A brilliant new airport to villa transfer service has been introduced, it’s called VaVroom and can be found through this link.

VaVroom caters to all possible transfer needs, is incredibly easy to use, and most importantly is a simple way to take the hassle out of trying to find a local taxi after a long flight. One particular difference to other transfer sites that I find reassuring is that throughout the holiday season VaVroom will be open 24/7 so you will always have a (real) person on the other end of a phone to speak to should you need to at any time of the day.

VaVroom will send you a text the day before your transfer with pick up time and a reminder of their number should you need it.

You can mix and match your transfer options from having a limo or even a helicopter transfer on arrival for that glitzy start to a holiday to returning by car. There are options for frequent flyers who need to make regular transfers; also you can book a block of transfers in one and once your account has been set up (this is automatically created when you make your first booking) then a lot of the information is saved for future visits, making it a lot easier than having to fill in the same information over and over again as with other transfer companies.

So if you’re going on holiday and want to take the hassle out of finding transport to your villa, often somewhere you might not know the exact location of and could find it difficult to find a driver who does then follow this link to VaVroom, which will take the anxiety out of airport transfers.

Affordable Car Hire is making a complaint to the Spanish car rental authority in Adalucia over the predicted rise in car rental prices in summer of up to 250%.

The company said the cost of hiring a vehicle was expected to soar in the peak season as firms struggled to meet strong demand with limited fleets, a repercussion of the banking crisis as banks tighten their belts for loans.

Last winter, the average weekly car rental in Malaga was £65 but Affordable Car Hire has calculated that the price will rocket to at least £228 for the same car between July and August.

Sales and marketing director Nick Marney said the firm was so concerned by the price hike that it would lodge a complaint with AESVA – the association for rental vehicles in Andalucia.

“We will complain about the difference in prices,” he said. “The same vehicle is being sold for too low in the winter, and far too high a few months later.”

Marney said that this situation is occuring because ‘buy back’ schemes run by manufacturers had stopped with the onset of the recession, so rental firms had sold off cars at low prices. Banks refused to issue loans so firms were unable to buy new fleets, creating a shortage of cars at times of strong demand, such as the summer months and school holidays.

“Firms have become stuck in a vicious circle, and prices are going to skyrocket,” he said.

Spain is expected to be hit particularly hard by the price increase, because of holiday destinations such as Malaga and Alicante where tourists often need cars to travel around.

Advice at the moment is to book cars early to avoid not being able to get one at all. We’ll keep this blog updated if there are any changes to prices and/or a response from AESVA.

Just heard from Croatian Affair, whose Croatian villas are listed in the Croatia section on VillaSeek.

They are offering half price car hire (on category A and C hire cars), when you book any of the following villas before 20th February:

Villa Folio
Walnut House
Andigona
Graziela

Here’s a list of the discounted car hire prices: