Last summer a friend called me and asked if I wanted to accompany her to Mexico City to live and work remotely for the summer. Without hesitation and a strong craving for authentic Mexican food and some sunshine, I packed my bags and hopped on a flight two weeks later.
As someone who works online from their laptop, and really only needs a strong wifi connection to make a living, Mexico City turned out to be the perfect places for travelers like myself. With endless cute cafes serving local robust coffee until 11:00 PM, taco carts sliding up and down every street, and wonderful local people who are always there to lend a helping hand even when they cannot understand your broken Spanish, I quickly fell in love with my new city.
The only thing better than .50 cent chicken tacos and the freshly squeezed orange juice was the vacation rental I had booked for my stay.
Let me tell you, this place was the definition of luxury, and I got it for a price that was below my budget. An indoor pool, fully equipped gym, massive living room, and a fully stocked kitchen was all waiting for me as I unlocked the door to my rental. The vacation home was even better than the pictures and what the listing description had painted out for me.
As I got settled in, my friend called me to say I needed to come over to her vacation rental right away. I heard urgency and passion in her voice so I picked up my purse and caught the next taxi to her apartment. I was so excited to see the place she had booked for the summer.
After a short taxi ride, I was at her apartment, eager as ever. I knocked a few times and my friend opened the door without saying a word. I took a step in, and it didn’t take long before my jaw hit the floor.
Instantly, I was brought back to every college kids home I had ever seen. You know, old ratty furniture, random trinkets poorly decorating the walls, odd games situated in the living room, a worn out bed, and the smell of musk lingering throughout.
We stood there silent and in total disbelief. Luckily, my friend was over the phase of being furious from being wrongly marketed to, and had approached the stage of emotions of laughter with a side of “is this really happening?!”
There was no way she was going to live like this. Let me remind you we were in town for the next two months.
I think this is a story I will remember forever. One, because now it gives us both a laugh when we talk about our trip to Mexico, and two, when I search for a vacation rental for ANY trip, now I am always reminded to be detailed in my search.
Today I go to great lengths to find the perfect fit for my trip and my needs. Whether this is reading two-year-old reviews, dissecting every photo, or maybe even google mapping the location.
So, when JZ Vacation Rentals announced we will be adding a virtual reality tour to our property listings, I was over the moon excited.
Being in the vacation rental industry, I understand just how important this technology is for customer service.
But it’s from our first-hand customer experiences that I know we are making the right choice when investing in this technology for our customers.
Here is why we invest in virtual tour technology to showcase our properties:
Transparency
We can spend hours looking at photos and digging up reviews from 2016, but as we learned from our Mexico City friend, sometimes, photos and reviews don’t paint the full picture.
Imagine being on the search for your next vacation rental and having the opportunity to step inside the home months before your stay. This not only gives you the reassurance that the vacation home is all it’s cracked up to be, but you’re provided with a whole new level of transparency from the company.
We want you to have the full picture and know we are proud to showcase our homes to the world, while we earn your trust along the way.
“Have you ever wanted to get a first-hand glance at your vacation home before your stay? You’ve wanted to open the doors, step inside and make sure it’s the right fit for you. Our team knows just how difficult it can be to find a rental that is perfect for your trip, so that’s why we invest into Matterport Technology to provide virtual tours for all of our homes.”
– Alex Zemianek CEO of JZ Vacation Rentals
Take customer service to the next level
I am happy to report my friend was able to find a more suitable rental for her two months in Mexico City. This did come at the price of a wasted day on phone calls and negotiating getting her money back from a man that was incredibly hard to get in contact with. The time that could have been spent eating too many street tacos or exploring the Frida Kahlo Museum.
It’s stories like this that make me grateful for all the technology, like Matterport virtual tours, that provide a higher level of customer service to our guests.
Vacations or any sort of travel can be absolutely exhausting, time-consuming, and let alone an investment for most, so the last thing you need is to stress and worry about the details of the trip; such as where you will be staying, and if this home will fit your needs.
With this new technology along and our 24/7 guest support, you can try before you buy, have full transparency and trust in the vacation rental and company, and leave the worries at home. We are here to help you find the best fit for the occasion.
This trip to Mexico has to be one of my favorites as I mentioned before. But one of my very first memories was spending a day trying to locate suitable accommodation for my friend.
We keep our personal travel stories and struggles in mind and strive to apply them to our own business in order to create a more fluid and stress-free trip for our guests.
To learn more about our homes and take a look around inside, head over to our JZ Vacation Rentals virtual tour page here and find the perfect home for your next vacation, or simply just have a look around!
