Frequently Asked Questions

I’ll be the first to admit that there is a certain satisfaction in preparing your home for others to enjoy. I remember the feeling of being able to justify equipping the villa with high-end products, new exterior furniture and an outdoor Jacuzzi all under the category of a business investment and not a whimsical frivolity. I have seen many of our owners claim that the villas they rent out are nicer than the home they live in…. better still you get to stay in this home when it is not occupied. Home away from home…

Yes. One of the most common reasons why people choose to rent their villa is to cover their expenses or indeed completely cover their mortgage repayments and then some. It depends on the availability of your property to the market and the price you charge on a weekly basis. The tourist season in Sitges runs from end of May through to Sept peaking in the first 2 weeks in August when demand is extremely high.

Yes, we can and we do in many instances. This guarantee makes it even easier for you to make the decision to let your home. We have a number of models we use with our owners from commission based reservation only to a fully integrated service with a guaranteed income. Everything depends on you and your personal requirements so feel free to call us or email us and we will talk you through anything you may need to know or anything that may be specific to your circumstances.

I think first and foremost our differentiator is that we set up our business having rented our own home – this means we know intimately what it means to take a family home and prepare it for commercialization in this sector – both the emotional and financial aspects.

It may sound cliché to say we don’t see ourselves as an agency as our aim, unlike others in our market, was never to build a database of properties which we would coldly market & sell and subsequently bill based on commission. What exactly does this mean? Well, we are very serious about our business and our business pivots around our relationships with owners, villas and ultimately and most importantly our guests. We absolutely see ourselves as a partner to our owners as they make serious decisions with an important asset – their home. We have a lot of value to add as a partner to the long term strategy of their home and we actively help owners from the outset to set up and manage their villas to get the most from them both for the owners themselves and for guests that stay.

The upfront costs will depend entirely upon the current state of the villa and its contents, however, you will need to consider the following: Mattresses should be new and in good condition, bedlinen and towels for the capacity of the house, replacing any old or broken items which guests will use such as showers, pots, pans, sunbeds etc ask if the villa need to be painted? How is the exterior furniture? etc. You must look at the project from a commercial perspective and consider that the first year may require significant investment and we recommend an annual re-investment cost of about 10-15% of revenue.

A full managed service means you can get on with your life without feeling restricted by the property. While initially you may think the role of check-in and check out is a mere meet and greet, the reality is that there is much more to being a service provider in this space. When we manage the process from end to end you benefit from handing the following over to us:

• Coordination & management of interior design team in the case that the property is new.
• Professional advice on creating a luxury villa aimed at rental market.
• Arrange photo shoot of dressed villa for advertising & marketing purposes.
• Design & implement advertising & marketing campaign to ensure maximum profitability of villa in
• Finance a full international online marketing campaign to ensure maximum visibility
• Manage client queries in relation to special requests, specific requirements during stay.
• Concierge service for clients during their stay and catering for ad-hoc demands and requests.
• Management and coordination of maintenance, pool, garden, cleaning & laundry services

Yes, of course everything is possible although you may want to consider the full aspect of managing the guest experience which is not only being available for check in. Also while English is the most widely spoken language, not all of your guests will speak English. One of the advantages for guests is at Utopia Villas we speak English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish and Catalan which covers almost all of our nationalities. If you prefer to manage the property yourself, we can include your property in our portfolio and send you details of confirmed bookings only. This service is provided by email and phone contact only and does not include any key holding responsibilities, concierge services, maintenance or check-in or check out services.

Yes, in fact this is one of the great benefits of letting in this market. You simply tell us the week(s) you want the villa for yourself or for your family/friends in advance and we will block them in our calendar. Bear in mind though that you might prefer to do this out of high season when your villa will be in less demand.

In our experience this is simply not the case and as we tend to have ongoing communication with guests prior to arrival and can sense when we are dealing a group that is not going to be respectful to the property and so deal with it upfront. Thankfully though in our experience those who stay in our villas live in similar types of homes in their home country and are most respectful of the villa, garden and neighbours. We also operate a policy where our guests must comply with the civil code which pertains to all neighbours and so at the slightest indication that anything is untoward, the guests may be asked to leave the villa and forfeit their security deposit.

After several years working with a discerning international tourist we feel obliged to maintain highest standards with respect to the villas that we represent. We are very happy to meet with you and review your villa with a view to its potential in this market. In brief, we ask that villas are presented and maintained to a high standard, offer privacy, a private pool and within a short drive to Sitges if not located in the town. Where villas are new to market, we will provide a proposal on preparing the villa for this market – an upfront investment is usually necessary to ensure that high standards are met for the capacity of the villa. Please contact us on hello@utopia-villas.com and we can talk you through the process.