Samantha Brown visits Orlando
I was a lucky guy yesterday as I got to meet the host of the Travel Channel’s “Great Vacation Homes“, “Sam’s Disney Favorites“, “Girl Meets Hawaii” and the soon to be aired “Passport to Great Weekends“… the lovely Samantha Brown.
Samantha said something that made me stop and think… she was talking about the reasons why people travel and why they take vacations. She said “most people take a vacation to tune out but what they really should be doing is tuning in… to their family, their partner, their friends and to themselves.”
I have to admit it stopped me for a moment and then I thought “wow…she’s absolutely right”. It also made me realize that what we do at Florida Leisure Vacation Homes is exactly that. We provide people with fantastic vacations and fantastic vacation homes so that they can spend quality time with the people they love the most… so they can “tune in” to each other.
It occurred to me that even though hotels can provide the same experience to a degree they can’t quite provide the intimacy that a vacation home provides. Hotels, you see, have other people involved. Other people at the pool, other people in the dining room, other people wandering around the corridors and hallways… and other people in places you just don’t want to see them.
Vacation homes, on the other hand, provide a completely relaxing and totally private atmosphere for all the family to enjoy. Everyone gets their own space…ie., 1) their own bedroom (no cramped hotel room where everyone falls over each other… or fights for the tv remote… yeah, I know… I have that battle with my kids every time we have to stay in a hotel room 🙁 ) , 2) their own living room where they can watch TV as a family or they can retreat to their own bedroom and watch something else, 3) they can cook or eat what they like in their own fully equipped kitchen with no lines… no bad service to encounter… and they can save heaps of money…. big bonus…eat what you want, when you want and at a price you can afford! 4) and best of all, their own private swimming pool to do exactly what they wish without having to worry about perfect strangers getting in the way.
Yeah that’s right. People vacationing in a home get all that… time to “tune in” to their loved ones and time to “tune in” to themselves”.
The other thing that Samantha said was “How does a place make you feel… what is the emotional value of a place?” and that set me thinking of some of the great feedback and comments we have had from our guests and members. Comments like this from Geneva Ormond from Illinois, Chicago who said:
“I love retirement & that is why I love Florida Leisure Vacation Homes. We come down to relax, rest & recreation. The house is so large, all the family can enjoy without being stacked on top of each other. Some can swim, others can cook or BBQ, watch TV in each room. I just love it & the house is awesome.”
or Pat Scott from Columbus, Ohio who said:
“We really love the house & location to Disney World. The house has all the comforts of home & my family truly enjoyed the time we spent there. All and all it was fantastic. When our friends see our vacation pictures I expect you will be getting bookings.”
or Jack Greenhalgh from Williamsburg, VA who commented:
“The house was perfect for the family. The location was terrific, allowing us to easily bring the kids to the house for lunch & a pool romp before going back to the park.”
and it’s when you read comments like this… plus the hundreds and hundreds of others we have collected… that you really realise what this company and what the people who work for it are all about. We’re giving people wonderful experiences and memories that will last forever. Sometimes when we’re going about our normal lives we forget that… so today, thanks to Samantha Brown… I’ve had a jolt that brought me back to my roots… it’s great to do something in life that makes other people’s lives better. Thanks for the reminder Samantha… it was great to meet you.
