Aren’t vacations the salvation we all need to fill the glorious, thoughtful idleness, the gaping black hole drilled in our souls by the modern world? In theory, that might be the case. But, as we learn more and more as we get older and raise families, holidays are also massively stressful.

Have we been sure to choose the best resort in the best destinations? Have we paid the best price? Have we got the best room? Are we eating in the correct, recommended restaurants and ordering the best dishes? Have we ticked off the must see local sights on the list in the guide book?

Most of us who have organised a fair few holidays, especially vacations for the whole family, will be able to list a hundred different angst inducing comments of a similar nature.

Middle class professionals who have tired of the all-round lack of “holiday” afforded by regular holidays usually alight at some point on the vacation home, as a solution to the ever more consuming problem of how to carve out a bit of truly satisfying R & R, where there’s more by the way of blackberry picking than blackberry texting!

But the classic home in the country solution to the family holiday conundrum equally has so many drawbacks that a substantial proportion of people abandon the experiment after a while and retreat to the cities, somewhat scorched by the rural experience. Much the same happens to people who buy holiday homes abroad, plus in their case the increasing hassle and expense of flying further diminishes the pleasure.

The worst problem traditional second homes encounter is the sense that the real, working locals resent their relaxed, laid back presence. The very kind of tranquil mode we try, if we are wise, to adopt in the country, is an affront to working countrymen and women. Paradoxically, it’s also the case that the sight of urbanites making money simply by pinging off a few emails from their PDA whilst they are in the queue at the village Post Office could also be seen as practically a form of passive aggression.

Rural people’s disquiet at the presence of incomers is not unfounded; either many villagers have been transformed into ghost settlements by part time urbanites and local economies nastily warped. In many parts of the UK countryside and even Rural Spain, the average house price has soared to 20 or more times the local annual wage. It’s a thoroughly unsustainable distortion, and one unlikely to be dented by even the severest cyclical dip in property values.

The change in the demographic of the most desirable rural honeypots means that the people who maintain the delights of villages, the friendly pub, the village store, the agriculture and so on, can no longer afford to live in them.

There are many Brits that would love to escape our glorious British weather and spend two weeks in a tropical destination! You just need to prompt people you know that you have a Florida vacation villa. The following are the key groups that you should target:

Friends, relatives, and colleagues: This group is an excellent source of bookings. Not only is there a trust element of renting a villas thousands of miles away from an owner that they personally know, but this method is very cost effective. You can easily send an email or Facebook messages to your friends and relatives. At your workplace you can leave a flyer on the staff noticeboard. At social gatherings, such as weddings, Christmas or birthdays mention you have a Florida vacation villa. Offer them incentives like a small ‘friends and family’ discount or provide a ‘thank you’ gift voucher for referring your villa to someone they may know who is planning a holiday to Florida.

Your neighbours: Neighbours are also a good source of bookings. With neighbours why not post low cost flyers in your street informing the neighbourhood that you have a rental villa in Florida. Again, you can offer incentives like a ‘neighbourhood’ discount or provide ‘thank you’ gift vouchers for referring your villa to someone they may know who is planning a holiday to Florida.

Use local newspapers and magazines: There are many free and local newspapers and magazines where you can advertise your villas. The readerships for these papers are still significant, despite the growth of the internet. You can place a low cost advert in the classified section or you can try out a larger ad and place it in the holiday section of the news paper or magazine. However, keep the costs as low as possible with this form of advertising as the cost can quickly spiral! Remember you should have a compelling advert and you can also include special offers, such as ’10% off for January’.

Newsagent / Supermarkets: You can easily place a postcode size advert in your local newsagents window. A good place would be a high street newsagent opposite a tube station or bus stop. Placing a small advert in supermarkets such as Tesco’s, Asda or Sainsbury’s can yield good results. Most supermarkets have notice boards behind the checkout tills or even a designated commercial advertising section. Make sure your postcard advert visually stands out amongst all the other adverts.

Community Centres, Churches, Sports Halls, Libraries: These community based locations usually have high traffic and they may have a general noticeboard. You should place a good quality A4 poster advertising your vacation villa and with any luck, this l may generate some enquiries.

As experienced Florida villaowners, have used these methods to increase enquires and obtain those vital bookings. You just never know when someone is looking to go on holiday and maybe be enticed by your Florida vacation villas!