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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.
But what you will not be able to get in the majority of cases (no matter how lucky you might feel) is the ability to book a specific room or apartment, or even to be guaranteed that you will, for example, stay on a high floor or have ocean views.
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.
And the best way to do that is to delay the allocation of rooms or apartments until guests arrive, and to use the old "We shall do all we can, but ....." when guests make special requests. After all, there is only a limited number of high floors and ocean views, and some unlucky guest will have to be allocated that second floor apartment overlooking the highway.
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:
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You can book and stay in the particular holiday property of your choice and know in advance its position, style and amenities.
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Full details of each property are shown on the website, with photos, floor plans, prices, etc.
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You can check availability online and use their easy and secure Book Online facility.
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Most properties have a 4 Star Plus rating and panoramic ocean/water views.
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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.
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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.
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