Having a dream villa in Bali is a wonderful thing. A palace of luxury and a jewel in your investment portfolio, not only for the capital gains but also as a respectable source of holiday rental income. Despite the record number of visitors to Bali, to say there is a bit of competition in the villa rental market is something of an understatement. Mediocrity is never good for repeat business, so if you want paying guests walking through your front door on a regular basis there are things your villa will require to separate itself from the hoi polloi. The actual villa design, location, number of bedrooms, pool shape, lighting and landscaping are all very important features and make for great aesthetic appeal, but after all the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ are exhausted, and the shopping, the beach and lying by the pool all day has lost its allure, your guests will be clamouring for things to do with their precious holiday time.

There is nothing like sipping champagne in a Jacuzzi of an evening, dining under a riverside gazebo, or sweating it out in a steam room and taking a massage by the edge of the infinity-edge pool to make a great holiday, but there are other more simple things to consider. You need to have lots of great features and facilities in your villa that will keep people busy relaxing and entertained for the duration of the visit.

A home theatre, or at the very least a large flat screen TV in an air-conditioned room, is an absolute. As is a decent DVD collection and board games. Even a pool table and bar, perhaps? These things are perfect for the long rainy days between October and March, and those evenings-in when the nights-out catch up with you. Make sure you have a decent sized library of books and quality up-to-date magazines. There is nothing worse than finding a four-year-old copy of Vanity Fair in a language you don’t speak or a load of books that were picked up free from the Hare Krishna’s second hand bookshop. It just makes you look cheap. Get some bicycles; apart from being fun it’s the most convenient way of getting around the rice fields, beaches, river valleys, and avoiding the tourist traffic.

And let’s not forget the children. Most people have them, and these little darlings can make or break a holiday. If they aren’t being entertained you can be sure you will know all about it! Make sure your pool has a shallow end, invest in a trampoline, games, toys, a basketball hoop, build a tree house, and get a NintendoWii. This will keep them amused for days and you won’t even know they are there.

Finally, it is the staff who will really make a great villa holiday. Everyone likes to be looked after and good staff can anticipate a guests’ every need. They can a refill a drink before you knew the glass was empty, serve homemade snacks poolside just when the hunger hits, go shopping for your chocolate and cheese, and cook you gourmet meals like you have only dreamed of. They can even baby-sit your children when you go out. Great staff make you feel more at home than you do in your own home.

Get these things right and your guests will rave about your villa to everyone they know and even those they don’t. And, they will be back.