Agents can make sure they grab a slice of this well-heeled action too, and Carrier is already feeling the effects of this desire for people to gather in such incredible properties to connect.
“Our average selling price has increased more than 70%, with bookings for 2021 departures exceeding £30,000 and this has grown even further for forward bookings into 2022 with an average booking value of over £40,000,” said Carrier’s head of marketing Natasha Towey.
“We see this as a combination of people upgrading and willing to invest more in their next holiday due to missing out on so many escapes in the past 12 months alongside bookings with a larger number of passengers and groups, so more people wanting to travel and spend real quality time with those people they have missed most,” she added.
Carrier’s suggestions include the incredible Octola Lodge, set in 300 hectares of private Finnish Arctic wilderness which offers exclusive buy-outs for groups of up to 24 (from £29,640 for a week with Carrier). And not only does it offer extreme remoteness, there’s a seasonal chance to meet Father Christmas in his native home, hunt for the northern lights and indulge in Nordic spa traditions.
You would expect villa and home-stay companies to be benefiting from these trends too, as is the case with CV Villas.
“When the government first announced the roadmap, CV Villas saw huge increases in booking enquiries for the summer, showing there is a real appetite for villa holidays this year,” said managing director Tristan Symondson.
“There is no better way for families and loved ones to reunite following a tumultuous year, and with plenty of space at our properties, customers can rest assured they can travel safely and can maintain privacy throughout their holiday.”
Fellow villa and homes specialist Oliver’s Travels has also seen demand surge, especially closer to home.
“Demand for UK and close-by European properties skyrocketed, and the day after the announcement was our second biggest booking day in history,” said Oliver Bell, co-founder at Oliver’s Travels. “Cornwall and Devon are almost fully booked for the whole of summer and are making up 40% of all our overall bookings. We are seeing a sharp rise in bookings abroad for Europe, contributing to 60% of our bookings, with France, Greece and Italy proving the most popular.”
Oliver’s Travels has also rolled out Cookaway, pitched as a “concierge service for staycation holidays”, and offering the delivery of a non-subscription recipe box to the holiday home so the group can create an impressive meal themselves if they prefer not to have a private chef in the home.
Generally however, Oliver’s Travels said a private chef is still the number-one service requested, and the company has an ongoing partnership with Dineindulge to match local cooks recommended through villa owners who all take extra precautions to ensure they are Covid-compliant when cooking in the home.
Full of ideas for beautiful properties around the world from penthouse apartments in New York to ski chalets in Val d’Isere, is a new trade-only luxury accommodation platform, Onee Luxury Travel. It gives agents access to a curated portfolio of professionally managed high-end properties, with visibility of commission rates for each one and a seamless booking process via a platform designed with agents firmly in mind.
Already well established in the home-stay market, Accor’s OneFineStay said demand “had never been greater” for the high-style private homes it offers, with guests appreciative of the reassurance its implementation of the strictest of cleaning and hygiene protocols brings.
“Over the past year we have seen an increase in guests looking for secluded homes that offer a luxurious environment without compromising on safety, meaning they can truly relax,” said Amanda Dyjecinski, chief brand and marketing officer of OneFineStay.
“Our villa bookings have held up over the last year and this year are stronger than ever; we are also seeing our average booking value rise. Services such as a helicopter ride to a private island for lunch, and in-villa services such as celebration dinners have become increasingly popular as guests still want indulgent experiences, whilst limiting contact with others.”
It’s a given clients will value the privacy and possibly remoter locations offered by villas or exclusive-use properties, but some may also look for particularly high style criteria that match or exceed their own homes, and Welcome Beyond offers a range of architectural homes, such as Freiform in South Tyrol, Italy, a project designed by Martin Gruber as a “hybrid between a luxury guesthouse and a nature observatory”.
And once travel is up and running again, it will be useful to have a range of new and interesting ideas for clients, such as a culturally immersive trip to Sri Lanka, but combined with a beautiful villa there, such as those featured by specialist Eden Villas. The company has a dedicated agent portal and founder Jack Eden said he conducts frequent agent web sessions to showcase their portfolio and keep agents fully updated.
“Really, the best advice I can give to agents wishing to sell villa stays is to know the property, inside and out in every detail. And I’d advise finding out all the less enticing points as well as the good ones!” said Eden. “Agents should also know the area the villa is located in, whether it has neighbours and if there are, whether they are commercial or private properties. Are there any staff, and what is their experience and their roles?”
He added it was also important to match the group with the villa type. “All the villas in a portfolio might be lovely, but they may be catering to a specific demographic or group – some will be better for families with small children, others for all adult groups, some for foodies and so on. And I would always encourage an agent to focus on villas that are professionally managed, so you know someone is ‘on the ground’ to look after guests in case something unexpected happens.”
