
What's new @ Alexander's Homes?
New Homepage
Not long ago we debuted our new
homepage design. Besides the look and feel of our homepage here are 2 new
things you will notice:
Hover Text:
When you move you mouse over any
image on our homepage, special text will appear. For example when you mouse
over the picture of the spa the words "Many homes with Spas and Jacuzzi Hot
Tubs" will appear.
Highlighted Links:
When you mouse over the navigation
links on the left-hand side, the color of the text will change from blue to
red.
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New Home Tours:
We noticed that as the amount of our home
tours increased our "home tour" pages and they began to fragment. They began to
load very slowly for guests and editing the pages became very difficult. Although no
one could see them many errors began to appear in the code. It was time for
an overhaul!
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Our new design not only loads faster but
it was specially designed to work across all Internet browsers
including:
-Internet Explorer
-Firefox
-Safari (Macintosh computers)
-And all others |
You
will Notice:
At the top right of each home tour page is a link to the featured "home tour
of the month". When you scroll your mouse overtop of the navigation on the
left the color of the links will change from White to Red.
Adventures in
Pop-Culture:
These days It seems that everyone
is uploading videos to YouTube and posting blogs on MySpace. Alexander
Holiday Homes is no exception! Follow the links below to our YouTube page. Click on the MySpace link and
become our friend, "fan us" on Facebook and more!
The Diamond
Collection
You may have noticed a new section
of our Home Tours called "The Diamond Collection". The homes featured in
this collection are ones that we consider to be the most opulent, the best-of-the-best. These are vacation homes that are a
step above "Executive Class".
So why a Diamond list?
It all started with our home called the "American Dream" at Formosa Gardens
Estates. The homeowner asked for special rates because of her high-end
decorations and amenities. We decided to place this home tour at the top of our "Executive" list as
we expected it to be a difficult sell. WE WERE WRONG!
"American Dream" became very popular because it catered to a special type of
client, the kind that was less concerned with price and more concerned with the luxury. In the past year we have acquired a small collection of
similar styled homes, enough to justify their own special class that we call "The
Diamond Collection".
These homes continue to be very popular despite ups and downs in tourism patterns. |
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Google Maps
You know the old saying "Location,
Location, Location". Most people who look at our home tours are concerned
with location and to meet the customers demands we now include Google Maps on
ALL of our home tours.
When you click
on the Google Logo (see image below) a pop-up window opens showing the exact location of each
neighborhood. WE DO NOT list the exact locations of each home for security reasons.
Click the logo below for an example:

Other Information for all Homeowners:
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Quick eMail
Directory:
| Who's Who
at Alexander's?
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Property Management Department:
Phone 407-933-6405
Fax 407-870-2060
Managers:
Ernie Alexander
Neil Alexander
Field Supervisors:
Trish London
Phyllis Schaeffer
Accounts:
Daphne Alexander
Jeannie Alexander |
Reservations and Marketing Dept:
Phone 407-932-3683
Fax 407-870-2060
President:
Bob Hill
Office
Manager:
Lorraine Oakley
Executive
Assistant:
Ed Nash |
Guest Services Department:
Brian and Shelley Hussey
Phone 407-932-3683
Fax 407-870-2060
Reservation Taxes:
Sharon Hill
Phone 407-932-3683
Fax 407-870-2060 |
Reservation
Department Hours:
9am - 5pm Monday-Wednesday
9am - 9pm Thursday-Friday
10am - 9pm Saturday
11am - 4pm Sunday
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Ways to Improve Your Home:
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High-Speed
Internet:
Chances are that you have gotten to this page using a high-speed connection.
Remember the old days when you had to dial-up to get online?
Remember the old days when your connections dropped out constantly? Remember the old days when if to many other people in your neighborhood were on the phone the
connection was as slow as a snail?
Nobody Likes
Dial-Up
NOBODY! |
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Many of our guests are forced to live with dial-up because their vacation
home does not have High-Speed. But why are people going on the Internet when the Walt Disney World® Resort is around the corner? For the same reason they
go online at home:
Communication
They
go online to check their email, the weather, the news, to instant message
friends and family, to have video chats and more. We also get many clients who are here on business and while Mom and the kids are at the theme parks, Dad is at the vacation home working.
-Almost every
hotel these days offers High-Speed Internet
-Most at an additional daily fee for guests
The NUMBER 1 THING
PEOPLE ASK FOR when booking a
vacation home is the High-Speed Internet. More than a pool with total
privacy, more than a home closest to the theme parks! We have seen time
and time again that people choose a home 10 miles from the Walt Disney World® Resort over a home 3
miles from the Walt Disney World® Resort because the home has High-Speed Internet.
We
at Alexander Homes encourage ALL owners to get this optional service to
attract potential reservations. The cost is as low as a mere $30 per month.
High-Speed Internet is almost everywhere and it should be in your
home as well.
Games, DVD's and
CD's:
Guests love them but guess what? They love
them so much they run off with them! Alexander maintenance will not keep inventory on board games, books, DVD movies and music CD's that owners put in their home.
We suggest
owners DO NOT supply them at all. You may consider these items as added luxuries
but they are not. If a guest books your home because it has a PlayStation2
games system, let them bring their own games!
Let reservations
staff consult you about exactly what luxury items you should and
should not include in your vacation home.
Cable Television:
Believe it or not we get MANY phone calls from people asking to reserve a
vacation with cable television in every bedroom. Not as many as the High Speed Internet, but cable televisions are popular.
You
may be asking why anyone would come on vacation to watch TV when they have
the theme parks at their doorstep? The answer is that parents have different tastes
in television then children and while they may not watch a lot of it, THEY DO WATCH TELEVISION!
When
mom and dad want to watch the weather channel the children can watch
cartoons in their own bedroom. When mom and dad want to plan their next day
the teenagers can play video games in their own bedroom, in private.
Having a cable
television in every bedroom
provides guests the most convenience
Let guests choose
your home because of what it has,
don't turn them off because of what it does not have!
Games Rooms:
Billiard and Games rooms are popular if they are placed properly. Many
owners put their games room in the garage because its the only extra large
space left available when they decorate their home.
In the heat of the
summer a garage games room becomes unusable, even with the garage
door open. We recommend that while having a games / billiards room is a good
idea, consult with us first to determine its potential to attract
reservations.
One
of our homeowners got rid of the Dining Room table and made it a billiards room. The best part of that idea was that it required no special air conditioning. The impact of a games room with air conditioning was a near doubling of reservations
within a year.
Jacuzzi Hot Tubs and Spa's:
A
"Spa" is small a bubbling oasis connected to the swimming pool. A Jacuzzi
Hot Tub is separate from the swimming pool and provides a bubbling massage
combined with high-heat relaxation. Many of our vacation homes have these
luxuries and we have seen that these homes are more popular.
But
why would anyone want high-heat in Florida? Why a Jacuzzi Hot Tub? The only
way to answer that is if you have ever been in one. Yes the sun can be
intense but the relaxation of a Jacuzzi Hot Tub is truly rejuvenating.
A
quality Jacuzzi Hot Tub costs about $2500 including installation. We charge
additional fees to guests for use of a Jacuzzi to compensate for the additional electricity expense.
Not all homes are
suitable for this luxury feature. We suggest you consult with our
reservations staff to see if your home is suitable for this option.
| Jacuzzi
Hot Tub
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Spa:
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