Looking down from the balcony of my Florentine villa, the sun begins to dip over the horizon sending a cascade of pastel hues into the evening sky and glinting off the golden globe atop Il Duomo below.
Smoke rises from small fires lit around the Tuscan hills, while birds swoop over the treetops, their black wings silhouetted against the deepening purples and pinks of the clouds above.
Around me, my friends are, variously, preparing dinner in the kichen (a rich ragu has been on a slow boil for the past four hours), entertaining their children by the pool, or finishing some work in the manicured gardens downstairs – a gentle tip tap of keys providing a rhythm section to the bird song, the only sound breaking the evening silence.
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I finish my Chianti and head to the kitchen to help, rather than simply congratulating myself on bringing us all here – a task that I really can’t claim all that much credit for after having stumbled upon onefinestay as kind of upmarket answer to Airbnb. The basics of the concept is similar: people rent their houses out to strangers. However, several things differentiate onefinestay from its rivals.
Personally vetted
Every home on onefinestay's books has been personally vetted by a member of the team. This means there are genuinely no duds to be found among the thousands of homes the company offers worldwide.
The villa my friends and I selected, just outside Florence but with exceptional views back across the City of Love, is a case in point. Owned, as it turns out, by one of the top antiques dealers in Florence, the rental portion of the home occupies the second and third floors of an old 17th century villa which is filled to the brim with artworks, sculptures and books.
It is difficult to compare this home to most of the places I have rented through other home-sharing sites. Arriving on the stone driveway, the huge house towers over us, with its pool (shared with two other properties) set among the shaded olive trees just below. It looks like something out of The Talented Mr Ripley; accommodation of which Dickie Greenleaf and Marge Sherwood would approve.
Up a massive staircase and across the villa's tranquil garden you reach the main entrance. Once inside the differences between this home and many other rental homes become even more stark. Every wall is hung with an interesting (dare I hazard, quite expensive) artwork, and all around the villa are sculptures, not necessarily all to my taste, but definitely interesting.
The walls are also lined with bookshelves that reveal something of the personality of the owners, their interest in history, architecture, art and culture, as well as some hints about their lives. A few family portraits make this feel like a home, but there are not so many that you feel as though you are trespassing.
The kitchen is a beautifully communal space, and conjoined with a large dining table it ends up being the focal point of much of our convivial stay here. Out past the sitting room (also strewn with art) the balcony beckons. It is here where we watch the sun set most evenings, though one we take sitting out in the garden, a glass of Brunello in one hand, a crumbling chunk of parmesan in the other.
Down by the pool one evening, with a bucket of cold beers, we reflect that it is easy to see why this place was selected to join onefinestay's portfolio of luxury homes.
Personalised service
When you rent a home through some sites the process of getting into and out of your chosen property can be a bit of a lottery. It is often up to the renter and the home owner to negotiate between themselves how to exchange keys and get access.
Onefinestay makes that process rather easier, sending a representative to each home to meet you and get you checked in. They will also run through the house rules and offer helpful tips like where to put rubbish, where to park your car, and offer some tips on where to eat in the local area.
More than this however, they act as a quasi-concierge service, helping to arrange activities and experiences while you are in the house and remaining on call throughout your stay to make sure you have everything you need.
For our stay in Tuscany, onefinestay helped us arrange a dinner one night with a top-notch local chef, Serena Guidobaldi, who sent through a selection of possible menu options before our arrival, then tweaked and refined them to our preferences. On the night, she turned up with an assistant who acted as both sous chef and waitress for the evening, leaving us only responsible for eating and drinking for the evening (which we did with great seriousness and application, of course).
The menu couldn't have been more thoughtful or more local either, featuring not only meats and cheeses from nearby butchers and cheesemongers, but also grapes from her very own back garden, which she had matched to the wine selection. A perfect evening.
For those who wish for further assistance with their stay, onefinestay can also help arrange vineyard tours, airport transfers, walking tours, spa visits, and can even stock the fridge ahead of your stay.
The future of travel
According to onefinestay, these extras – as well as the technology that underpins the company – are all part of the company’s determination to stay ahead of the huge shifts the hospitality industry is seeing.
One in every three people now use a mobile device to book a hotel room, according to the latest report by Criteo. A trend that most experts say will only continue.
According to onefinestay, that technological development is going to be central to the next few decades of travel.
Most experts agree that the new frontier of travel innovation lies in the technologies that are making travel better as well as faster, simpler and safer.
Another trend that some companies are tapping into is the shift in luxury travel towards more all-inclusive care.
And what does that mean? Acording to onefinestay, the luxury experience is no longer equated with a specific brand or price, but rather quantified by how it makes the most discerning travellers feel, how curated and personalised it can be, and whether it meets their exacting standards.
My own visit to Tuscany not only lived up to, but exceeded my expectations. A fine stay indeed, but I sincerely doubt I will stop at just one.
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
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