The Villa Book: Luxury Villa Finder's Guide to Creating the Perfect Self-Catering Villa Book

The Key to Providing Guests with a Fabulous Self-Catering Vacation Rental Stay: The Villa Book

Most vacation property guests have come to appreciate and frankly expect the provision of a “Villa Book” or a “house book” or simply a “home instruction manual” for their chosen self-catering holiday home.  It is often one of the first things they seek out when they arrive to a vacation home in a new or exotic city. 

The Book can be the key to having happy guests.  The Book  also saves vacation property owners/agents a lot of time and potential trouble because the guests are able to help themselves to answers and guidance, by consulting the Book.

Below we list the essential data and those optional enhancements which should be included in the Villa Book.  These will help luxury property owners provide their guests with the best possible experience of a holiday let.  At www.luxuryvillafinder.com, we know that some of our top villa agent advertisers with Uber-luxurious properties have turned their Villa Books into a high art form, suitable for publishing!

Basic Contact Info should include:

* The Street Address of the home and the home’s telephone number
* Local Number for Police, Fire, Ambulance and/or Private Security in the neighborhood or building.
* Owner or Manager’s phone number, location, hours of availability, alternate contacts for an emergency.
* Numbers for any emergency service providers “on call” to the home, in emergencies, such as:
    Plumber
    Electrician
    Handyman
    Locksmith
    Mechanic

Check-in and Check-Out instructions, if any.  Where should guests' leave keys, comments, and so on.

Who has Home Access: Notes and names of any gardeners, caretakers or other service providers who may have access to the home or exterior, their usual schedule or scheduled visit during the guests’ stay.

Maps, Addresses and Driving Directions to important places such as:
    Local Hospital
    Emergency Medical or “Walk-In” Clinics
    Bank, ATM and Money Exchange
    Airport, Train Station, and Bus Stations
    Post Office, FedEx, UPS or other Express Mailing Businesses
    Grocery Stores, Liquor Stores, or other Essential Stores
    Internet café or Business Center
    Recommended restaurants, cafes, clubs, or thoroughfares
    Places of Worship

Local Maps and Transportation: Provide guests with multiple copies of bus maps, subway maps, bike paths or other transportation to get around locally.

The Car:  If a car is being provided as part of the rental or exchange, do include the instruction manual any any registration or insurance documents in an easily found place.  Further, makes notes for the guest on the following:

 - How to adjust the seats if not immediately obvious
 - Preferences for the appropriate or required type of fuel to put in the car and map of locations of nearby gas stations
 - Where gas tank is and how to open it from inside the car, if there is a button
 - If a convertible, how to put the top up and down appropriately
 - Any special instructions for key fob, key ignition, unlocking the steering wheel, or other potential problems a new driver may have
 - Any instructions to carry out in an accident or emergency (i.e. “use the throaway camera found in the trunk to document the accident, call XYZ insurance agent, file a police report, etc.”). Always keep a first aid kit, documentation supplies and blanket in the trunk in case of a guest emergency.

Emergency Instructions and locations: instructions for use of the backup generator, what to do or who to call in an electrical outage, telephone outage, where are circuit breakers, what to do in case of flooding, and so on.

Electrical Notes for the home:  If the home uses 220, clearly state this and any special instructions for those who may have brought appliances or equipment of a different current.

Temperature Modification instructions for the home.  Such as:
    Heating
    Air Conditioning
    Thermostat
    Storage location of free-standing fans or heaters
    Location of extra blankets
    Heated floor locations
If the use of A/C or Heat will incur an extra charge to the renter, clearly state this in the Villa Book.  Include approximations or specifications of what various usages will cost and how the financial details will be handled (i.e. deduction from deposit, etc.).

A List of Quirks of the Home.  These may include:
    Issues with running water – long time to wait for hot, etc.
    Non-operational items like windows, lights, inaccessible rooms, etc.
    Neighbors, their animals, children, or noise issues
    Difficult operation of old-style keys, gates, or other potential frustrations

History of the Home for History Buffs:  if you have a historical home or a home with an interesting past or a house that's come down with an aristocratic and long family tree, why not write about it in the book?  Many guests are fascinated by both the provenance of mansions and estates and the cast of characters who might have resided in the home prior to its becoming a vacation rental.
    
Operation and instructions for various amenities:
    Where tennis court light controls are located
    Sauna or Steam room operations
    Jacuzzi controls
    Recommended temperature settings for the wine cooler
    Grill or barbeque supply locations/instructions

Wi-Fi, Cell Phone and Internet Access:  make notes on passcodes or if there are “dead zones” in the home for reception, note this for the guest.

TV, remote control, satellite dish, cable, and DVD player: provide instructions if turning them on if not a straightforward matter of turning on one button.

Major Applicances: if the knobs and controls do not have explicitly easy-to-understand symbols or markings or are in another language, clarify in the Villa Book what the symbols/pictures actually mean, so that guests do not end up merely rinsing their clothing when they meant to wash them, or reheating their dinner in the microwave when they meant to fully cook it.

Appliances: If staff or services are not part of the home, include instruction booklets (hopefully with multi-language translations already in them) for major or minor appliances like the dishwasher,  juice maker, cappuccino maker, crepe maker, etc.

Location of both essential items and extra for the home, such as:
    Extra towels, blankets, pillows
    Extra toilet paper, soap, paper towels, bottled water, sugar, tea, etc.
    Beach towels, ice chest, picnic basket
    Location and instructions for of any extra sports or fitness equipment – yoga mats, weights, skis, rafts, kayaks, etc.
    For fully equipped Home office: Fax number at home, location of extra printer paper, electrical equipment such as USB cords, etc.

Passcodes:  If the home features a computer or wireless system that requires a passcode, be sure to note it in the Villa Book.

Things to Do:  Include a list of favorite local activities, contact info for them, and/or brochures for the venues or providers.

Local Customs or “Must-Knows.”  List any local customs, schedule, or neighborhood quirks that may be important for the guest to note.  For example, in some areas, “Streets close up and get mighty dangerous after 11:30pm,” whereas somewhere else, “Cafes and restaurants get going and tango dancing starts everywhere at 11:30pm.”  Do your guests a favor and alert them of the nuances.

Food: Local Restaurants, Take-Outs, Delivery Food, and Prepared Foods counters in the Grocery Store. Provide a selection of menus for every taste and eventuality, preferably laminated and kept in a bound book for guests’ perusal.

Service Providers:  Include a list of local recommended chauffers, drivers, tour guides, fitness instructors, personal assistants,  private chefs, personal tutors, caterer, etc. who may benefit the guests during their stay.

Unique Service Providers: Include a list of any highly recommended “alternative” local professionals or advisors a guest may wish to seek out (and include any special feedback, notes or testimonials from previous guests!):

*Psychics, spiritual advisors, tarot card readers, fortune tellers, astrologers
*Alternative health therapies such as:
    Colonic or hydrotherapists
    Chakra, reiki, or spiritual healers
    Chiropractors, cranial-sacral, yoga or pilates instructors
*Qualified psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social workers or marriage counselors
*Massage therapists, foot reflexologists
*Cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists, cosmetic dentists, hair stylists etc. “in case of beauty emergencies”

Local Language:  provide guests with a “take away” sheet of local language translations/pictographs which they can use while “out and about” especially if it’s a given the locals will not speak your guests’ language.  Provide the guest with translations and phonetic instructions for expressing various basic needs, wants, or requests that may come up along the way.

We at LuxuryVillafinder.com believe that “details do matter.”  We hope you have found our article on Villa Rental Books and Holidy Home Instruction Manuals helpful.  Get more and better bookings by advertising your luxury property, private estate, pied a terre or yacht charter at www.LuxuryVillafinder.com.