“You look forward to your holiday all year and you want to book it easily, and save money,” says Darren, a holiday rental specialist who runs, Worldwide Holiday Homes. “If you automatically think ‘travel agent,’ you’re missing out on internet world. Just ask thousands of people who reserve villas, apartments and cottages through our companies website. Booking your holiday online means you can look for best deals, and search in comfort of your own home.”

Darren says rise of Internet has made it easier and more convenient to seek out and reserve a holiday home, why stay in an overcrowded hotel, when you get have privacy that a villa holiday brings. No more shared swimming pools, instead relax in privacy within your own pool. If you’re nervous about dealing one-on-one with a holiday home owner, don’t be. Darren says that some of nervousness is brought on by travel agents, who advise against booking a private holiday rental, as companies offering rentals are not ABTA bonded. Providing you get adequate travel insurance, and are cautious and follow some simple booking instructions, you can minimize risk:

- Speak to owner of property, you can learn a lot about a person, and you'll probably feel much comfortable than communicating through email - which can be impersonal.

- Each property owner will have their own way of processing a booking but, as a guideline, you should expect to pay a deposit to secure booking of between 10% - 50% of total rental. This is normally paid either by cheque or by bank transfer and owner should confirm booking and receipt of your payment by letter or by e-mail.