Booking a house sight unseen comes down to one question: who is behind it, and will they answer the phone?
So here is who we are.
This is our own house
PJ and I bought the Golf and Pool Home as our retirement home. We are not ready to move into it yet, so we open it to other families while it helps offset the cost of keeping it.
That is worth knowing, because it explains the standard. We are looking after a home we intend to live in ourselves.
How we host
Attentive, caring, willing to help — that is how I would describe us, and it is what we try to be. You are dealing with PJ and me directly, not a call center. If something comes up during your stay, you have our number and a local contact nearby.
Before you arrive you get a door code and a follow-up message, and the guidebook in the house has the Wi-Fi code, the safety information and things to do in the area. Most guests take it from there.
What guests tell us
In the feedback we receive, guests have mentioned the cleanliness, the décor, the pool and the peaceful setting.
We also try to make the first hour easy. Starter coffee and tea, extensive starter toiletries, filtered water. Small things, but they are the difference between arriving and settling in.
Why we do it this way
We had trouble finding this kind of stay ourselves — a real house, quiet, with space to spread out and nobody rushing you. So we made one, and we would rather run it like hosts than like a business.
If you are weighing us up, ask us anything before you book. We would rather answer ten questions than have you arrive somewhere that was not right for you.
— Bob McEachern, The Restful Vacation