The new Tuscany Blog is located here: http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/tuscany/
As we see more and more websites listing vacation rentals in Tuscany, it becomes increasingly important to do business via the long-established sites such as www.greve-in-chianti.com (founded in 1997) and www.bella-toscana.com (founded in 1998). Many of the new websites and the businesses behind them are very unprofessional and simply relist over and over again the same group of properties. Problems are also being reported by users of the bigger listing services, complaints being mostly with regard to inaccurate descriptions of the rental properties and lack of accountability if something goes wrong. Many of the big sites now belong to a very small number of corporate owners and this has exacerbated the issue of indifference to customers' problems with the rental procedures, refund procedures and the property descriptions. Too often, farmhouses are being listed as "villas", and rural properties that are not working farms are being listed as "agriturismi".
My recommendation remains to make use of owner-direct websites that are local so that the company owning the website has the opportunity to inspect every property listed, and so that there will be someone on hand to help out if problems arise. In my experience, the visitor has a much better feel for a place if he or she intereacts with the owner before arrival.
Don't for get to read my notes on what you can expect from your Tuscany vacation rental. Misplaced expectations can sometimes have a negative effect on your holiday.
Author: Anna Maria Baldini