Getting set for summer

For Holiday Property Bondholder Sue Barker summer is always super-busy, as throughout June and into July London plays host to the international tennis circus: first at Queen’s Club, then the granddaddy of them all, Wimbledon.

“When you’re covering Wimbledon, you have to expect the unexpected. The weather can be capricious; and the tournament routinely throws up some electrifying matches, and surprising results. I love it.

But when it comes to holidays, I like to know what to expect. and for me, the Holiday Property Bond’s consistently high standards mean I can really relax. Having visited HPB homes from the southwest of England to the Scottish Highlands as well as overseas, I can be sure that, wherever I travel, my chosen villa, cottage or apartment will be spotlessly clean, comfortably furnished and idyllically located – either in an unspoilt seaside location or in the heart of the countryside. My most recent HPB holiday, at St Brides Castle in Pembrokeshire, was a real chance to kick back – walking the dog along that spectacular coastline, visiting the pretty little towns and villages, and getting back to nature thanks to the plethora of Welsh wildlife thereabouts! But to be honest, though the sites are all different, all HPB holidays offer variations on the same theme: the chance to relax and unwind, in a beautiful location.

But I think what initially impressed me most, when I became a Bondholder in 2001, was the understated approach to marketing: it was clear that high-pressure sales practices have no place at HPB.

Later, I learned that many of HPB’s salespeople are investors themselves – and that almost half of new Bondholders are recommended by friends and family members. To my mind, this speaks volumes – about HPB, and about the way management conducts its business.

Equally telling is HPB’s consistently low encashment rate: many of HPB’s early adopters either remain Bondholders in their own right, or have passed their investments on to their children or grandchildren.

Clearly, much has changed since the early 1980s when HPB was established. Back then, mobile phones resembled house bricks, the Berlin Wall was still intact, and the internet was but a gleam in the eye of a diffident Oxford Graduate.

Despite the passing of the years, however, HPB still shies away from aggressive promotional tactics. And it continues to achieve its year-on-year growth goals, regardless of prevailing economic trends.

And its standards remain of the highest.

For me though, HPB’s greatest attraction of all is choice; the chance to holiday the way I choose, where I choose, and when.

Given that there are now in excess of 40,000 Holiday Property Bondholders, it seems I’m in good company.”