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What is the booking and payment procedure?
How do I settle the payment of the second half upon arrival?
When is the security deposit returned?
Do room rentals follow the same reservation procedure?
Can I rent for just a few days? Which is the minimum period rental period?
Are your properties in safe locations?
Can I have hardcopy receipts of papers, for ex. contracts, receipts etc.?
Are there large apartments in Rome's centre?
Which rental companies are not serious in Rome?
How do you get to Pompeii from Rome?
Is there a parking problem in the centre of Rome?
Is there a special Christmas / End of the year booking policy?
Q: How do I enquire? How can I know about the
rental price?
R: If you want us to give you advice and price
information, please write to us (address:
info@romeapartments-directory.info)
and inform us about the following requirements / preferences:
- if you want a ROOM or an APARTMENT
- in the latter case (apartment), please indicate us the required SIZE: number of
bedrooms, if you need a sitting room etc.
- LOCATION: try to give us precise preferences and to avoid generic locations (for ex. a
"central apartment"). This of course if you can, if not we will try to
understand.
- SPECIAL PREFERENCES OR REQUIREMENTS: for ex. a terrace, antique furniture, near to a
school, ground floor as you cannot climb stairs, air conditioning etc. Please consider
that some special features might make the price increase).
- NUMBER OF PERSONS composing the group, and possibly their age.
- BUDGET, i.e. expected maximum cost of the rent. Please do not forget this important
detail which enables us to look for the most suitable accommodation for you. Related to
this point, is indication of the required quality (if simply nice, or very elegant etc.).
- RENTAL PERIOD, possibly with indication of the dates of arrival and departure, a very
important element to organize your accommodation.
We will reply to you promptly as soon as we receive your message. We will inform you about
property availability and relevant prices. Thank you.
Do you have a SEARCH ENGINE to search want I want within your site?
R: YES, please click here to go to the page with the search engine.
R: What is included in the price?
R: - utility consumption with generous
limits (electricity: 10 kW daily average for 2 persons, 1 kW daily for every person more /
gas: 1cubic meter - MC- in Summer, 5 MC in Winter). If the limit is exceeded (it is
very unlikely), then the normal Italian fares are applied: 350 Ital. Lira (app. 20 cents)
per kW and 1,220 Ital. Lira (app. 0.58 US$) per MC.
Beware: the large majority of proprietors and rental agencies in Rome
(including foreign ones) will make you pay the utilities at a higher price than it
actually costs: 400-600 Ital. Lira per kW and 1,400-1,600 per MC.
- cleaning fees (the property must be left in good order though) at the
beginning and at the end of the stay.
- agency commission, paperwork, taxes.
Outgoing phone calls are not included, and are billed according to the customary Italian
fares (200 Ital. Lira - app. 10 US cents per unit).
Q: What other services do you offer? Do you have for ex. a car service?
R: We also offer various side services:
- professional extra cleaning (apart from the cleaning at the beginning
and at the end of the stay). The cost is 12 Euro per hour (app. 18 US$).
- professional baby sitter: it will cost you
15 Euro per hour
(app. 22 US$).
- professional car service, with pick-up at the airport or train station
to the apartment or viceversa. The fares vary depending on the requested car and on the
direction of the transport. For ex.:
- with a Mercedes Standard Limousine it will cost you 60 Euro
appr. 90 US$
from the airport to the apartment, while the opposite transfer will cost you app. 20,000
Ital. Lira less (10 US$).
- if you are more than three persons or you are loaded with luggage and you need a van, it
will cost you app. 80 Euro app. 118 US$ from the airport to the apartment.
- if you are more than 6 a minibus could be the solution and it costs
90 Euro appr. 132 US$.
The reservation of the car service, generally done with expensive cellular phone calls to
the driver, is free for our customers. The car service is extremely
professional, attentive and courteous, and has been selected by us among all the car
service companies in Rome. The driver will wait for you just out of the customs area in
the airport with a banner with your name.
You can find all the information about the car service, and online form to book online (we
are the only ones doing this in Italy, and we are proud of it), in this page of our site:
http://www.romecarservice.it
(click on the link to go to the page).
A possible negative aspect can be that if your plane is late you will have to pay a 10,000
Ital. Lira (app. 5 US$) per hour fee to the driver waiting for you, so if your plane is
very late the service can become expensive. This is why most people prefer in any case to
take the regular taxies which can be found out of the gate immediately after the customs
area. If you want to have more information about regular taxies or public transport from
the airport to the town or viceversa please go to this page (click):
http://www.romanhomes.com/airports.htm
The same car service company we have chosen can organize transfer to towns around Rome,
including the ones in Umbria (Assisi, Orvieto etc.), to Pompeii, Amalfi, Naples etc. We
will also instruct you on how using regular taxies in Rome. Please
inquire.
R: Which is the best season to visit Rome? When is high season?
R: Rome is a unique town in that it is interesting all year round, yet March, May, June and October are considered the best months to visit. Consequently there is great demand in these months, and prices are higher. Needless to say the same situation occurs at Easter, Christmas and New Year. Other months which are considered high season are April, July and September. Practically there are few periods which are medium-low season: January, February and November (with the notable exception of the week with Thanksgiving. August is a particular month: it is medium-high season for weekly rentals, mid-low if you are planning to stay longer.
Q: I would like to know more about your company.
R: Back in the early '90 we were a cultural
society of Rome University. With a philosophy of hospitality and of friendly,
constructive international relations in our mind we hosted
European University members and people visiting Rome for cultural
reasons.
In 2001 we created a specific hospitality service. We experienced a continuous increase in demand of our service from people of all over the
world. We consequently increased both the property supply needed to match our guests' (we
prefer to call our customers this way) requirements. We created
hence a new service specialized in helping foreigners finding a home in Rome and Italy,
thus enabling them to enjoy the remarkable cultural heritage and potentials of the
country.
Q. Can properties be inspected?
International rentals organized by a Company like ours processing many customers from
70 countries world-wide generate a very big working pressure, and this is why we do not
show properties to customers. Last and not least, in the apartments there are also the
guests who have come for a short period in Rome, and they don't like these inspections.
We also run an internet-based rental activity, which generates an unbelievable pressure
and a lot to work. This is the price we pay to make customers benefit of the advantages of
the internet technology.
For all these reasons we present a complete coverage on the apartments, and we put so many
photos of the apartments and of the location. There is nobody in the world showing all the
photos of apartments and of the location as we do.
Properties can be inspected for stays over two weeks.
Q: What is the booking
and payment procedure?
R: It is very
simple. Should you be taking the apartment, then we will
E-mail you a very detailed invoice prompting you to send 30% (thirty per cent) or one
third (in some selected properties) of the above mentioned amount by way of account and as
deposit to book and secure the accommodation.
The deposit can be sent:
1) if you live in the USA and in the United Kingdom: by credit card with Western Union.
Recently in fact Roman Homes and Western Union teamed up to offer this service. It is
called "Quick pay". You can make payment by phone to a tool free telephone
number of Western Union.
2) In all countries in the world in one of the thousands of Western Union branches, still
with the system called "Quick pay". It will cost you a very modest fee, a lot
less than regular banks.
3) Through a regular bank transfer from the bank you use normally. A bank
transfer will cost you a fee that your bank will charge in your country.
Q: How do I settle the payment of the second half upon arrival?
R: Upon arrival to the apartment, you will have to settle the balance of the rent in
Ital. Liras, but you will be able to bring your currency or traveler's cheques for safety
reasons, and change them in banks nearby before the check-in at the apartment, or even
after the check-in if you cannot change before.
Our company will write down quickly a simple final contract, and there is nothing to pay
for this work.
You will also have to leave a security deposit for
each apartment, returned at the end of your stay.
R: The security deposit is returned at the end of your stay (check out) if you have not
caused damages (different from those caused by normal use), and once you have paid the
phone bill (if any).
Because the security deposit is yours (and not part of the rent), it will be only held,
and it can be made of Euro or US$, or even by any western currency at leisure for
this purpose only.
Q: Do room rentals follow the same reservation procedure?
R: No, the procedure is quite different from that of
apartment rentals. Our room booking policy is aimed at reducing prices as much as we can.
On the other hand, the rents in Rome are high (it is a capital city of extraordinary
historical importance). Both reasons do not allow us to accept reservations too much in
advance in order not to have empty periods (on the contrary of apartments belonging to the
"holiday rentals section", which can be booked ahead). Reservations are made
only if a particular room happens to be reconsigned approximately at the same date in
which a potential tenant might want to rent it. The ideal reservation should be made 15-21
days upon the rental begins.
Nevertheless we have organized a room rental service together with a cultural society of
Rome. With this room service it is possible to book. The unit is called "Domus
Janiculum" as it is located in the most panoramic and airy of Rome's seven hills, the
Janiculum. The page presenting this new possibility is (click on the link to go to the
page):
http://www.romanhomes.com/domus-janiculum.htm
Q: Can I rent for just a few days? Which is the minimum period to rent?
R: We do have very nice apartments in Rome, offered at
reasonable prices, but we rent for a minimum stay of one week. The sheer high cost of
property in Rome, together with the cost of our business, makes it impossible for us to
rent for shorter terms, which would imply a loss of rented days since people usually for
weekly periods. Besides, visiting Rome in a just a few days is next to a waste of time, as
it takes at least a week to see the abc of the countless monuments or sights. There are
more art masterpieces in Rome then *any European town* and even more than in most European
countries put together! When you will visit Rome you will understand why the Romans say
that a lifetime is not enough to know it or visit it. All the ones who visit Rome
know well that it is not a town that can be worked out with a fast tourist visit.
On the other hand we try to help and organize rentals for those who need to stay for just
a few days. We generally try to put up these people in an empty periods between two
rentals, please enquire.
Q: Are your properties in safe locations?
R:
Rome, like any western
European town, is a "safe" place. When we Europeans hear this question from
Americans we do not understand what they mean, and some would consider a little offensive.
We never use this expression. Sometimes there are a few peripheral quarters were young
boys might still mopeds or exceptionally a car. If there is a robbery it is reported in
the national news because it is an extraordinary event. It is quite exceptional.
Moreover there is no racism (apart a few fanatics, emargined by all). You will be renting
a property in Europe, so you should consider the specific features of the place were you
are going. Only in the poor regions of Southern Italy (which is a different world in its
own right) there can be unsafe quarters.
The only serious problem one can find in Rome like in any big European town with many
tourists is the presence of pickpockets. They are almost never Italian or locals, but poor
immigrants (the large majority of them are honest though). Their base seems to be the
train station and public transport. If one is aware and alert, taking all necessary
precautions, the pickpockets will not harm him / her. Generally speaking, in Europe one
can walk everywhere between Rome and Stockholm at any time without being harmed by
anybody. We do not even think of this problem.
R: References in Europe are not highly considered for a number of reasons:
- it is consider that they interfere with the private life of previous
tenants of properties. They are hence considered inappropriate, and also illegal.
- they are not an international criteria, but rather a frequent North American habit
(consequently regional). In Italy, it is the potential tenant who must supply references
(in other words, in North America tenants think that the ones renting should convince
them, in Italy it is the opposite: tenants should convince the agency or the proprietors,
as property can be expensive and the Italians care a lot about their homes and about
manners). We do not follow both criteria for the same reason (they are not international
criteria, but rather regional).
- references above all are a bad criteria: they can be organized dishonestly by bad people
in cahoots, telling you all they want.
- on the other hand, as mentioned, they violate the privacy of good people, making them
work for us too. This is considered unacceptable in Europe.
- last and not least, references are not a professional criteria that can be organized by
an international rental company carrying on its activity in industrial quantity. How could
we possibly organize such references as a working procedure?
- we were victims of "scams" in the internet. In one occasion college students
have rented a deluxe apartment writing to us and making the entire transaction in the name
of their mother. Then when they arrived in Rome they said their mother would have come
later, which she never did. They had wild alcoholic and marijuana parties inviting all
their friends in Rome (who stayed overnight). They caused 700 US$ damages and scampered
the last morning leaving a battlefield. The security deposit was well below the damage
(also moral) they caused. And then people say that there are fears of having scams in the
internet: we were the victims!
- very few rental companies present properties with such detailed description, with many
photos of the units and also of the location. We also offer accurate and thorough company
information. We also own 40 web sites (!) and so we are well known both at the Internic
(the American organization registering sites), and to the NIC (the respective Italian
organization).
Most of the American tenants in this page volunteered in a spontaneous way to
act as references, but we do not want them to be engaged (for the reasons mentioned
above).
R: It is quite some time that we do not have brochures, for a number of reasons.
Operating in the internet (and also with foreign cooperating institutions and agencies)
has changed our way of working. We have many people enquiring from many countries in the
world. Their preferences are very varied, and - applied to a historical town like Rome
with thousands facets -, they cannot be handled with a brochure, which is quite static. In
fact a catalogue could be published twice every year (at the best), while our internet
site, which is practically our catalogue presently, is changed in some part nearly every
day.
Our customers want photos, photos, photos... maps, descriptions, info etc. and we can do
this practically by publishing all this in our site (or separately by e-mail), with a very
hectic continuous feedback.
It is all this work which made our site the most attended in Italy in our category, and
one of the major in the world.
Probably there is no other site or catalogue in the world supplying so many photos and
information. So please check our web site periodically:
Q: Can I have hardcopy receipts of all contracts?
The internet companies procedures (e-mail etc.) cut off prices 30-50% compared to
hardcopy "snail mail" dispatches to deliver you the same exact documents you
would receive with normal mail. This is possible because it takes less time and work for a
single operation (especially in a highly "bureaucratized" society like the
Italian one). Working in the internet means hence less work for hardcopy letters and
wrappings, yet on the other hand it means non-stop work. People like us working in the
internet experience working pressure in unbelievable amount. This big quantity makes
it possible for us to reduce prices, yet it makes it impossible for us to send normally
contracts, receipts etc. by ordinary mail.
For the same reasons it you want us to fax things to you, we might ask you an additional
fee for the expensive phone fares from Europe to other places.
Q: How is the arrival organized? What happens upon arrival?
R: Check-ins are organized *directly at the apartments*. Some
time (7-14 days) before arrival, you should contact us informing us both of your exact
arrival time in Rome, and also about by which means you will arrive (train, car, airplane
etc.). Depending on this information, we will decide together a time for the check-in at
the apartment.
We will give you the necessary information that you will require or ask: how to get to the
apartment from the airport or train station, with regular taxies or by public
transportation. If you require a car service, per the agreement with the car service
company, to avoid possible misunderstandings and to have a complete picture of your
arrival, you should fill in the car service form, which you will find in this page or our
site:
http://www.romanhomes.com/car-service.htm (click on the link to go to the page).
The completed form will arrive to us, we will check if of all the data are in order, and
we will organize your transfer with the car service company.
Q: When
and how check-out is done?
My plane leaves early in the morning. When is check-out performed in these cases?
Check-outs are performed on time, usually the evening
before the departure and reconsignement of the apartment. It is a simple procedure. The
apartment is inspected briefly for possible damages, the utilities are considered to see
if the allowances were followed, possible outgoing phone calls costs are calculated.
Finally the security deposit is given back.
We can also book a taxi of car service for you avoiding language problems. Regular taxies
and the car service are available also for very early check-outs (i.e. at night). Because
the check out procedure is organized in advance, this helps in case you have to leave
early in the morning.
R: Because we supply free individual assistance by E-mail, please
call us during certain times of the day.
Please call (Rome, Italy time): in the morning between 8.30 and 10.30 AM; in the
afternoon between 5and 6 PM; at night between 9.30 and 10.30 PM. Please do not call also
on Saturday nights and on Sundays. If you find the line busy, please call after a few
minutes.
For your information: Rome time is 6 hours ahead the US Eastern time, 9
hours ahead the US Pacific time, 1 hour ahead London time, 9 hours late compared to Sidney
time, and it is the same time of Continental Europe.
Click here to find the telephone number.
Q: Are there large apartments in Rome's historical centre?
R:
Housing in the centre of the most
historical town of the western world (and probably of the world, because although Rome is
"only" 2750 y.o. its architectural layout and art developed constantly and
continuously) is very expensive. This makes large apartments very hard to find. Large
apartments are "confiscated" by the myriad of embassies, ministries,
institutions, foundations, etc. If they belong to very rich people, they do not rent them.
The remaining are divided at some stage in smaller apartments, and this happens
particularly for those apartments that are bound to rentals (to make more profit with
them, as most people require only a one bedroom, one bathroom, sitting room, kitchen). The
consequence is that in Rome's historical centre a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment is
already a large one.
Yet, since we are among the most active in the historical centre, we are the ones having
the largest apartments, including three bedroom, two bathroom ones.
Q: Which rental companies are not serious in Rome?
R: it is now 7 years that we carry on our activity in Rome. We know hence many proprietors, agencies and agents. If you have doubts about the seriousness of some company, write to us, and if we know that they are not serious we will inform you.
Q: How do you get to Pompeii from Rome?
R: You will find all the answers in this page of our
sister site:
http://www.romecarservice.it
can also organize a car service to places of interest around Rome (Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi, Assisi, Orvieto etc.). Please enquire. We also supply information about this matter when you will be in Rome.
Q: Is there parking in the centre of Rome?
In Rome's centre, the centre of the most historical town in the world,
parking is a problem. Even to enter in
the centre with a car you need to prove that you are a resident of those quarters, and it
takes a long time to
have the permit even if you are one. There are also no garages in the very central areas,
but in quarters near the centre. The general attitude of both the authority and the people
is to put every day new restrictions to cars and to car
parking.
Only billionaires can afford to buy the very few 15th century "palazzi" (cost:
not less than 50 million $) which have a little cloister-garden where they can park their
car.
Probably the best thing to do is - as you are a foreigner with a foreign plate and the
authorities are a little tolerant - that you
manage to enter the centre, then park your car near the apartment, and forget it there
using the excellent public transport and your feet to walk to all the sights nearby (they
will be just around you). But - again - you would better forget using the car, which in
Rome, even in the other quarters out of the centre - as all foreigners even living in Rome
agree - is also next to suicidal, because of the chaotic traffic and lack of parking.
Remember, also Romans have the same parking problem, not only the tourists.
The nearest garages, at the edge of the historical centre, are also very expensive (about
30 Euro at least per day appr. 45 $).
Although you could technically do it, as mentioned it would not be comfortable to take the
car from these garages for everyday use in Rome, yet you could take it if you needed
to go around Rome, for ex. for daily excursion to Umbria or Pompeii.
Q: Is there a special Christmas / End of the year booking policy?
R: During the end the year, beginning of the year holidays we have a
specific booking policy. There are two weeks considered: one from
Saturday December 20 to
Saturday Dec. 27h (Christmas), and another from Dec. 27 to
the early days of January. One cannot change these periods. We must do this because in this period there are
three holidays: Christmas, New Year and Epiphany (January 6th).
The groups coming for Christmas want to stay until the 31th or so, the ones coming for New
year would like to come just after Xmas. So the requested periods of the two groups
overlap. We would not be able to accommodate all of them if we do not set a period for
both.
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