Holiday Velvet Travel Blog

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Barcelona in the news!

You must have heard the exciting news about Barcelona. Reviews from New York Times, the Travel Channel and the ‘who’s who’ have all raved about this Mediterranean wonderland. Even Woody Allen has decided to make his next movie using the city of Gaudi’s birthplace as his backdrop...

So you would like to come for a visit? But when and where is the question I here most often. BBarri Gotic apartmentsarcelona has a temperate climate and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year – so you’re bound to find comfortable weather whenever you come. However, if you’re looking for optimal weather (and beach time!) than I would suggest anytime between April and October. Want to avoid the hoards? Than try planning a trip before or after August.

The city has numerous ‘Barrios’ – each with a distinct and human feel. Looking to be central and in the action, than search for apartments or hotels in the Barrio Gothic. This is Barcelona’s most famous district and steps from the famous Las Ramblas. Feeling a bit more bohemian – than go central and budget area of Raval or hit the Gracia district up town for a change of pace. However, my personal favorite when it comes to style, charm and location is the Borne area.

Nestled between the city’s main Parc Ciutadella, the beach and Barrio Gothic, the Borne offers numerous pedestrian-only streets dotted with dozens of cafes, shops and restaurants. A few years back, the neighborhood went under a huge revitalizing project yet it maintained its classic Catalan charm.

For more details about the weather, events and what’s happening in this glorious city, than go to: http://www.barcelona-culture.com/ and enjoy the city...Saludos!
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

NEWS: Articles for Advertisers

Here is a list of BLOG articles written up until now and that may be of interest to the holiday rental advertisers on Holiday Velvet:

Last Minute Deals
If holiday rental owners have advertised last minute prices in any given destination then...
» Read about Last Minute Deals

Warning to Advertisers
Holiday Velvet Advertiser and owner of London Apartment Mayfair warns about what has come to be known as the "Nigerian Scam"...
» Read about Warning to Advertisers

7 Pitfalls of Short term letting your holiday home
Always be cautious about whom you choose as a holiday maker into your home but, apart from that, here are a few basic rules to follow...
» Read about 7 Pitfalls

8 Golden Rules for vacation rental letting
Buying a second property as a holiday home and renting it out to holiday makers is a shrewd investment for many people...
» Read about 8 Golden Rules

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Saturday, October 21, 2006

NEWS: What is RSS?

And why should I care?

Unlike getting website updates or ezines by email, RSS feeds give you absolute, 100% complete control over the news that you get. You don’t have to reveal your email address. If you want to stop receiving content, you don’t have to request to be “taken off the list.” One click, and poof… the subscription is gone.

RSS is a simply an Internet technology standard that allows busy people to receive updates to internet content of interest. That is the essence of an RSS feed – you subscribe and then receive new content automatically in your feed reader.

What is a feed reader?

You may already be using a form of feed reader, and not even realize it. If you use personalized home page services like My Yahoo or My MSN, you’ve got RSS capabilities built in. That’s how syndicated content like news, weather and stock quotes appears on your personal page. You can also add content from any blog or other site that uses RSS to provide updates.

Other web-based tools are primarily dedicated to feed reading only. One of the most popular web-based feed readers at this point is Bloglines, and it’s also free and easy to get started with.

For more info on getting started with Bloglines, read Bloglines (and aggregators in general) from Carson McComas of WorkHappy.net.

If you use the Firefox browser, you can also receive RSS feeds from your tool bar by using the Live Bookmarks function. The next version of Internet Explorer will add this feature as well.

Finally, there are desktop-based feed readers. These function somewhat like an email program for feeds. Examples include Newsgator and Feed Demon.

If it sounds complicated, it’s really not. And things will get even easier when the next version of Outlook integrates feed-reading capabilities. So, you’ll have the same convenience that email subscriptions offered in the old days, without any of the terrible consequences of giving out your email address to potentially unscrupulous characters.

Sounds good. So how do I subscribe to a Feed?

If a website has RSS facility then you will probably findthis new standard RSS icon somewhere on the site:



Sometimes there will be an icon for your particular reader that will take you to the appropriate subscription page. You may see these (among others):



Add to Google

Subscribe to Bloglines

Finally, you may also see little orange buttons that say XML or RSS. Often these chicklets will take you to a page that looks like code gibberish. In this case, you simply cut and paste the page URL from your browser window and manually paste it into your feed reader subscription box. Hopefully this last method will soon disappear, never to be seen again.

In summary: RSS solves BIG problems.

RSS is being adopted at a phenomenal rate, because it’s a good thing for everyone. The benefit to readers is obvious. And it’s good for publishers too, because we want to make sure that people feel comfortable subscribing, and that our message is not nuked by an overzealous spam filter.

“Thanks to Copyblogger for a helping hand with this RSS mini-tutorial.”

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Monday, October 16, 2006

NEWS: Team Addition

Name: Pascal van Duijnhoven
Nationality: Dutch
Email: pascal@holiday-velvet.com

In charge of: rental tourism along the Amalfi Coast

Why? : Pascal has a degree in Latin American Studies. He did his thesis research in Turin, Italy. It was here that he got to know Italy well. Besides his studies he started his own wine import-export company Vini Nobili based in Amsterdam. He opened in Amsterdam the first Slow Food wine bar-restaurant ‘5 Sensi’. For personal reasons he moved to Italy where he started to work in the short term rental business. He built up a vast network of rental properties in and around Positano. Pascal now represents around 50 properties and his network is growing steadily.

Pascal travelled to: Amsterdam, Auckland, Barcelona, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chamonix, Lisbon, London, Madrid , Majorca, Mexico, Milan, New York, Paris, Prague, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Tuscany.

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NEWS: Cape Town Accommodation

We have new Cape Town holiday apartments additions!

Capes Citi-Loft
Welcome to The Cape's Citi-Loft. An up market loft apartment in Mutual Heights, one of South...
»Capes Citi-Loft apartment

Gulmarn
This luxurious apartment is ten minutes walk from the historical centre of Cape Town and five minutes away from the...
»Gulmarn apartment

Greenmarket Place
501 Greenmarket Place is a one bedroom up market, contemporary apartment in the centre of Cape Town’s trendy...
»Greenmarket Place apartment

Mountain Close
Mountain Close is a spacious one bedroom apartment that is situated high on the slopes of Table Mountain.  The...
»Mountain Close apartment

Rutland Lodge B&B
An original period Herbert Baker Cape Dutch house, built in 1904 and recently sympathetically restored to an exclusive...
»Rutland Lodge B&B

The Granger
ALL NEW!! 2 Double bedrooms apartment, all with en-suite, 3rd guest bathroom -open planned lounge/dining...
»The Granger apartment

BigBay BeachClub 118
This self-catering two-bedroom apartment in a secure holiday resort situated on a coastal road is the ideal place for...
»BigBay BeachClub 118 apartment

Atlantic View
Our Cape Town apartment is situated in Camps Bay, 10 minutes from the Waterfront and Cape Town CBD, and 5 minutes...
»Atlantic View apartment

Sunset Hills
This Camps Bay Boutique Apartment is a charming, designer studio apartment situated in the famous and beautiful...
»Sunset Hills apartment

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Monday, September 25, 2006

NEWS: New Properties

A mixture of Holiday Velvet's new additions! Enjoy browsing through those great destinations!

Prague Terrace in Prague
Sunny, comfortable 1 bdrm. vacation rental apartment in a quiet building in Prague center. For up to four guests. Free...
»Prague Terrace, Prague apartment

Mouse House in Florida
A luxurious 3 bed 2 bath villa with pool for holiday rental, located just south of Orlando right in the heart of...
»Mouse House, Florida villa

Casa Foscheri in Tuscany
You'll find CASA FORCHERI along an ancient country lane in a landscape of spotless beauty, 2 miles from the villages...
»Casa Foscheri, Tuscany apartment

Royal Hyde Park in London
Royal Hyde Park Hotel is a newly refurbished quality budget hotel in the lively Queensway area, near Hyde Park and...
»Royal Hyde Park, London hotel

El Mirador in Tenerife
Our penthouse apartment with private roof terrace is furnished to a high standard. The complex is in a privileged and...
»El Mirador, Tenerife apartment

Dusart Penthouse in Amsterdam
This superb Amsterdam penthouse apartment offers you all the comforts of a modern home in a 19th century building...
»Dusart Penthouse, Amsterdam apartment

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Sunday, September 17, 2006

NEWS: Team Addition

We are pleased to announce a new addition to the Holiday Velvet team: the highly esteemed Oakley Johnson. Oakley has come all the way from Washington DC to head up the sales department here. Oakley will be responsible for new and existing customer accounts, so you may have the pleasure of dealing with Oakley yourself sometime soon. Welcome Oakley!

Want to know more about Oakley? See Oakley's Bio

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NEWS: Oakley, Sales Manager

Oakley joined the Holiday Velvet team in August 2006 as a Sales Manager. Oakley is responsible for all sales communication, client marketing and account management needs.

Prior to joining Holiday Velvet, Oakley was an account manager in the corporate hospitality arena, working with clients from numerous multi-national corporations. Previously, he earned his M.B.A. specializing in Marketing and International Business from the European University in Barcelona.

With over 3 years of experience in market research, internet marketing, communications and international relations, Oakley is excited to embark on this new direction in his career.

Oakley received his B.A. in International Relations – Foreign Policy from Boston University.

Care to email Oakley?

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NEWS: Barcelona Highs

Things have changed at Holiday Velvet Barcelona and definitely for the better. Now there are 39 properties covering hotels, B&B's, apartments and villas! That is a staggering number that has taken Holiday Velvet to a whole new level of convenience.

You can visit Holiday Velvet Barcelona today and see for yourself how much easier it got to travel and stay in this wonderful place. For example if you are looking to take the entire family, grandparents and all on a fabulous vacation, you can check out the Unio apartment in Barri Gotic. It is lovely and it sleeps eight people with plenty of space left to relax in.

There is also this Luxury Apartment, near La Rambla that sleeps 6. It is close to all kinds of great things for you to see and do and it is as comfortable as they come. And if you and your special someone want to get away just the two of you then you must stay at Bienvenidos InnBB. This cozy little inn is just the place to recapture some of your spark!

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Friday, September 01, 2006

NEWS: Last Minute Deals

On Holiday Velvet we now have a new search feature for last minute deals!

If holiday rental owners have advertised last minute prices in any given destination then you will be able to find those deals by clicking on "last minute", at the top of the left navigation bar.

Destinations where we have found current last minute deals include:

»Orlando Last Minute Deals
»Tuscany Last Minute Deals
»Cote d'Azur Last Minute Deals
»Buenos Aires Last Minute Deals
»Beach Holidays Last Minute Deals

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Thursday, August 31, 2006

NEWS: Amalfi Coast

Holiday Velvet has a brand new area with fabulous apartments: The Amalfi Coast, with already over 40 properties in Positano, Ravello, Sorrento and Amalfi itself.

If you have been waiting for a change of pace and scenery then the Amalfi Coast is the way to go. Just visit Holiday Velvet to start browsing our amazing listings of properties. Here are a few examples:

»Orange: apartment in Sorrento
»Villa Saracena: villa in Amalfi
»Casa Nilda: apartment in Positano

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Thursday, July 27, 2006

NEWS: Chamonix Rentals

Our Chamonix vacation rental section just hits number 17. We now have a nice selection of Chamonix Bed & Breakfasts, Chamonix Chalets and Chamonix Apartments.

Check out Chamonix Accommodation here!

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