The last few weeks have seen the collapse of a number of Gold Coast accommodation providers, leaving hundreds of holiday makers out of pocket and without holiday accommodation. 

One such company was Accommodation 1, which sold the bulk of its accommodation through eBay . The eBay discussion forum has been flooded with comments from holidaymakers, with victims vowing to fight for money lost.

The company was placed in the hands of liquidator Jason Bettles and Ivor Worrell of insolvency firm Worrells Solvency & Forensic Accountant. The company traded through two online portals: the website ourholiday.com.au (which has since been taken down) and through gifts2U.com.au on the auction site eBay Australia. The site focused on Gold Coast apartment blocks such as Circle on Cavill, the Q1 and Chevron Renaissance.

Bettles said 90 landlords at Circle on Cavill, the Q1 and Chevron Renaissance also were hit. On top of the customers who have been caught by the collapse, Bettles says a number of landlords had signed long-term rental agreements with Accommodation 1 and are now owed back rent.

With the collapse of such private accommodation providers, many questions have been raised from concerned holiday makers about the reputation and ethics of private operators. The Gold Coast Bulletin posted comments in May stating, "Consumers using faceless website operators have no way of knowing the financial circumstances or capabilities of the company and are putting their hard-earned money and holiday experiences at risk by using them".

However, Mr Ashraf Kamha of SunMore Holidays disputes such comments and believes there is no more risk in booking through independent accommodation providers than directly through the big corporations. "It is not just private accommodation providers who go broke. Mega corporations fall over as well," says Kamha, "we know that it does happen, like it did two years ago when a major travel agency collapsed, leaving thousands of people out of pocket".

"The private market offers competitive and alternative options for holiday makers. There are literally hundreds of private accommodation providers out there and the vast majority are honest and hard working".

Kamha says that operators such as Accommodation 1 fail mainly because they do not charge an adequate price for the service they provide, and are therefore forced to cut corners and fail to provide a decent standard of service to customers. It becomes only a matter of time before they enter into the vicious downward spiral of losing customers because of inferior service and having to reduce prices even more just to attract customers.

He believes that the secret of success in the holiday accommodation business is giving customers the service they want for a fair and reasonable price, in the time-frame and in the manner most convenient to them.

In the case of SunMore Holidays, it offers customers the convenience of being able to check availability and pricing of accommodation online in real-time, and to choose and book the actual apartment or holiday home they like online. And they can do that at their convenience and in their own time, without having to wait for someone to respond to their phone call or email enquiry.

Kamha said "We are not embarrassed to say that we're not the cheapest in the market. We try to offer a service that is reasonably priced in order to allow us to give customers a good standard of service and to give landlords a fair return on their investments".

With horror stories like Accommodation 1, Kamha believes that private operators need be attuned to customers' demand for the highest possible level of protection for their hard earned deposit and rental money.

For example, the apartments listed on SunMore Holidays' website are managed by fully licensed real estate agents who are accredited by the REIQ (Real Estate Institute of Queensland) and appointed to manage the properties and receive the rental money on behalf of their owners.

This provides a higher level of protection for customers' deposit and rental money, as the law requires licensed agents to bank monies received from all real estate transactions into a trust account that is subject to regular audits.

Therefore, Kamha believes it is not right to tarnish the whole private industry with the poor actions of a few. "We are proud to continue to offer alternative options and a personal service to both holiday makers and property owners alike".

Indeed, in the wake of the collapse of companies such as Accommodation 1, it has been both the larger and smaller operators that have helped out those people caught in the middle.

For further information about Gold Coast accommodation or holiday property management, visit SunMore Holidays at www.sunmore.com.au.

Looking for holiday accommodation? Experience suggests that you should ask yourself four important questions before making a decision:

Question 1 - Do you feel that staying in the right holiday accommodation of your choice will probably make your time away with family or friends more enjoyable?

Question 2 - Do you worry about arriving at your holiday destination only to discover that you absolutely hate the apartment that has been allocated to you?

Question 3 - Would you like to choose the specific holiday apartment that meets your needs before you leave home?

Question 4 - Would you also like the convenience of checking its availability and price in your own time and the facility to book it online?

If your answer is "Yes" to the above questions then, unfortunately, you will find that most holiday accommodation providers fail to meet your expectations.

In a typical situation, when you go to their website or call them you will be given a price for your requested accommodation (a hotel room, an apartment, etc). If you're lucky, you might be able to check online and in real time (i.e. no waiting for someone to get back to you) the availability of the accommodation you want on the dates you want. And if you're having a supremely lucky day, you might be able to book your accommodation online and get an immediate confirmation of your booking.

The typical response to such requests is: "We shall do all we can to accommodate your request, but we cannot guarantee it because it's always subject to availability on the date of your arrival."

In effect, you're really buying your holiday accommodation in advance knowing only the name of the hotel or apartment building in which you will be staying, plus some scant information about the room or apartment that will be allocated to you when you arrive "subject to availability".

The reason for this practice is that accommodation providers try to maximise the occupancy rate of their hotel or apartment building (i.e. their profit). They do that by making sure that there are little or no unoccupied gaps in between bookings and that all their rooms or apartments (even the inferior ones) get booked.

Considering that most families save for a whole year (or longer) in order to go on that much deserved break, we believe that this practice is deceitful and puts profit before customers.

Admittedly, few honest operators have a split pricing list and will tell you up front that if you want the high floor with ocean views then it will cost you more than the second floor place overlooking the highway. This way you will know in advance what you are getting and for how much, which is a big improvement.

However, very few operators actually go all the way and list the individual properties on their websites, with full description, photos, prices, etc. This is really giving the customer the freedom to choose. Surprisingly, the prices of those places are comparable with what you get with the "We shall do all we can, but ....." merchants.

Business commentators argue that in order to thrive in business, companies must find ways to give customers what they want for the price they want to pay for it. But most important of all, companies must be honest with their customers and tell them upfront what they are really buying and for what price.

At SunMore Holidays, we take pride in treating our customers with honesty and respect. Our website is informative and provides full details of all the listed properties:

• You can book and stay in the particular holiday property of your choice and know in advance its position, style and amenities.

• Full details of each property are shown on the website, with photos, floor plans, prices, etc.

• You can check availability online and use their easy and secure Book Online facility.

• Most properties have a 4 Star Plus rating and panoramic ocean/water views.

• You have access to the facilities of some of the most popular Surfers Paradise resorts and other Gold Coast resorts, such as Chevron Renaissance Resort and Crown Towers Resort.

• We offer a high standard of service and competitive rates. Past guests' comments in our Guest Book testify to that.

As far as booking your holiday accommodation is concerned, remember is that you don't have to settle for the old "We shall do all we can, but ....." You can now vote with your feet and deal only with the operators who are honest and upfront with you.

Are you a property owner or investor looking for an alternative professional management service for your Gold Coast holiday property?

Do you often feel that buying the property was the wrong investment decision, especially when you receive your monthly statement and see the poor net returns being generated?

Are you dissatisfied with the level of service you are receiving and the amount of information you are getting about the performance (or lack of it) of your property?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes", then perhaps there is a solution for your problem.

SunMore Holidays has assembled a team of professional associates capable of providing holiday property owners with a comprehensive property service of the highest calibre. The SunMore team specialises in managing and marketing resort-style holiday apartments and executive homes on Australia's Gold Coast.

The SunMore team understands the dynamics of the Gold Coast holiday accommodation market and has the necessary infrastructure and systems to service a large base of satisfied guests; many of whom are repeat customers (see SunMore's Guest Book page for recent guests' comments).

Our respective owners are very important to us. We strive to look after both their short term and long term interests. We are big enough to provide them with a top class professional service, but small enough to give each and every one of them the personalised and attentive support which we feel they deserve.

The Gold Coast apartments and executive homes listed on SunMore's website are generating excellent returns for their owners. This is achieved by:

• Obtaining high occupancy rates through superior marketing and sales techniques,

• Containing management related fees,

• Carefully managing running expenses,

• Managing cash flow effectively (owners receive monthly statements and funds within 7 working days from end of month),

• Maintaining and protecting the owners' properties,

• Providing a consistently high level of service to guests, and

• Giving owners a personalised service and Keeping them informed regularly about how their properties are performing.

For more information, click here to visit the relative section in SunMore's website.