Holiday Velvet Help

Why do I have to pay the balance before arrival?

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:26:08 +0000

Some owners (especially in Paris apartment owners or owners that rent villas out) ask for the full balance payment before arrival, sometimes as far as 60 days before arrival. It gives the owner peace of mind and renters appreciate this method too: no need to carry large amounts of cash on arrival. We usually collect the monies from you by credit card (directly on your booking voucher) and transfer it to the owner’s bank accounts for you.

Cancellation policy differs from one owner to the next and you should check this information carefully before you book (all rentals on Holiday Velvet have the cancellation policy clearly shown on the adverts’ left sidebar).

Why do you ask for a security deposit?

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:55:26 +0000

We don’t, the owners do. Rental owners often invest a lot of money in their property: they ask you to pay a security deposit to protect themselves in case you damage the property. All our customers are usually careful and never deliberately damage a property but accidents can happen and costly repairs should not be paid for by the rental owner.

The security deposit amount depends usually on the size and quality of the holiday home. On Holiday Velvet we have owners asking from 100 Euros to 1000 Euros.

We highly recommend purchasing a travel insurance that covers you for damages inflicted to a holiday rental. Holiday Velvet has partnered up with Adar to offer you this type of cover. Currently you can purchase the insurance from your booking voucher and soon you will be able to book immediately during the online booking process.

What is the 5 Euros processing fee?

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:53:27 +0000

This is the lowest credit card fee we can offer. Instead of hiding it in our prices we rather be upfront about it. Many websites will charge you up to 10 euros credit card charge but at Holiday Velvet we wanted to keep that cost low:

we believe that your Euros are better spent on your holiday!

How do I make an online booking?

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:36:34 +0000

Easily! Firstly find a suitable rental and check whether it is available. If the button “book now” appears then you can book this rental online in 3 easy steps:

STEP 1: Click “book now” (we will only show this button if the rental is available for your dates)
STEP 2: Enter your name, email, country of residence and phone number
STEP 3: Enter credit card details in the secure portal made available by our bank

…and that’s it! You are now presented with a booking voucher that contains all the necessary information for your trip.

Why do I have to enter my arrival details and time?

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:15:08 +0000

Private holiday rentals do not have a concierge and most owners do not live next door. We need to communicate your exact arrival time to the owners at least 1 week prior to your arrival so they can organise for someone – or themselves – to be there when you are. This is even required if you are to pick up the keys at an office rather than the rental itself.

We also ask for your arrival details (flight or train number and scheduled arrival time) in advance so that owners can check your flight delays.

Please always call your contact when you land at the airport to confirm that you are on your way.

Why do the fuses overload so quickly in Italy?

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:02:37 +0000

Over the years we have had countless clients who have been concerned about the fact that they cannot use multiple appliances at once in a holiday rental in Florence, Venice, Rome and Italy in general. This is the reason:

The electrical grid in Italy is set up so that the consumption of electricity in all apartments and villas is limited. By law you cannot use more electricity then allocated to your property at one given time. While the government argues that this law has been set up for environmental reasons, it probably has more to do with a faulty grid infrastructure.

Solutions for your stay:

- Try and use no more than two appliances at once during your stay and the fuse box will never trip
- Make sure that you ask where the fuse box is located upon on arrival in case the fuses do overload

What is the procedure for amending my booking?

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:53:35 +0000

If you wish to add a person to your booking or extend the length of your stay please first check if the property is available and can hold the number in your party. You can then call us and arrange the details with us over the phone (call +44 (0)207 118 1188). You will probably need to make an additional down payment by credit card.

If you wish to make your trip shorter and are informing us by phone outside of 30 days of arrival the owner will probably agree to reduce the balance payment. Within 30 days it is unlikely the owner will agree but we can ask him/her for you.

If you wish to cancel your booking cancellation conditions apply. Please check the terms and conditions of your booking voucher. You must inform us by telephone that you wish to cancel and we will then ask you to send us the cancellation by writing. We recommend you purchase travel insurance to cover you in case of cancellation fees.

Our number is: +44 (0)207 118 1188

What types of credit card do you take?

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:08:02 +0000

Credit card payments are taken securely through our bank Sabadell Atlantico that allows us to accept the following credit card types:

Mastercard
VISA
American Express
VISA Electron
Maestro

We apologies but if you have a different type of credit card we will not be able to process payment.

Who is your bank, Sabadell Atlantico?

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:30:33 +0000

Our bank Sabadell Atlantico is part of the Banco Sabadell group, Spain’s fourth largest banking group, which is comprised of different banks, brands, subsidiaries and part-owned companies covering all areas of the financial business sector under a common denominator: professional performance and quality.

We chose Sabadell Atlantico not only for its accessibility and transparency, but mainly because this bank provides the online booking system of large players in the online tourism industry.

Sabadell Atlantico will handle your data with extreme skill, security, and care. They accept major credit cards.

Here is the main portal to Sabadell Atlantico: https://www.sabadellatlantico.com/

What do I have to do if I can’t log in?

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:12:54 +0000

When a system like ours generates automatic usernames and passwords it can be tricky for you to enter them again. Please try “copying and pasting” the details we send you on the login page as oppose to typing them manually.

If this still doesn’t work request for us to send you a new password by entering your email or username on this page.

Still having problems? Call us on +44 (0)207 118 1188