NEWSROOM

With the arrival of the summer months and the announcement of the normalization calendar, postponed holiday plans began to come to the agenda again. The tourism industry is preparing to open the season after Ramadan Feast. In the new normal period, citizens turned to rental villas for a safe and contactless vacation, while the searches for 'rental villas' increased 4 times on the internet. Experts warn citizens against fraudsters.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
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ISTANBUL (TR) - With the determination of the normalization schedule after the coronavirus outbreak and the warming of the weather, the tourism sector started to liven up. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism marks June for the new season as part of the measures it announced. Citizens who do not want to use the hotel choice this year due to the coronavirus started to turn to rental villa and boat options for a more isolated holiday. After the shock in the tourism sector in March and April, the movement started with May: Searches for 'rental villas' on the internet have increased 4 times in the last month. Experts underline the points that should be considered against possible fraud activities when purchasing a villa or boat tour. Today, there are 700 thousand timeshare property victims in Turkey.

Look for the phrase “disinfected” in the ads

Stating that approximately 3 of 48 billion worth of domestic travel expenditures spent for rental villas in 2019, TatildeKirala Founder Ruşen Mat says that there is currently an explosion of demand with the announced normalization plan of rental villas and boat options that received almost no demand in April due to the pandemic. Stating that the biggest factor in the tendency to rent villas is social distance and hygiene concerns, Mat said, “We have stepped in quickly and have disinfected villa options. We ensured that disinfection procedures performed by expert teams in villas are added to online postings as notes. We are working on many measures, including disposable towel options. All villas rented in May are selected only among the disinfected ads. The priority of the citizen is health.”

Do not book from sites that are not TÜRSAB approved

Reminding that tens of thousands of citizens experience different victimizations due to fake advertisements on websites that do not have a TÜRSAB travel agency certificate every year, Ruşen Mat said, “People who wait for months for a holiday and want to breathe with their close surroundings can be set up for fake advertisements. When the holiday day approaches or when they go to the holiday region, our citizens who do not get a response by calling their phone numbers on their websites become victimized by realizing that they have been defrauded. As TatildeKirala team, we check all postings one by one. We list the villa and boat options that have been seen and approved on site. In this process, especially corporate platforms with TÜRSAB approvals should be preferred. To be sure, if necessary, it should be called and confirmed by phone.”

Find a balance between the service and price

Mentioning that the price carries important clues for a safe holiday in many points, Mat underlined the following points: “One of the most important points that our citizens who dream of a holiday after the Ramadan Feast and in the summer should not be a nightmare: Searching for a balance between the service received and the price. According to similar announcements, the options that are half the price difference should always be approached with suspicion. In addition, platforms that guarantee 100% money back against defective, missing advertisements should definitely be preferred.”

Read old user reviews, do not bypass the contract

Referring to the leases made without a contract, Ruşen Mat said, “Never take steps without an online or a printed contract. A preliminary investigation must be carried out on the internet about the website to be rented, as it may cause serious problems in the future. Complaints or suggestions made by old users about the site must be taken into consideration. You should definitely confirm the holiday service you bought and call the call center. You should definitely and definitely question the address and contact information of the company you are purchasing.”

Due to travel restrictions, excess supply in the domestic market will be reflected in prices

Stating that rental villas, which are preferred by expatriates and foreigners every year, will give an excess supply due to the pandemic this year, Ruşen Mat said, “We predict that the rental villas, which are preferred by thousands of expatriates, will be partially vacated this year due to travel restrictions. We have made it much more accessible by letting those who posted as TatildeKirala.com update their prices for domestic guests.”

Kas, Bodrum and Fethiye are in the top 3

The provinces where the highest demand for rental villas come are Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, while in the top 10 there are many cities from Anatolia such as Gaziantep and Konya. Kaş, Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Kalkan, which is the choice of conservative families, stands out as the most popular holiday regions. An average of 5 reservations are made for the villas. In the new normal period, where social isolation and hygiene rules will continue to be crucial, the demand for vacation rentals in the new normal period is expected increase.