified property page.

Can I make a shortlist of the properties I like? - You can easily make a shortlist of all the properties that you like. All you need to do is click on the “Add to favourites” button on the top right of each property page. You will need to register with Holiday-Velvet.com to set up your shortlist.

You can access your shortlist from the “My Favourites” tab at the top of every page. Here you can view the property, send an enquiry from your shortlist to the property owner or you can delete the property from your shortlist.

If you need to access your shortlist next time you visit the site, you will have to login with your e-mail address and a password.

How do I contact the owner? - By filling in the form on the property page. This form will be sent via email directly to the owner or to Holiday Velvet Sales Consultant should the owner have requested our Velvet Support service. In the "List any special requirements" box don’t be afraid to ask any question about the property or the local area you want, owners know how important your holiday is to you.

Did my request get sent to a Holiday Velvet Consultant or directly to a private owner? - Properties that have requested a Holiday Velvet consultant to reply have clearly stated "VIP SUPPORT" in the description text. VIP Support is only available in Rome, Venice, Florence, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Barcelona, Phuket, Ko Samui, Bangkok, Orlando. If you have submitted a request in any other destination it was most likely sent directly to the owner of the accommodation.

How do I make a booking? - Each property owner has their own way of confirming a rental. Generally you’ll be asked to pay a booking deposit of 10% - 50% to confirm the booking. You might also have to pay the full rental rate prior to arrival and the owner will send you through their conditions. You might also have to give a security deposit, either on booking or at arrival. This will be returned at or after your departure less the cost of any breakages and metered charges for telephone and electricity if they are not included in the rates. Make sure you check the cancellation terms with the owner at the time of booking. In case of unforeseen circumstances, we recommend you take out travel insurance to be secure.

What do I do if I get no response to my request? -

A. If you have submitted a request to a property WITH Velvet Support and have not heard from us in 48 hours:

»Are you using a free email account (like Hotmail and Yahoo)? Make sure you have not exceeded your mailbox storage limit, and check your bulk/junk/spam mail folder(s).

»Did you enter your email address correctly on the enquiry form? If not submit a form again.

»Do you have an AOL account or misconfigured spam filters? AOL and other email providers and ISPs have implemented "spam filters" which are often badly designed or misconfigured - sometimes resulting in Holiday Velvet's emails being intercepted. The only solution here is to call us on +44 208 123 5035.

»If all these fail please call us +44 208 123 5035

B. If you have submitted a request to a property WITHOUT Velvet Support and have not heard from the owner in 48 hours:

We strongly encourage all our property owners to answer correspondence as quickly as possible. However, you might be dealing with private owners who can be away on business or on holiday. So please be patient or if you don’t want loose out on your perfect holiday rental, choose an alternative from our extensive property listings. You can also contact us and we will try to get in touch with him/her.

Do you have more information about the property? - If the property is looked after by Holiday-Velvet, we can supply you with further information. If you are talking directly to the owner, then they will be able to supply you with all the information you need.

Can you find me a specific accommodation for my holiday needs? - A Holiday Velvet Consultant can help you find a holiday property in the following destinations Rome, Venice, Florence, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Barcelona, Phuket, Ko Samui, Bangkok, Orlando.... In all other destinations please browse through our accommodation and submit an availability request at the bottom of the property pages you see as suitable. Requests are sent straight to the owners of the properties.

How do I get to the accommodation? - Holiday Velvet or the property owner will send you clear instructions on how to arrive at the property and who is going to let you in. Make sure you are given details of someone you can contact if something goes wrong. If you are delayed, it is courteous to inform the owner.

Sometimes you have to either pay the balance in cash on arrival, or pay the security deposit. Make sure you have the means to pay the security deposit in the local currency with you.

What if there is a problem during my holiday? - If you have a problem, the owner or representative is there to help you. If you have a problem, make sure you keep their number and get in touch straight away with the person whose details you have been given. They have the local knowledge to sort things out on the spot.

What happens when I leave a private property like an apartment? - The owner or their representative should check you out of the property, and assuming there is no damage, will refund your security deposit, either on the spot or within a couple of weeks.