The Belvilla Brand

The consumer brand Belvilla is part of the holding company of @Leisure. The organisation is one of the largest players in the European market for holiday homes and is also market leader in the Benelux. @Leisure lets out 15,000 holidays homes in 17 European countries through its consumer brands.

The Belvilla brand was created after the merger between the organisations Euro Relais and Belvilla in 2007. Euro Relais evolved out of the Ardennes Relais organisation, established in 1980, and is currently active in the Netherlands and Belgium. Belvilla, on the other hand, was established in 1987 and is primarily active in the Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. It is the market leader in the Netherlands in the online rental of holiday homes. Both organisations are originally direct sellers with an Internet focus.

Through the years, the portfolio of holiday homes has grown to include 17 European destinations: the Netherlands, Belgium (Ardennes and Flanders), Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Turkey, Austria, Switzerland, Great Britain, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Denmark.

Belvilla offers consumers holiday homes for every possible kind of holiday, from sunny summer villas in Southern Europe to mountain chalets at winter sports destinations, and from charming farmhouses for the entire family to castles that are tailored to weekend getaways with large groups of friends or family. Other options include a luxury country house with tennis courts, Jacuzzi or sauna and a simple tree house at a height of four metres. Want to take your dog on holiday? Pets are welcome at thousands of the holiday homes on offer! In addition to the usual length of stay of one or two weeks, Belvilla also offers the option of booking a midweek break or regular or long weekend getaway.

Holiday homes with a unique character

On its website, Belvilla offers a choice of 15,000 unique holiday homes that can be reserved online. An active acquisition policy is pursued, which means that numerous new and distinctive holiday homes are added every year, from cave dwellings to circus wagons, windmills to pigeon coops, and from a former school to a ship.

Privacy and down time

The greatest advantage of a holiday home is the privacy it offers and the possibility to spend your time however you wish. Want to enjoy breakfast in your pyjamas? Sleep till 11 o'clock? Chat all night long with friends without having to worry about the pub closing hours? And how about having your very own swimming pool?

A holiday home is also perfect for children of any age. When the little ones take a nap or in the evening after the kids have gone to bed, you can relax in your own living room and enjoy the rest of the evening without a care. Many of the homes also offer special facilities for children (reservations may be required), such as a playpen and crib.

Around 75% of all reservations are made directly online. The website is also an excellent source of information. More than 95% of Belvilla guests consider the online booking option highly user-friendly (Source: Continuous Customer Satisfaction Study, 16,000 measured observations, 2007.)

In 2007, Belvilla presented a completely renovated website in keeping with the desires of both experienced and less experienced web users, which enables visitors to choose their own search options. Belvilla is the first holiday home rental business to offer the possibility, in collaboration with Google, of searching on a cross-border map (marking locations with a thumbtack). The visitor indicates how far from this location the holiday homes should be located, regardless of the country or regional boundaries. For example, a thumbtack can be placed in the middle of a skiing area or within a specific travel distance from the visitor's place of residence. Visitors can also search for �hotspots' or by keywords, search and book relevant transportation, save search criteria and compare houses directly.

Naturally the website is kept fully up-to-date as regards the availability of accommodations as well as the prices for the period requested. Every holiday home has extensive photo coverage, a detailed description and comprehensive tourist information about activities in the area. Tips from the home owner and guestbook comments provide additional useful information. The precise location of every holiday home is also shown using Google Maps, so that holidaymakers can see exactly where the home is located in relation to cities, golf courses, the coast, and so on.

The Belvilla portfolio of homes and service is characterised by the very highest degree of quality. This ensures that the needs and desires of every holidaymaker are not only met, but exceeded.

Quality guest service

Consumers book their holiday based on information only and often do not have the possibility to visit the accommodation beforehand. Input from holidaymakers and Belvilla's constant critical stance contribute to a continuous focus on quality.

The following are only a number of ways in which Belvilla shows how much it values customer satisfaction:

• No cancellation fees
  Belvilla offers holidaymakers 7 days to cancel their booking absolutely free of charge.
• Classification and inspections
  A highly detailed classification form is used to objectively classify each of the holiday homes on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Homes that do not qualify for 1 star are not included in the portfolio.
• Continuous customer satisfaction surveys
  After returning home, every guest is asked about his or her experience at the holiday home. Belvilla receives an average rating of 8.3 when it comes to customer satisfaction about their stay on a scale of 1-10 (16,000 measured observations, 2007). The results of these questionnaires are automatically forwarded to the owner of every holiday home. If a house receives a very poor rating, agreements are made with the home owner regarding the necessary quality improvements.
• 24-hour S.O.S. Service
  If any problems arise during the stay, guests, home owners and caretakers can contact Belvilla by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Quality guarantee
  Belvilla guarantees that the home description is consistent with reality. For example, a factual description of the holiday home based on detailed information and extensive photo coverage enables guests to get a good idea of what can be expected beforehand. In the event of errors, guests receive compensation.

Quality home owner and caretaker service

Belvilla also believes strongly in providing excellent quality service to home owners and caretakers. The collaboration between Belvilla and the home owners and caretakers is based on such core concepts as transparency, certainty and flexibility. For example, every home owner (and/or manager) has the possibility to access all information, such as booking details, related to their home at any time. Flexibility is also clearly evident in the possibility to make reservations personally and short-term contract periods. The certainty offered by Belvilla is expressed in the fact that payment is made prior to guest arrival, a 24-hour S.O.S. service is provided as well as a designated contact person that speaks the right language.

Quality web partner service

In addition to the possibility to book directly online or with the reservation team by phone, Belvilla holiday homes are also offered by numerous international webpartners. Belvilla takes care of all reservation handling and provides service on behalf of these partners, while the web partner receives an attractive commission rate. The integration options of the portfolio vary from extremely simple (link or banner) to highly advanced (XML) and from selections by, for example, the type of accommodation or destination, to the complete portfolio of holiday homes. Belvilla also supports commercial activities with promotional materials. Communication with every web partner also takes place in the language of their choice.

Belvilla communicates via printed matter, digital channels and more. Typical of all communications is the inspiring and surprising manner in which the portfolio is presented, with an emphasis on the perfect holiday feeling and experience, while a direct link is always made between the online searching and booking of the holiday homes.

In addition to the homepage, newsletters from Belvilla provide holidaymakers with up-to-date information. The digital newsletter places the holiday homes in a different context of experience every time.

Belvilla is currently focusing on the following goals:

• Growth: Leading position within the niche market of holiday home rentals.
• Rapid expansion of holiday home portfolio with unique accommodation options.
• Developing innovative concepts that attract and captivate consumers. Belvilla is a tour operator specialising in distinctive high-quality holiday homes throughout Europe, from castles to country cottages, farms to windmills, mansions to chalets, not to mention cave dwellings, circus wagons and pigeon coops.History