Windsor Hills Warning

[TheLuckiest]

I had enquired previously about Windsor Hills and had gotten a nice email back with information. I had to change my dates so I enquired back on a new rate. I got about 50 emails and three phone calls. It was so annoying that I will be going with a higher price property just because I am so turned off by the process. I had enquired about a 2 bdrm/2 bath. I was getting emails and calls about a 6 bdrm house! So be forewarned when you use links that are posted here. I really do appreciate all the help!

Jenny

 

[wdwmouse]

Hi,
We have our home listed on the Windsor Hills website that is often given out on this site. The problem is, the inquiry form is confusing. Make sure you check what type of accomodation you would like. There is an option for 2 and 3 bedroom condos, 3 bedroom townhomes, and 4,5,6 bedroom pool homes. Otherwise, the inquiry goes to "all properties" so hundreds of owners get your request.

Also, you do not have to fill in your phone number, just leave it blank. I would never call anyone. (unless they would ask) Too presumptious! It's helpful to owners if you make some kind of comment in the box so we know exactly what you are looking for, and if your dates are flexible.
I understand your frustration. I made an inquiry for a family member (for a time we were already booked) and inadvertantly sent it to "all properties". I got all kinds of e-mails!

Sorry you had such an annoying flood of responses!

 

[sjanus]

There is also a private enquiry form for each owner, and you can enquire to specific properties in which you are interested. To the left after you pull up a specific property is a personal website you can also access to gain more information about the property, pictures, often virtual tours, and rates.

Sandy

 

[mareed]

As already mentioned, I just don't enter my phone # because I don't want anyone calling me in response. I also specifically set up a new hotmail account when making an inquiry like this so that my "regular" email isn't flooded with the responses. Also, as someone else mentioned, you do have to be sure and select which type of property you want, otherwise the inquiry does go out to all homes by default.

To the OP, sorry you received responses that you weren't expecting! You didn't mention which site you used, but I've found www.windhorhillsrent.com to be great for making a general inquiry and much quicker than sending individual requests like at VRBO.com. (Although I do use both when doing my searches!)

 

[pk1959]

I made the same mistake of putting my phone number in on one of the sites. Don't really remember which one it was since it was last year. Within 5 minutes the phone started ringing. NEVER AGAIN.

I also put in very specific 'need' for what we were looking to rent that it MUST have a hot spa. I'll bet I got 50+ replies from people who didn't even have a spa. That happened two years in a row. I can't really think of any way around that problem. Didn't make the phone number mistake again though!!

 

[sjanus]

Please remember that Windsor Hills Rent is only one site to find condos, townhomes, and homes in Windsor Hills. It does not equal Windsor Hills.....so the article should read Windsor Hills Rent Warning rather than Windsor Hills Warning as these two things are not the same.

There are 999 condos, townhomes, and homes in Windsor Hills and Windsor Hills Reserve (the newer part), although I am not sure of the breakdown. There are 220 properties on Windsor Hills Rent, of which 143 are condos and townhomes and only 77 are 4, 5, and 6 bedroom homes. So, therefore, there are approximately 779 properties not represented on WHR.

Anytime you have a general enquiry system, this type of thing will happen. And then you get the reverse auction effect, as some of us on there call it, where you have a number of "lowballers" desparate for rentals giving their beautiful places away. However, this does not represent all of us on WHR.

I personally get no rentals from this site, although I am already 50% booked for this year from other sites. I, as an owner, also get very frustrated with this general enquiry system, as I answer tons of e-mails to no avail. I do not call people unless they ask me to, rather provide them with a very detailed response via e-mail if the rental applies to our property.

The WHR site can be a great site if you use it effectively, i.e., knowing what type of property you are looking for before you do the search and indicating such or looking at each property individually and responding to each owner.
If you are searching based on price only, then you are missing out on the individual quality of each beautiful condo, townhome, and home in the prestigious 5 star resort of Windsor Hills.

Sandy

 

[kaseymolly]

I am also a fellow owner at Windsor Hills and it distresses me to read that our potential guests are getting the wrong impression of our wonderful resort because of the way that a very popular owner's website is set up with an 'all properties inquiry' option.

Perhaps the menu may be a bit confusing for some because Windsor Hills Rent does have the ability for a potential guest to send out inquiries directly to each owner. Problem is that many potential guests simply find it so much easier to throw out some dates into the wind to every owner listed on the site which in turn causes an avalanche of replies to the hapless person's inbox.

FYI: Windsor Hills Rent is not the only owner's website for Windsor Hills Resort. There is another owner's site (windsorhillsbest.com) which does not have the general inquiry ability and will not spam you to death in return. Instead the potential guest clicks on direct links to each owner's personal website and makes their inquiries from the contact info that particular owner has provided. Only that owner will reply to you. By looking at the individuality that a personally built website provides as opposed to some cookie cutter VRBO type listing, the guest gets a much better idea of what a particular owner has to offer in the line of included guest amenities, interior photos, availability, rates, etc.

Yes it is a little more time consuming to actually have to look at each listing individually but it's time well spent. Choosing a vacation home should not be taken as lightly as picking a hotel room which are all pretty much identical. Trying to play the Priceline.com scenareo looking for the cheapest rates with vacation homes is a risky roll of the dice. This holds true for vacation homes in the entire Disney area including Windsor Hills. You get what you pay for.

Please don't give up on Windsor Hills just because you had a bad experience from one particular rental website. Take a look at the 'other owner's site' and hopefully we can give you a much better impression of what Windsor Hills is actually like.....Fred

 

[Brian Noble]

As a renter, I strongly prefer the simplicity of the "send one enquiry" model that WHR uses. But, I also use the specific-property-class search (rather than all-sizes), and I do reply to each owner who responds to my query. And, while I appreciate that owners don't necessarily want me to compare only on price (unless they happen to have the lowest one) it absolutely is a factor, once I've eliminated homes that do not have the amenities or furnishings that I prefer. WHR provides a more efficient market for the prospective renter by aggregating several offers at once.

I also put in very specific 'need' for what we were looking to rent that it MUST have a hot spa. I'll bet I got 50+ replies from people who didn't even have a spa.

A few owners set things up to auto-respond to any query that reaches them from that site. For those, it doesn't matter what you put in your comment.

 

[anabella]

Hi
You can choose to send to "All properties" or to specific category (2 beds, 3 beds, etc), you can also only email the properties that you like, you don't have to give you phone if you dont want, it is also good if you have a specific request to put that info at the comments section.
I hope this helps
Ana

 

[TheLuckiest]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback! We actually were contacted by a really nice guy who lives in our area so we feel much better about WH. I have only gotten about 10 phone calls yet a whole lot more emails, which were easy to delete. After having calmed down, we have decided to give the property another chance.

Jenny

 

[eldres]

I recently inquired about a rental and also received several emails.I found them overwelming,however it was the one person who called me personally that I am booking with.I personally was glad that I could get my questions answered in a timely manner.