With hotels reporting lower occupancies and struggling to maintain their yields in the current downturn, one sector of the accommodation market reports that business is holding up well. Coach House Rentals announces booking levels virtually unchanged from last year’s record levels.
Coach House Rentals (http://www.chsrentals.com), the leading specialist in short term rentals in London, Paris, Rome and New York, report that bookings taken so far this year match, and in some cases exceed, those taken in the same period in 2011.
Managing Director, Harley Nott said: “Given the current economic situation and somewhat to our surprise, demand for vacation rentals in London continues to be strong. And bookings in New York, where we are now concentrating on longer stays of 30 nights, are well up on this time last year.”
Asked if he could explain why he added: “Well, in London the Olympics have obviously had an effect – most vacation rental accommodation available over the Olympics period was snapped up last year, but every week we are adding new properties to our listings so securing a rental over the Olympics can still be possible.”
He continued: “I think the main reason why we are bucking the trend is that our vacation rentals represent excellent value for money compared to a hotel, especially for a parties of 3 or more people. For example in London our property reference TMR (Thames Reach) with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, right on the river with spectacular views, comfortably accommodates 6 people at a cost of GBP195/night, that’s GBP32.50 (US$50) per person per night.”
“Similarly in Paris, 5 people are happily accommodated in our property reference PRDB2 (rue du Bac 2), a spacious apartment in the heart of St Germain for EUR245/night, or EUR49 (US$63) per person per night. And in New York our properly reference YPAR15, a spacious two bedroom, two bathroom apartment 3 minutes from Union Square, sleeps 4/6 people in 2 double bedrooms and a sofa-bed for US$345, or US$57 per person per night.”
Coach House Rentals have some 70 London properties on their books, 30 in Paris and New York and a handful in Rome. With bookings so strong, if you are looking to rent something this year, they advise booking early to avoid disappointment. As Harley Nott said: “Remember that old English saying – ‘An early bird catches the worm!'”.
One word of warning. Coach House Rentals say that every year they are contacted two or three times by distressed people who have just arrived to discover that the rental they thought they had booked and paid for does not exist. If the price seems too good to be true, or you are asked to send cash by Western Union – watch out, it could easily be a scam. Always use a reputable agency and never, never send untraceable cash.
Coach House Rentals is a family business run by Meena and Harley Nott, it started life in 2000 as high quality bed and breakfast. Their market was then, and still is now, mainly North Americans visiting London on holiday. Increasingly, as they were already booked, they found themselves having to turn people away. They then started to put their guests into the properties of their London friends while they were away. Very soon this wasn’t enough so they had to find other properties for their guests to use, Coach House Rentals London was born and the business grew. While they continue to enjoy running their bed and breakfast, Coach House Rentals London now has some 70 properties on its books.
In 2006 they extended their operation into Paris where they list some thirty properties. New York, now also with thirty properties, came on stream in 2008 and, new in 2009, Rome currently has ten.
Coach House Rentals are mentioned in several guide books: Frommer’s – London and Paris, Fodor’s – London, and Cadogan – London. They have had many mentions in the quality US press and web sites, and have received numerous favourable reviews on Trip Advisor and Slow Travel.
