If you want to know the history of the creation of Dream Holiday 4 You, get to know me better, about the birth of my passion, I invite you to read the interview.
I would like to thank Dominika Zakrzewska, owner of the “Abayomi” Translation Center of Spanish and Portuguese, for the opportunity to tell my story and the history of the creation of Dream Holiday 4 You.
It is a great honour for me.
Many of you think that working as an agent is a simple job, unfortunately it is not. It is hard work and many aspects contribute to its success. The truth is, we don’t do it alone, it’s primarily a well-matched team of associates. Success is said to have many fathers, and in my case it is. Dream Holiday 4 You would not be in the place where it is now without the cooperation of wonderful people.
Special thanks are due to: Dominika Świerszcz, Kamila Jesse and Gosia N, for great cooperation. These three wonderful people take care of the guests on site and the properties receive very high opinions for cleanliness and service. Always willing to help and support. Nothing is impossible for them.
Another person that deserves recognition is Bartłomiej, the owner of AutoAlicante.pl, a car rental company. He cares for each client with the utmost care and punctuality.
I thank you with all my heart for being there, for supporting and helping me.
Let’s talk about your business – Dream Holiday 4 You
Today we will talk to Urszula Pomykala, who created the unique company Dream Holiday 4 you, dealing with acquiring guests for short-term rentals and their comprehensive service. She is an industry expert and is quite successful. She recently wrote a book Costa Blanca Travel Guide, aimed at property owners, so they can support their visitors, introduce the wonderful Costa Blanca region and use it to advertise their property.
Please tell me about the beginnings of your business.
It all started in 2010, when we first went on vacation to Spain and rented an apartment directly from the owner. It was then that I began to quietly dream about my own apartment. This is how my adventure with short-term rental began. We left 2-3 times a year, sometimes we rented the same property several times, and sometimes we were looking for another. I have always created maps of where and what to visit. I got to know the region and the surrounding area. In 2018 I became the owner of a dream apartment in Spain, in Playa Flamenca. Long before the purchase, I knew, or rather I was sure, how I would run the rental. We signed the deed of ownership of the apartment on March 29 and we had our first guests on April 8. Rental grew more and more every day. Lots of people started writing to me asking for rent.
Where did this idea come from? My ambition and willingness to develop made my dreams come true. My dream was real estate and work to develop creativity. For about 1.5 years of renting my apartment, I had so many inquiries about the rental that I was not able to accept reservations at home, so I started looking for free apartments from other owners and returned reservations. That is why I made the decision to set up Dream Holiday 4 You, which deals with attracting guests for short-term rentals.
The short-term rental industry is already quite familiar, but your business operates in a really unique way.
Dream Holiday 4 You – is a real estate agency that operates and is successful in the Spanish real estate market. My company operates in the short-term (vacation) rental real estate sector. It is a modern company distinguished by an individual and honest approach to each client. My clients’ goals are my priority, which is why I constantly improve my qualifications and expand my offer. I am an expert in my field, I do what I like and I am very successful. As an intermediary, I improve my skills and raise my professional qualifications. I perform my duties with the utmost diligence, based on moral and ethical standards and in accordance with the law. My professional and business skills can be confirmed by reliable documentation of courses completed with the final exam. I have certificates issued by the Ministry of National Education (MEN) and recognized throughout Europe. I do everything to provide my clients with the highest level of service and maximum security of rental and booking.
My business does not work like any real estate agency. It’s not just about customer acquisition. My work starts when the rental contract is signed and ends when the guests end their vacation. I am available to guests at any time. I create maps, translate the menu, help choose the attraction and places worth visiting, help book plane tickets, organize transport from and to the airport, car rental and many more according to the client’s needs. As a company, I have a contract with a company that deals with transport, car rental and organizing trips. The results of an agent’s work are influenced by many factors: knowledge, experience, knowledge of the local market and region, and effective advertising. I care about building relationships with the client, success in the real estate industry is primarily building trust.
Each agent sees competition in the other agent. I do not recognize the word competition, it is not us, the agents, who have the influence on which property customers choose. It all depends on our commitment, creativity and approach to the client. My clients are never left alone without support and help. If I do not have any vacancies in the real estate offered, I still transfer my bookings to other agencies, often without a commission. I have a lot of knowledge about the region, attractions and places to visit and that was the direct impulse for writing and publishing the book Costa Blanca Travel Guide. It took me about 2 years to write the book, mainly because I had a serious problem getting the right photos. The guide describes well-known and less-known places, those that you won’t even read about on the Internet. The book was published in two languages: Polish and English. Currently, it is only available to property owners so that they can support their guests, introduce the wonderful region of the Costa Blanca and use it to advertise their property.
As for the scope of services, for the property owner it will be:
Preparation of an individual rental strategy
Creating a description of the offer taking into account the advantages of the property
Competitiveness of the offer
Preparation of a secure lease agreement – Eng. / Pl.
Preparation of professional advertising – Eng. / Pl.
Preparation, publication and full service of advertisements on the most popular websites such as: Homeaway, Holidaylettings, Booking, Airbnb and other.
Preparation of rental regulations according to arrangements with the owner – Eng. / Pl.
And for customers:
Creating a welcome package for tenants with information about the property and the immediate area.
Support in the organization of transport from / to the airport.
Support in choosing and organizing tours.
Linguistic support according to customer needs – English, Spanish, Polish
Organization of the first grocery shopping.
Support in booking and renting a car.
And any others according to customer needs.
Work with the client begins when the rental contract is signed and ends when the client’s holiday ends.
What are the main assumptions of the business and who is it directed to?
My main assumption is ‘Let’s treat our clients as we would like to be treated ourselves’. I mean, of course, both the property owners and the guests who book their vacation with me.
The recipient is people who are looking for a suitable holiday rental offer as well as a property owner who focuses on the quality of service. It is very important to me that the customers are satisfied and recommend my services upon their return.
It all sounds really impressive. Have you encountered any difficulties on your way?
The biggest difficulty I have encountered so far is the unfair attitude of some property owners. The owner requires the customer to accept and follow the regulations, but does not stick to the rules that they have set themselves.
Do you have any plans for how you would like to develop your business further?
With passion and principles. Being an agent requires constant development, an open mind and motivation. My next step is to complete the professional Facebook course. The skills acquired during this course will open another door for me, which will allow me to acquire appropriate knowledge about Social Media tools, which nowadays rule the world of advertising and marketing. I just finished the Business in Social Media course. Facebook is the next step, but not the last. My biggest challenge, goal and dream is to learn Spanish. Thanks to my hard work, I have gained attractiveness and credibility on the market, thanks to which I have received an offer this year from several other real estate agencies from Spain. In cooperation with real estate agencies, I want to develop my professional career, so I decided to sign three contracts and take another step towards real estate trading. Each person who buys a property is my potential client for short-term rental properties. What will happen next, I think time will tell. I love what I do, it gives me a lot of satisfaction, I am professionally fulfilled, I develop my passions and I can certainly achieve a lot more.
Of course, my family supports me in everything. Without the help of my relatives, I would not have been able to finish my book, raise my professional qualifications and develop my business. My partner, Maciej, is always patient, understanding and ready to support and help at any time. He has always inspired me, supported me with advice and encouraged me. It was he who supported me and helped me run the house. He was always there when I needed him, he read, edited, advised and constructively criticized. Wiktoria and Julia, our wonderful daughters, have fully translated the book into English. It was they who put up with my endless messages asking for a translation or a translation check.
In the near future, I intend to translate and publish the book in other languages.
Thank you very much for the interview and I wish you further success.
