Meet Jos
Host since 2015 and proud of the prizes they have won, which all take up a prominent place on the prize wall. Jos and his wife Elly welcome each guest personally, some stay for a week or longer and others come for a weekend. Jos and Elly always make sure to contact every guest personally.
The vacation home is in the middle of a wooded area in the German-speaking part of Belgium. The home was built for vacation rental and a worthwhile investment for the future. Jos often went to this area with his moped and has fond memories of this hilly place. The location for a vacation home was therefore quickly found. It is possible to go for long walks in the woods and spot lots of wildlife here.
At that time, Jos had a client whom he helped with her financial affairs. Because she lost her leg in a fatal accident, he thought about adapting his vacation home for disabled and lesser abled people. The lady told him how difficult it was for her to find a good vacation home where she could spend her vacations with the rest of her family.
Jos’ brother-in-law is a very handy man and very quickly the bedroom on the first floor was adapted to all the wishes of people who are disabled. The adjoining bathroom also underwent a complete makeover to create enough space here as well.
Jos is a businessman at heart and understands very well that the adjustments in his house attract a new kind of guests who can appreciate them very well. The reviews of his house have also increased positively from that moment on, the vacation home is now rated with 4.7 out of 5. The people who travel with a disabled person also often give each other word of mouth recommendations when a stay has been good. 30% of guests staying at his vacation home have a disabled person in their midst. Because the number of vacation homes where disabled guests can stay is still very low, Jos jumped into this gap in the market.
Jos and his wife have made several adjustments and have divided their house in two parts. Upstairs are the ‘normal’ bedrooms where there is also room to chill. Downstairs you will find the, already mentioned, spacious bedroom with bathroom fully adapted for disabled guests. Think of a wheelchair-friendly shower where the glass doors can be fully opened, a wheelchair is present so that one can go completely under the shower. In addition, for example, the bed can be lowered to make it easier to get in and out, but it can also be raised in case someone needs care. They even have a remote control to turn the lights on and off, so you do not have to get out of bed.
Everything is available in the house, such as the wheelchair for the shower but also a wheelchair that can be used in and around the house. Movable braces that you can pull on or hold on to, and a bedspread that someone can pull on if they are bedridden. In short, the holiday home is fully equipped, there is even one onsite, so it does not have to be brought in the car.
Besides being the owner of this fully adapted vacation home, Jos is also an ambassador for Belvilla. He enjoys helping other homeowners with financial advice. When he signed the contract with Belvilla, he was pleasantly surprised by the perfect overviews and good insights he received from the account manager. What he missed, however, was the technical background information on how to arrange a mortgage abroad, what about the taxes you must pay as soon as you rent out your vacation home, what about the tax refund in the Netherlands, what happens to the extra income, what permits you need as a homeowner, and more important matters like these. Of course, he figured all of that out for himself because that was his job, but he thought it would be handy to mention it. Belvilla then took up the gauntlet and asked Jos if he would be open to giving this kind of advice to new homeowners, and so it happened that Jos became an ambassador for Belvilla.