Language

Currency

Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

Many of you are wondering what it’s like to rent a villa with Villanovo. We have identified all the good questions you are asking yourself and we have tried to provide an answer to them here. If you do not find an answer to your questions here, please contact us by telephone, email or whatsapp so that our team can give you all the necessary explanations.

You will find our telephone contact information at the top of each page of the Villanovo website as well as a Whatsapp button. By email you can reach us at reservation@villanovo.com.

Villanovo is also on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/villanovo
Our team is also on Instagram: www.instagram.com/villanovofficial
 


Why rent a villa?
Renting a villa is an absolutely privileged way to take your vacation! Among our clients, for example, many return to the same house at Christmas in Marrakech, rent the same chalet in Verbier or Meribel or choose the same villa in Ibiza or or Corsica year after year. This house has become their pied-à-terre in their chosen destination, it’s a bit like their “home” away from home! They find the same staff, the same personalized attention, the same tailor-made services.

Do you wish to enjoy breakfast at midday on the terrace while listening to classical music? No problem. Do you want to have your own private swimming pool? Stroll in your private garden or take a nap on a Balinese bed out of sight? A villa rental offers this and much more.

You will be the master of time, you will be able to treat yourself to real moments of relaxation, and enjoy the exceptional hospitality of the staff at your disposal in many countries.
Retour en haut de page

What are the rental prices of the villas?
The price of the villas and other houses that we offer for rental varies between €1,500 per week up to €80,000. Rental prices are determined by the destination, the surface area of the villa, the number of rooms, the location of the villa, the quality of its equipment and its interior decoration, the associated services (housekeeping staff for example) and finally the time of year you have chosen for your stay.
Retour en haut de page

What is/is not included in the price?
House amenities and services vary from one destination to another and from one villa rental to another. We invite you to check on each villa description sheet which elements are included in the rental price and which require payment of a supplement.

For certain destinations, the following additional costs are to be expected, but in all cases, please refer to the description sheet of your villa: swimming pool heating, house heating, electricity consumption, laundry, use of certain equipment (sauna, hammam for example). Some houses are offered to you with house staff at your disposal 8 hours per day or 5 hours per day or 2 hours per day. You may be billed for additional hours.

Tips to staff are never included. If you are satisfied with the housekeeping staff, we recommend offering a tip which will always be greatly appreciated.

Some houses offer a catering service. In this case, you generally do not have access to the kitchen to prepare your meals. They are offered to you by the staff, are invoiced per person and must be paid at the end of your stay. In fully catered houses with daily chef service, all catering costs are usually included in the rental price. Children often benefit from reduced rates.
Retour en haut de page

What additional costs should I expect?
Your food expenses, your transport, your outings, your telephone calls are not included in your rental price with some exceptions. If the house you are renting does not have staff, you may be offered some (cook, cleaning lady for example) on request depending on the choice of your destination and at an additional cost.
Retour en haut de page

How many people maximum per villa?
As a general rule, a room can only accommodate 2 people. This should serve as a reference for calculating the maximum number of occupants by multiplying the number of bedrooms by 2. Thus a three-bedroom villa can accommodate 6 people. As the villas are a preferred place for family stays, it is possible in most cases to add additional beds for children in certain rooms. We invite you to inquire on a case-by-case basis with our advisors. Additional fees may be required.

You must always contractually declare the number of participants in your stay. This allows us to avoid unpleasant surprises when you settle into the villa and to guarantee that each person will be well accommodated. It is also a sign of respect for the owner who maintains and decorates his house with care and above all does not want it to be over-occupied.
Retour en haut de page

Do you require minimum stay lengths?
In high season and depending on the destinations, minimum stay lengths range from 5 days to 14 days. It is sometimes required that rentals start on a Saturday or a Sunday, for example in Ibiza, Corsica or Mykonos for summer vacation periods.

In other cases, you can start your stay on the date of your choice and for minimum periods required, often greater than 2 days. In Marrakech for example we are very flexible in most villas in mid and low season and you can often start your stay on a Tuesday and end it on a Friday if you have to return home before the weekend.
Retour en haut de page

Are your rates per night, per person?
The rates given on the site are nightly rental rates per villa for the number of people specified in the standard capacity of the house. These rates may vary depending on the season, the length of your stay or the number of rooms you will occupy in the villa.
Retour en haut de page

In what currencies are they given?
Prices on the site are displayed in the currency of your choice. You can change your currency at any time. The price in currency is calculated at the daily rate based on the reference currency of the villa. For example in Europe the reference currency is the Euro (owners are paid in Euro), in Bali it is the American dollar. If you are in France, it is therefore possible that the rental price of a villa in Bali varies from one day to the next if you display the Euro villa rental price. Villanovo always collects rental prices in Euros.
Return to top of page

What are the dates of the high and low seasons?
High and low seasons vary depending on the destination chosen. They can also vary significantly depending on the villa. Some villas or chalets or even certain riads in Morocco display prices which do not vary all year round.
Retour en haut de page

Do you require a damage deposit?
In most cases, a damage deposit (or security deposit) is indeed required. This information and the amount of the damage deposit is given to you in the rental conditions of the villa. Depending on the villa, the deposit may be requested by Villanovo or directly by the owner or his representative. The deposit will be paid by credit card or bank transfer but in most cases it will be in the form of a pre-authorization on your credit card. When the deposit is paid to us it will be returned to you approximately 15 days after the end of your stay.
Retour en haut de page

Are taxes and tips included in the rates?
In most cases taxes such as VAT are included in the prices. If this is not the case, this is specified in the rental conditions.

Tourist taxes or tourist taxes are generally not included in the rates. These taxes will have to be paid locally in most cases. This is specified in the rental conditions.

Tips for staff are never included in the rates.
Retour en haut de page

Are there staff in each house?
This information is given to you for each house in the description under Services Included. In most destinations in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America, staff are systematically included in the villas. Most of the time, this involves a cook, a cleaning lady and a gardener.

Some houses also include the presence of a dedicated waiter, butler, beautician, laundress, manager or concierge.

Other houses only include cleaning staff who come at regular intervals and/or at the end of the stay. Check with your advisor to find out if your house includes staff.
Retour en haut de page

What is the role of the daily household staff?
The staff is responsible for the impeccable maintenance of the villa, its interiors and the garden as well as the swimming pool and the facilities offered (tennis, spa, etc.).

If a cook is included and depending on her working hours, she will be responsible for preparing your breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Table service may not be included. In most cases, the staff takes care of the shopping. Laundry of your personal belongings is often not included in the rental rate because it is a time-consuming task. The services of an external laundress or dry cleaner may be offered to you.

Staff are often a preferred source of information. Don’t hesitate to ask them for their tips on bars and restaurants, walks to take…
Retour en haut de page

Who does the shopping, who does the cooking?
For houses, riads and villas that have staff, we tell you if meal preparation is included and if supplies are included. In all cases, you remain liable for the price of groceries or the price of meals if they are billed as a flat rate, as in the case of half-board or full-board for example.

In most cases, the house manager or cook presents you with the purchase invoices and you reimburse the house cash register on the basis of these invoices.

Some houses offer a table d’hôte service (fully catered houses). In this case, you generally do not have access to the kitchen to prepare your meals. They are offered to you by the staff, are invoiced per person and must be paid at the end of your stay. Children often benefit from reduced rates.

Most houses do not have permanent staff or cook/chef. In this case the house of course offers a fully equipped kitchen where you can give free rein to your culinary creativity!

The cooks or local chefs are often the little cordon bleus of local cuisine. They will know how to prepare succulent typical dishes such as excellent tagines or couscous in Morocco, magnificent Mediterranean cuisine in Corsica, succulent Asian cuisine in Bali.
Retour en haut de page

Going around: taxi, rental car, vehicle with driver?
It is difficult to generalize because each holiday destination and each villa is a particular case.

We invite you to ask your Villanovo advisor who will advise you on the best choice based on the cost of taxis, the distance from the villa, the number of people in your group and your desire for discovery.

In all cases, we can offer solutions such as a taxi service on order, rental cars at the best price delivered directly to the villa, vehicles with driver for 4, 8 or 12 people.
Retour en haut de page

To book, do I have to pay a deposit? What are the payment options available ?
Your reservation is confirmed when we receive a reservation deposit which you can pay by credit card or bank transfer. The reservation deposit is in most cases 40% of the total reservation amount.

If you pay by credit card on our site, please note that we guarantee you an encrypted payment environment secured by an SSL certificate and 3DS transaction standard. Our online payment provider is Paybox and our bank is LCL in Paris.
Retour en haut de page

When should I pay you the balance of the rental?
It depends on the destination and the house but in most cases you must pay your balance no later than 45 days before your departure. In some cases you must pay this balance 60 days or even 90 days before your arrival.

If you book less than 45 days from your departure date, we will ask you to pay us 100% of the rental amount.
Retour en haut de page

What are the cancellation fees?
Once again it depends on your destination and the villa you have booked. In most cases, the reservation deposit is never refundable and you will have to pay 100% of the total rental amount if you cancel less than 45 days before your departure.

In order to save our customers from unpleasant surprises, we systematically suggest that they take out cancellation insurance which protects them financially against the risk of cancellation.
Retour en haut de page

How do I get to the house I rented?
We will give you all the details a few weeks before your departure in the form of a voucher containing all the necessary information.

Your arrival will be organized jointly with our concierge service. Our concierge will help you prepare your stay in details.

Two cases are possible:

Either you are escorted by one of our representatives directly from your place of arrival (station / airport) to your rental car or in a vehicle that we have reserved for you.

Either you arrive by your own means in which case we will provide you with the address of the villa or our local office and, if necessary, an access plan. You will then be welcomed by one of our representatives or the house manager who will give you the keys.
Retour en haut de page

Should you take out insurance?
When renting a holiday home, you must ensure that your liability insurance covers seasonal rentals. When you obok with us we propose optional insurance for cancellation and also insurance to cover damages you may cause in the villa.

We strongly recommend that you take out cancellation insurance to cover this risk. The cancellation conditions set by the owners are strict and non-negotiable.
Retour en haut de page