VillaSpain - Press Releases & Articles

Villaspain Vanquishes Spanish Holiday Carbon Footprint

March 13, 2008 - Press Dispensary - A new phenomenon in holiday planning is guilt: concern that the overseas holiday habit, with its accompanying addiction to air travel, is irreparably harming the environment. Greening away not only the guilt but the underlying environmental harm, Brighton-based Spanish villa agent, Villaspain ( http://www.villaspain.co.uk ), is launching a tree planting programme which will cancel the carbon debt of every customer's flights and car hire, so that they can holiday abroad with a clear conscience.

And Villaspain customers don’t have to pay a penny to offset the environmental cost of their travel.

Villaspain got out its carbon calculator and worked out the number of trees needed to absorb the carbon dioxide created by every holidaymaker travelling to one of its villas in Spain. A customer taking a return flight from London to Alicante, for example, and hiring a car for their holiday, would typically be responsible for half a ton of CO2 emissions. By planting a tree for every customer, which will absorb approximately 0.7 tons of CO2 over its lifetime, Villaspain will render his or her flights and car hire ‘carbon neutral’.

Bruce Gibson, owner of Villaspain, says: “Eco-minded tourists can now take the green option when booking their Spanish villa holiday. As well as access to the best privately-owned villas on the beautiful Costa Blanca, booking through Villaspain guarantees that your carbon emissions have been offset for guilt-free fun in the sun.”

A ‘clickometer’ on the company’s website tallies the numbers of trees planted in real-time, and is already heading for the 2,000 mark. Planting is conducted independently by an accredited charity specialising in agro forestry throughout the developing world.

Customers complete the villa booking process in the normal way, and the agency automatically allocates a tree for every person (including children and babies) included on the booking form. In most cases the tree will have been planted by the time the customer flies. The program covers all guests arriving at its villas in 2008, even if booked in 2007.

In addition, Villaspain is cementing its green credentials by carbon offsetting its 20 staff in the UK and Spain, restoring the balance of the 10 tons of CO2 each individual incurs every year with additional tree planting.

Villaspain’s CO2 emission calculations are based on information from www.carbonneutral.com

Villaspain takes the strain out of searching for accommodation in Costa Blanca, Espana

Fed up with the depressing prospect of a grey winter followed by an uncertain summer? Fancy making an informed decision to skip off to Sunny Spain? Villaspain, the Brighton based accommodation agent, today launches a website at www.villaspain.co.uk that gives travellers detailed information about affordable luxury rental villas on Spain's Costa Blanca.

Thanks to the site, the holidaymaker can obtain comprehensive results about suitable accommodation even when entering limited criteria, such as the month of intended travel. The results will show thumbnail pictures and key features of the villas available for that month and, in clear detail, options available on alternative departure dates with respective weekly rental prices and any extra charges.

Holidaymakers can also search by the number of bedrooms they need or the location for their intended break.

Those seeking a longer escape can use helpful charts to search the availability of long term lets over any 10 week period. This is ideal for arranging a winter in the sun!

The site also includes virtual tours and an extensive picture gallery that increases the traveller's knowledge of their holiday accommodation.

Bruce Gibson at Villaspain comments: 'We have strived to overcome the hurdles of restricted information delivery that face most travellers seeking a villa online. These generally involve too many click thrus and insubstantial information about the accommodation when they finally reach the desired web pages.'

'We've principally combined the attributes of a hotel booking system and estate agents' particulars to ensure the traveller can find exactly what they desire.'

PRESS ARTICLES

Article in The Observer sunday newspaper (May 2005) and The Lady Magazine (July 2005)

Single solutions - Finding a holiday that's affordable and fun can be hard for one-parent families. Gemma Bowes speaks to five parents to find out their formula for success.
SHAPING UP - Barbara Martin, 47, lives in Kent and is the mother of Jacqui and Vickie Honess-Martin, now 24 and 16. She works for a human resources research organisation.
Our holidays were always a struggle - not just to find something affordable, but also a holiday where we wouldn't be bored stupid.
We often went self-catered with family or friends. We usually went abroad so there was no risk of bad weather and having to spend money on activities. We went on a lot of beach holidays - the beach is a good place to meet people.
Single parent families change shape more frequently than traditional models. Before Vickie was born I had holidays just with Jacqui, then the three of us, then me and Vickie. Now I have a boyfriend, so we can afford to take a friend for Vickie. How you can do it?
Villa Spain (01273 623723; www.villaspain.co.uk) has one-bedroom apartments sleeping four in Calpe. A week in July costs from £500. Return flights from Gatwick to Alicante cost around £210 for an adult and one child with Easyjet (0871 750 0100; www.easyjet.com)