When is a ‘villacation’ the perfect choice for a family holiday?

Villas holidays remain a niche product for many agents, with a lack of confidence in the sector a barrier to sales. But the range of client scenarios such a holiday could suit is wider than you may think. The level of support and inclusions available from certain suppliers is also underappreciated.

SPL Villas, which has properties across the Mediterranean plus Florida, believes its packageable ‘villacations’ hit the sweet spot between self-catering and an all-inclusive resort.

Here are some advantages to share with clients.

Multi-gen and multi-family friendly

Modern families come in many shapes and sizes. Your clients may include large, blended families with step-siblings of different ages. And it’s very likely you’ve been asked to arrange multi-generational holidays, a key trend in recent years.

Some families, meanwhile, team up to holiday together, enabling both children and adults to hang out with friends their own age.

Villas are perfect for all these types of larger party. Everyone gets to stay together, gather in social spaces and drift apart when they wish.

And of course, instead of watching TV with the sound down in the same hotel room as sleeping toddlers, parents can linger out by the pool, drink in hand, knowing they’re still only steps away.

Villas also allow greater flexibility than hotels when it comes to sleeping arrangements and zoning. Some SPL Villas properties even come with annexes so, for instance, grandparents can retreat to their own space.

The Collections section of the SPL Villas website groups accommodation by such helpful categories as ‘families with young children’, ‘large groups’, ‘villas with heated pools’ (perfect for half term) and even ‘villas with games facilities.’

Greater privacy

Staying in a hotel means enduring other guests’ different wake times and noise levels, besides the battle for the best sun-loungers.

Sell your clients the dream of their own private pool and social spaces they’ll be sharing only with their own friends or family. All SPL’s villas come with pools and WiFi. Some also have table tennis, table football and pool tables besides – perfect for some competitive fun. It also has villas with saunas and hot tubs for peak private relaxation.

Food flexibility

Tricky dietary requirements? Fussy eaters? Being able to self-cater takes the stress away from holiday mealtimes. With SPL Villas, clients may even book a private chef so they can fully relax but still be assured their needs are catered for.

Of course, this set up is also naturally sociable, especially at the SPL Villas with barbecues, which make for memorable alfresco dining.

Atol protection

Clients may associate self-catering holidays mainly with Airbnb. Stressing the security and peace of mind they can have by booking a villa package may persuade them to rethink.

SPL Villas offers Atol protected villa-with-flight packages from most UK airports with a wide range of carriers including Jet2, easyJet and BA.

Naturally, all its villas are also fully vetted for safety and security.

Minimal or maximum support

From the excursions and car hire you’d expect booking with an operator, to the private chef and nanny services suggestive of luxury concierge services, SPL Villas has your clients covered. The company can arrange as much or as little support as needed, right down to airport transfers.

Clearly this goes way beyond what an Airbnb would offer. Meanwhile, compared to an all-inclusive, a flight inclusive villacation has the convenience and security of a package but with greater flexibility, and locations which more naturally lend themselves to cultural immersion.

Surprising value

Filling a villa with a large group often works out significantly better value than the equivalent hotel booking. Self-catering further enables clients to control costs. Compare a SPL villacation to the price of an all-inclusive and your budget-conscious customers may be pleasantly surprised.

As unique as your clients

Far from cookie cutter holidays, villacations allow for a unique experience, based on the requirements of individual families. Clients can sleep in or breakfast at dawn, use the pool as early or late as they like, dine in local restaurants or on goodies bought from a market.

In Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal or the US they might gather to celebrate a special occasion, explore their locale or simply relax in privacy, making their own timetable.

The SPL Villas team, which boasts a 4.5-star Feefo service rating, can help you narrow down the perfect accommodation for your clients whether that involves a beachfront location, a sea view or a gated pool to keep youngsters safe.