Holiday Rental Specialists (page 2 of 4)

Very very very disappointed in the lack of flexibility & basic humanity of this company. How can we support the tourism industry when we suffer personal financial loss through no fault of our own, but due to unpredictability of the pandemic if we book accomodation. As a small business owner devastated financially by the 8week lock down in Melbourne, I have felt keenly the catastrophic economic consequences for all industries directly impacted by covid 19. I have also felt the importance of supporting all industries as best we can as we have...

Having already paid for the accomodation, I have been asked for images of my credit card and the CCV number, as well as an image of my drivers licence. My concern is that this is all that is needed to completely steal my ID. Bookings.com have ignored my communications and all I can get in touch with is overseas call centres. Everything about them looks dodgy. Holiday Rental Specialists have been much better to deal with, once I was able to contact them. My suggestion is to avoid Bookings.com, who are only acting as an middle man, bumping up the prices and not doing anything in return that I can see.

My family and I have rented a number of properties in Bowral, Mittagong and Culburra. We love this company, from the easy booking process, to the email communication and access details, through to the absolutely gorgeous properties, that are exactly as photographed. All properties have been immaculately presented and clean, with all the amenities that you would require for a weekend or a longer holiday.

The property was clean and very comfortable. Staff was amazing. The team went over and beyond to help make our stay enjoyable. I highly recommend Holiday Rental Specialists for holiday accommodation!!

Booked a house for 10 people two weeks before the travel date. Then I was notified 5 days before the travel date that they had double-booked the property and our reservation was cancelled. They offered to have us stay at another property or refund. I took the refund option, and over two weeks later, I still have not received my money back. This is despite me emailing them a few days later and them saying it is “being actioned as a matter of emergency”, and despite me calling a week later and again, them saying that the finance team “have been made aware about the urgency of this situation”.

Holiday Rental Specialists are quick to take your money but not so quick to return when they mess up...

We booked a holiday, with friends, in the NSW Southern Highlands in late 2019, for May, 2020. At the onset of COVID it was illegal for us to travel to our destination, so we sought a refund, as HRS's T&Cs permitted. Without notice they changed their T&Cs, preventing any refund. We had a case to regain our 50% deposit, but these people know that NSW Fair Trading have no teeth and we deemed it impractical to pursue further legal action. We opted to take a shorter holiday at another property to minimise any further payment to these people. They are unprofessional, have no ethics or reason and seem totally mercenary in their business practices. Unsurprising that our review is in line with many others. Steer clear.

I am VERY surprised at these negative comments.I have had the BEST service from Rena and Cameron at Holiday Rental Specialists. Friendly, warm and they were able to retrieve an enormous additional cost when I booked with a website, bringing the booking down to a REASONABLE amount.
The property we booked looks great and we are looking forward to being with our friends there in a few weeks. So a huge thank you to HRS!
I shall be definitely popping in to say hi to thank Rena and Cameron personally when there.
Annie

We booked 2 properties for our family next door to each other through HRS (Dolphins Den & Tilbury breeze). I was nervous as I booked after reading all these reviews however their price was considerably cheaper than other websites so I took a chance.

Overall we were content and just relieved we didn't experience anything too negative. The agents were helpful however when emailing them you need to ask one question at a time as they lack attention to detail (even to as simple getting your name right or close). Recommend to call instead. Another a...

Our experience with Holiday Rental Specialists was fantastic, was so easy to organise! Had to ring and check some needs at the accommodation, nothing was a problem for the helpful staff member. The property was beautifully clean and provided everything we expected and more!

Can't wait to book my next holiday with them!

No clarity on sharing cancellation implications and uncontactable. Unbelievingly hard to cancel a booking despite CoVid then misled on understanding full cost reimbursed on a credit note and end up getting booking fee $750 deducted.

Do not use - deplorable conduct!!!!!
Cancelled our booking for 16 people 24 hours before the weekend with no prior contact or warning, simply an e-mail saying the reservation was "Cancelled". Absolutely no consideration given to the fact that alternative accommodation cannot be secured for sixteen people in one day, no compensation for caterers that were booked and paid for the whole weekend, no assistance or compensation towards any alternatives and are now delaying the refund for ten days. Disgusting behavior, do not do business with holiday rental specialists.
If you have had a similar experience, which we know others have, please contact accc and fair trading.

Deplorable conduct!!!
Cancelled our booking for 16 people one day before the weekend with no prior contact, simply an email saying the reservation has been canceled. Absolutely no consideration given to the fact that alternative accommodation can’t be found for sixteen people in one day, no compensation given for the caterers that have already been booked/paid for the whole weekend, no assistance or compensation towards any alternatives and are now delaying the refund for ten days. Shame on you!
Disgusting behavior, do not do business with this...

I am a little bit confused by all of the comments that are below... Unless the company has changed hands they are absolutely lovely to deal with... after months of being locked up at home they couldn't have made the experience easier to organise our long awaited getaway! The property was perfectly clean and appreciated the extra gesture on arrival.
Just to some people reading the reviews - need to take into consideration the detrimental affect that COVID has had on the travel industry. This company has done nothing different to any other travel company in Australia. This is unprecedented times that we are faced with!! Can't wait to book my next holiday, just wish that their houses were not so expensive...

Our group had initially booked a property with Holiday Rental but there was a hiccup at the property we booked and it could have been a disaster for our planned weekend but the holiday rental specialists Team, especially the business owner got involved and sorted it out for us at 5pm on a Friday night. They moved us to another fabulous property they manage and provided us with one of the best weekends we could have imagined. What would have been added costs and most likely a disappointing weekend for our group, turned into a very memorable on...

We arranged a holiday with Holiday Rental Specialists prior to the first round of covid lock down. With the growing number of cases and having a young family we requested Holiday Rental Specialist attempt to re-book the property on our behalf. After a week I went online and noticed the property was booked; however after contacting the agency, they advised it had not been updated and this was still our booking.

The March lock down then occurred, so when we attempted to seek a refund the agency would not comply and requested we pay an addition ...

It was meant to be a holiday but not when dealing with this ‘specialist’ service. The worst booking experience ever. Do everything possible to avoid. Be aware of additional undisclosed charges upon your arrival and their description of rental properties. They take no responsibility and will leave you feeling taken advantage of. Terrible customer service. Would not recommend to anyone or deal with them again.

I own a holiday property. I’ve had it listed with HRS for a year. Biggest mistake ever.
They are so unprofessional, rude to owners, offensive , dismissive , money hungry and it’s so sad to read that guests reviews are just as bad. They have accumulated much revenue from my property but do not disburse an appropriate income back to me. They earn 20% and owners earn 10% if lucky with minimal access to your own property. They claimed this covers the management of bookings and their expertise but instead I’m constantly over charged for cleaning (...

We booked the Platinum Penthouse@the Sebel through these people for April. COVID 19 meant we could not go but they refused a refund, tried to charge us more and said we had to rebook. We rebooked and asked for an early arrival, we get there to find it is not ready and was not ready until 2pm and the floors still wet when we got in. The unit is nothing close to ‘Platinum’. It’s not Sebel - no foxtel, just free to air, old furniture and decor - the sofa scratched and saggy. The bin in the kitchen is filthy, dented and broken, lights are broken, ...

Made a booking.
Would like to be complementary, but.....
They will not make ANY concessions due to hardship or CORONA VIRUS.
Suggest reading other reviews, and what the court said about the principles of this organisation.
The Codes they "operate under" do not have considerations for the customers.

Charged our credit card a fictitious claim for damaged toilet seat and old pillow case ($400+). Both were already damaged and if bought new would cost under $50. They were super unprofessional and unresponsive when asked about this charge. Unfortunately, I didn't check their rating prior but 1.3 seems to be about right.

We paid for our booking in Culburra Beach 9 to 23 January 2021 and received a confirmation and receipt. But Holiday Rental Specialists then cancelled our booking saying there was a problem with their booking system and the dates were no longer available. But a check revealed that the dates are still available but the price had more than doubled! This firm is unethical.

After having to change a family holiday due to COVID we were hit with additional booking fees .
Once we paid additional fees a booking confirmation was received - only to be cancelled 2 weeks before our holiday . Other booking agencies deserve your business more than HRS who would also provide a better level of service. I would never get them to manage my holiday property even if they managed it for free .

Booked a weekend away (at quite an expense) and received a confirmation email.

A day later another 'confirmation' that said we needed to get in touch.

Then an email to say our booking was cancelled - no apologies and even tried to put it on us for not following up with a call to confirm earlier despite the email stating 'this confirms your booking'

Do not use.

1. No way to pay without incurring fees
2. Credit/rebooking fees ($150) aimed to disadvantage the client despite strict Covid 19 restrictions.
3. A fair weather friend only.
4. Plenty of other companies to use that give refunds or credit without fees. Note: there is a booking fee included in the original total price so this $150 is double dipping and in no way indicative of time spent changing dates.
5. If you are reading this review you are doing your homework before choosing to use or not use this company.
The staff must be embarrassed and stressed with having to handle complaint after complaint. No wonder others have found them rude. I could not work in such an environment.

We had a big problem with the place we booked and called HRS. They acknowledged, understood, and offered options straight away. They then found a great alternative for us in about 10 mins