Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Stiles Bennet, President & CMO of WIMCO:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to WIMCO?
A: WIMCO is a pioneer in the high-end full-service villa rental space. We were established in St Barths in 1983, and over time set-up operations in 12 Caribbean islands, as well as in Italy, France and Greece.
Our focus has always been on providing access to the highest quality villas, and delivering the highest level of travel services to the clients who rent from us.
Q: Which destinations do you operate in?
A: WIMCO operates in 12 Caribbean islands (St Barths, Turks & Caicos, Anguilla, Barbados, Mustique, Grand Cayman, Virgin Gorda, St John, St Thomas, Tortola, Jamaica and Nevis, plus several private islands), four regions in Italy (Tuscany, Umbria, Amalfi Coast, Lakes District), two regions in France (Provence, Cote D’Azur) and two islands in Greece (Mykonos, Santorini). The common theme across these destinations is that each of them is a very special place where the client can have extraordinary vacation experiences, with beautiful private villas available for rent by the week, where we can deliver comprehensive concierge service to the client during their vacation.
Q: You’ve recently announced the achievement of a significant milestone this month; could you tell us something more?
A: To provide an immersive method for clients to explore our villas remotely while shopping, WIMCO has invested in the development of interactive digital floor plans for its villas. We recently published our 200th digital floor plan. Many of them now offer a 360 degree virtual tour experience in the main room of the villa, allowing a client to see the view they’d have, then spin around to see the areas they would relax in around the pool, before turning to look at the main living and dining areas. We use technology from Ricoh, Momento360 and Maps Alive to deliver this interactive experience.
Q: What makes your service unique? What are the benefits of renting a villa through your platform?
A: What has always distinguished WIMCO is the quality of the private villas in our portfolio, and the high level of concierge service delivered. Seasoned, well-traveled villa specialists consult with clients to understand their needs, and then match them with the villa that best suits their specific needs and desires. Once a client books a villa, our concierge team then assist them by booking their international and local flights and VIP arrivals service, rental cars, pre-stocking the villa with food and beverages, arranging private chef and babysitter service, making restaurant reservations, setting up boat charters and much more.
Said another way, what sets WIMCO apart is the highly personalized buying experience and the quality of the villa vacation experience.
Q: What are your clients saying about you? Are they happy?
A: The best testimonial is a client who contacts us to book their next villa vacation as soon as they return, and then refers a friend. Both of those happen with great regularity. That positive feedback, coupled with positive ratings on Trustpilot and Google, the Travvy and Magellan awards we have won, and favorable mentions we have received from travel writers for Bloomberg Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, the New York Times, Forbes, Elite Traveler and others are all endorsements of WIMCO’s service.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: Further development of the service model and technologies used to order, display and deliver services.
Expansion into exciting vacation enclaves like Tulum, private islands in the BVI and South Pacific and a few other fun projects.
Activate Social Media:
