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This year’s Black Friday falls on 27th of this month and, for many of us, it will be a very different experience compared to previous years.
At White Rose Villas we continue to proactively look to fill our homes with Black Friday travel bookers.
Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year and, while many will be staying close to home, there will be many bargain hunters looking for weekend (or longer) deals to take advantage of the fabulous shopping the Orlando area has to offer.
The current trend in vacation rentals is for either last-minute bookings (because people can’t plan far in advance in the current environment) or far-in-advance bookings (in the hope that things will be different next year, especially now we’ve had early news of a vaccination against the virus).
This means that, this year, we’re expecting Black Friday to attract lots of local travellers making plans for the end of this year. as well as more traditional vacationers making plans for later in 2021 and beyond.
We want to capitalise on both of these trends in a bid to book out your homes.
We’ll be showcasing your properties and, working closely with our travel partners, to offer attractive Black Friday deals to get your homes busy.
We feel that, with all bookings now being covered by our unrivalled Master Cancel scheme, we have a definite edge over other platforms.
This is where we really need your help: you’ll soon be seeing extensive social media campaigns. It would help enormously if you could like and share these posts.
If you haven’t already signed up to our Facebook groups, please do so here:
Facebook Group – White Rose Villas
Facebook Group – Ellis Exclusive Villas
Many thanks in advance for your help. Let’s work together so we can all get through this difficult period and emerge in good order next year!
The White Rose Villas Reservations Team has been back to school over the last few weeks! We’ve been learning new skills in data analytics as part of the Rev Max Bootcamp.
You may be aware that we recently added the Rev Max software to our booking engine to help homeowners who are interested in using data insights to improve their results. The Rev Max Bootcamp is an additional service which is designed to help users get the most from the data the software solution provides.
What is Rev Max Bootcamp and why are we doing it?
Rev Max Bootcamp is a twelve-week-long practical course and mentoring programme which aims to give reservation managers the skills they need to increase their bookings, occupancy rates, revenue and, ultimately, profits.
The course includes:
- an evaluation of current channel marketing
- the principles of effective pricing and length of stay strategies
- foundational data analytics
- how to ensure full utilization of system features and tools to maximum effectiveness
- advanced reporting to understand current position and measure changes
- how to target multiple market segments for the greatest revenue generation
The White Rose Villas Reservations team has already gained some great tips and insights from our work with the Rev Max team. We’ve been learning new skills in data analytics and working with industry experts who have been coaching us on a one-to-one basis on how to use data to its best advantage.
You can find out more about the programme here:
What’s next?
While it’s fantastic that our team is adding to and enhancing their own skills, you might be wondering what’s in it for you?
The great news is the team will be able to apply this knowledge to help all of our homeowners to use the data about their home and the local market to adapt their own marketing strategies and boost bookings and revenues.
If you are happy to be flexible on the rates you charge and the length of stays you accept, these new data insights can power some real improvements in your returns. The Rev Max team report that the homeowners they work with typically increase revenues by 40%.
Obviously, we’re in a difficult market right now, so it might not be possible to achieve this type of improvement, but we’re really committed to giving it a go to get the best returns for our homeowners.
If you would like to work with us, and leverage the data insights available to you through the new Rev Max software, you simply need to be willing to be flexible in the rates and lengths of stays you accept. Get in touch with us, and we can talk you through the basics. Then we can get to work on applying the science of data to your home’s marketing.
What should I do next?
If you don’t think that data-driven pricing and marketing is for you, that’s totally fine too. You don’t need to do anything and we will continue to market your home just like we always have and according to the criteria you have already set.
If you are aren’t sure and would like to know more before making a decision, please give our team a call and we can talk you through some further details.
If you’re super excited and definitely want to sign up to this programme of dynamic pricing and flexible booking, please send our team an email and we will get back in touch with you with more details.
We’re really excited and hope you are too!
This week on our blog, we’re absolutely delighted to bring you some thoughts from another of our homeowners.
Eric owns two fantastic family-friendly homes on Kissimmee’s Indian Point resort. It enjoys a fabulous location, just a half mile drive from Highway 192 and close to the Orlando theme parks.
Like most of our homeowners, Eric has seen his bookings slow through the pandemic and, especially, through the various lockdowns. As a result, he’s had to adapt some of his booking strategies. We’re really grateful to him for sharing his tips here.
How to maximise booking revenue during the pandemic
I’m not a huge proponent of short stays but realise that the short-term rental guest base has changed with everything going on.
I am getting many rentals from local Floridians and folks from nearby states.
Guests are now booking with shorter lead time. Many of these guests are looking for weekend family getaways and prefer to stay in a cosy private home instead of a crowded hotel.
This trend should be good news for vacation-home owners as it could actually lead to an increase occupancy rates. The days of staying in a 500-room hotel are over for the foreseeable future.
I’ve changed my policy on minimum stays
I chose to limit weekend stays to three night. Three seems to be the magic number for me.
By limiting weekend stays to minimum three nights it reduces the number of party guests. At the same time, it provides the opportunity for guests who may want to book longer stays. By doing so, I’m also seeing bookings of 4, 5, 6 nights.
When I tried a two-day minimum on the weekends, the calendar was filled up immediately – and often with less desirable guests. However, when two-night gaps become available in the calendar I then allow two-night rentals for those specific days.
One big pro for short stays is the opportunity to accumulate many more guest reviews. Potential guests like to see properties with many reviews.
While we would all love to have five-night or seven-night stays, we must realise that this is a transitional period in the short-term rental marketplace. Things are very different to how they were 12 months ago.
During this time, we must do what we need to do as owners to press forward. This time will not last forever and better days are ahead of us.
I am already seeing more guests starting to return from other parts of the country. This is a positive sign. With a COVID-19 vaccine hopefully being available in the spring, occupancy rates should surely improve.
How to book Eric’s homes
Eric owns the fab Summer Point home, which you can view here. It’s recently been refurbished and has a lovely south-facing pool.
His other Orlando property is Lake Point, which you can view here. This one is a great choice for families and has a fantastic lake view from the pool and lanai.
Share your thoughts!
We’d love to publish more homeowner viewpoints on our blog. If you’d like to write for us, we’ll credit your homeowners account with $30. If you would like to be published on this blog, please get in touch with our team in your usual way.
We’re so pleased to bring you a new blog post from one of our homeowners. They have written a fantastic guide to cycling in Central Florida for us. Over to them…
On the trail in Florida: a cyclist’s paradise
One of the joys of spending time in Florida is going outside at pretty much any time of year without having to put on layers of clothing.
For those among you who love nothing more than feeling the wind in your helmet, there are now so many places to get out on your bike in safety. And they offer some pretty good scenery to enjoy as well.
Cycling local
I started off local while just getting used to a new bike bought from Epic Cycles in Clermont. I started getting back to more regular cycling after a few long, cold and dark months in the UK.
Initially, I just pedalled round our sub-division, Orange Tree, where the roads are quiet. It’s possible to do a circuit of 7.2km/4.5miles – route here.
I then went further afield, following the route of the SR27 cycle lane. Insider tip: cycle on the sidewalk not the SR27 cycle lane itself, as that looked pretty dirty – a puncture waiting to happen, as well as being very close to a lot of fast-moving traffic.
If you would like to check out this route, you can find it here.
Branching out
These local routes are great, but for the best scenery, you need to stow your bike in/on your car and drive to the truly quiet, safe and beautiful Trails. You’ll find there are plenty of places to park at the trailheads, which are about every 10 miles along the trail.
There are over 100 trails in Florida, and you can find them all on this website grouped into 9 Regions, all with Regional overview maps. They’ve recently added reports on (fat-tyre) “eco-biking” and hiking trails.
South Lake Trail and the West Orange Trail
Some of the best trails in the Central Florida region include the South Lake Trail and the West Orange Trail. These intersect to create a route of 36 miles of continuous Central Florida biking through Lake and Orange Counties.
This was the route I took.
Portions of the 13-mile-long South Lake Trail near Clermont are particularly scenic, with views along Lake Minneola and other lakes.
West Orange Trail is a world-class rail trail through urban and suburban sections of Orange County. It is popular for all types of biking, in-line skating, running and walking. “Outposts” and “Stations” along the trail provide parking and facilities. There are toilets along the way.
A spur at Killarney Station connects to the South Lake Trail. Both of these trails are part of the Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail. You can see the route I took here.
One of the glorious towns on the route is Oakland. Here, venerable old trees around the town are draped in Spanish moss. There are several historic buildings to admire and you can cycle down side streets to view Lake Apopka.
The next stop is the little town of Winter Garden. This gets busy at weekends. Nevertheless, the trail goes right through its centre. The bike trail has completely revitalized downtown, which now features at least two bike shops and numerous restaurants. The trail runs through the Clock Tower and past the Pavilion.
The Hancock Trail
Another of my favourite routes is the Hancock Trail.
This starts near the National Training Center at South Lake Hospital. It hosts Olympic athletes and provides Triathlon Training for athletes from around the country.
The Hancock Trail even boasts a hilly area (well, hilly by Floridian standards!). People come from a long way away to ride this trail. Sugarloaf Mountain Rd is the highest point in the area. One possible start/finish point for the route is Killarney Station, Clermont.
More information about the routes can be found here. Alternatively, this can be a continuation from the north end of Hancock Trail.
I cycled pretty much every day when we were in Florida during January and February and I can’t wait until we are able to come back and discover more.
If you don’t have your own bicycle…
If you don’t have a bike, there’s no reason to miss out!
Our home is about 14 miles south of the beautiful town of Clermont, which is situated on Lake Minneola and has lovely places to shop, walk and yes, cycle. I recommend the Epic Cycles bike shop, right on the waterfront, with a very pleasant café and bike sales aplenty, (as we discovered!) and extremely helpful staff.
If you need to rent a bike, try Clermont Bicycles. They have high-quality road bike and comfort bike rentals by the half day, day and week.
Thank you!
We’d like to thank our home owner for this fantastic cycling guest blog post.
Halloween might be a little scaled back this year in Orlando’s theme parks, but you can still scream yourself silly in these haunted houses and ghost tours around Orlando this Halloween!
Here’s the White Rose Villas team’s pick of some of the scariest tours you can take in or around Orlando this Halloween season.
Walking ghost tour of downtown Orlando
Walking around the city is usually a lot of fun, but on this tour you need to be prepared to feel a little uneasy! You’ll hear tales of the criminal underworld, the leylines on which the city was built and all kinds of tales about Orlando’s supernatural history!
The walking tour takes in a range of spooky and scary stories at eight locations around the city. You can expect to cover approximately a mile’s walk over a 60-minute tour.
There is also a slightly longer option that takes in a further four locations… if you can stand four more spooky stories! If so, the tour is 90-minutes and covers 1.3 miles.
Drive-through scare-fest
This year, social distancing has upended everyone’s social plans – but not always for the worse. This drive-through Halloween theatrical event is one of the better innovations to emerge from the pandemic situation.
You can safely get your spooks and scares following a completely contactless journey in your own vehicle. The theme is Rapunzel’s journey… so expect things to get a little hair-raising!
The drive-through runs from September 25 through to November 7, 2020. Please note: like most outdoor theatrical events, the drive-through event is weather dependent – so be prepared for a last minute cancellation if conditions get too inclement.
All-year round haunted house
You probably know that, although Universal Orlando’s traditional Halloween celebrations aren’t running this year, you can tour two of the haunted house attractions from Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights within the normal park admission. But did you know that Orlando has a haunted house attraction that runs all year round?
Mortem Manor is located on West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Old Town Kissimmee. The spooky attraction tells the tale of mysterious disappearance of a family and includes more than a few scares along the way!
Tickets start at just $15 so it is a really affordable way to get your Halloween haunted house fix!
Book your Orlando vacation!
If you fancy visiting any of these haunting Halloween attractions, or any of the other special Halloween and fall events in Orlando this year, there is still availability for you to book a short stay at one of our vacation homes.
Book with our booking partner Ellis Exclusive Villas and you’ll be protected by their cancellation guarantee. Cancel for any reason between 60 days and 2 days before your departure and you will receive a full refund on all monies paid.
If you can’t get away this year, why not book for 2021?
We’re going to all be wearing a different type of mask this Halloween. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of seasonal fun to enjoy!
Here’s our round up of things to enjoy this fall in and around Orlando and Central Florida.
Remember that, given the current need for COVID-secure procedures, most events require you to book online in advance. You’ll also need to adhere to social distancing rules and wear a mask.
If you have any queries or concerns ahead of your visit, please contact the venue or organiser directly.
Halloween Fun in Orlando’s theme parks
In the parks, many events have been scaled back or cancelled (notably Mickey’s not-so-scary-Halloween Party and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights).
Nevertheless, Universal has plenty of Halloween themed décor, merchandise and trick or treating to enjoy. Plus, there are two Haunted House attractions to get your fear fix!
Disney is also ratcheting up the Halloween-themed goodies, sweet treats and décor around the Magic Kingdom. Your little ones can still enjoy plenty of themed character meet and greets and scaled-back parades.
SeaWorld’s Spooktacular is continuing this year, with changes to the trick or treating to enable better safety and social distancing, as well as other special themed activities around the park.
Halloween Fun in Orlando and Central Florida
Away from the parks, we’re delighted that some of our favourite low-key fall events are running this year. Lakeridge Winery is known for its family-friendly events as much as its delicious wines and tasting tours, and from October 3rd and 4th, it’s bringing back its Weekends at the Winery events. This year, its featuring some of the area’s best food trucks along with the outdoor wine bar.
Enjoy some great food and wine under the trees, then try your luck at the cornhole games set up for some outdoor fun. The winery’s beautiful grounds offer plenty of outdoor space so you can enjoy a safe, social distance as you sip! See more information here.
Gatorland’s Gators, Ghosts, and Goblins is a daytime Halloween event taking place weekends from October 10th through November 1st.
Costumes are encourage for this family-friendly event with spooky train rides, costume contests, and a trick-or-treat trail from 11am to 2pm. There’s also Frank & Stein’s Octoberfest, featuring an undead polka band and German Beer and food. Note that face masks are required per Orange County Executive Order # 2020-23 regarding COVID 19, and must be visible at all times (you can find out more about Gatorland’s safe reopening policy on its website).
Book tickets in advance – there’s a half-price deal for Florida residents through October 31st. Halloween activities are included in the normal admission.
For a really rural take on the fall festival, Our Fall events at Southern Hill Farms in Clermont began on Saturday, September 26th and continue until November 8th (Thursday to Sunday).
Events feature live music, local food trucks, Farm Wagon rides, and Southern Hill Farms seasonal favourites including fresh apple cider donuts, blueberry lemonade and pumpkin muffins. While adults tuck in or cut a bouquet of beautiful sunflowers and zinnias, kids will adore the petting zoo and playground. Then pick out your perfect Jumbo Jack pumpkin for carving.
To help ensure safe social distancing, this year’s events are going ahead with 40 percent of normal capacity. You’ll need to book in advance here.
At Orlando’s CityArts, 39 S Magnolia Avenue, you can take part in a wonderful outdoor art event on Thursday, October 15, 2020. The 11th Annual Dia de los Muertos and Monster Event is a themed exhibition at CityArts Orlando and an outdoor experience with live performances, vendors, and more! Now in its 11th year, the Día de los Muertos & Monster Art Exhibitions will showcase Day of the Dead and Halloween-inspired art created by regional, national, and international artists. This unique art exhibition will be paired with an outdoor experience on opening night that will feature food, drinks, entertainment and spooky art vendors.
Cost to enter CityArts only: $5
Cost of the Outdoor Dining Experience $35-$40 per person/seat
It is essential to book in advance and you can do this online.
Note that all guests will be required to wear a face covering, but guests may remove their face coverings if they are clearly eating or drinking outside CityArts. All guests are required to register for a time-of-entry; only 20 people are permitted at a time. For more details about CityArts’ COVID-19 Reopening Protocol, visit https://downtownartsdistrict.com/covid-19/.
There’s plenty more happening besides, these are simply our pick. We’d love to hear your suggestions for fun fall or Halloween events – add your comments and suggestions below!
Or, if you’d like to write a review for our blog, please get in touch with our team.
We’re delighted to bring you a new post from our very own Sue Mooney.
Cassadaga is well known here in Florida as “the Psychic capital of the world”. In fact, there are more than 100 mediums, psychics, and healers in Cassadaga.
The sleepy little town is home to the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp, the oldest active religious community in the southeastern United States. It celebrated its 200th anniversary last year, in 2019.
A day out in Cassadaga by Sue Mooney
Cassadaga was founded in 1894 by the spiritualist George P. Colby, a native New Yorker who travelled the country delivering readings and hosting seances.
It’s about half an hour’s drive from the Kissimmee area and Orlando’s theme parks in Volusia county. As you drive east on the I4 towards the Atlantic coast, you’ll pass an unassuming blink-and-you’ll-miss-it turnoff to this magical little town.
The name of the town comes from a Seneca Indian word meaning “water beneath the rocks”. The story is that Colby was guided to this site by a native American guide.
For a complete break from the frantic rides of Florida’s theme parks, I recommend you go and visit this gem of a small town. As soon as you arrive, you are transported to a much older version of the State than you will find elsewhere.
Peace really does wrap around you as soon as you step out of your car. You can explore the small roads, admire the old-fashioned but pretty little wooden houses, sit in the meditation gardens and absorb the stillness.
The Psychic capital of the world
Cassadaga is renowned for its spirituality and there are many healers and psychics here, all of whom have gone through a four year certification process. If this is something you wish to explore further you can book in advance or choose a walk-in on the day you go.
The readings we received were accurate and moving.
There’s a well stocked welcome centre, with a huge variety of books, cards, crystals, jewellery, etc. Everyone is helpful and welcoming. Finding the crystals we were looking for was a joy and prices are very reasonable.
Lunch at the Cassadaga Hotel
For lunch we ate in the Cassadaga Hotel. Lovely, fresh food, prepared while you wait. Our burgers and fries were delicious. Cooked just as we asked them and reasonably priced.
There’s quite an extensive menu, though we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to try Arthur’s Burger (see the menu for details!)
We came away from our trip to Cassadaga feeling peaceful and re-energised and would thoroughly recommend a visit to anyone looking for a different side to Florida.
About Sue’s home
If you’d like to book your stay in Florida to enjoy a visit to Cassadaga and its spiritualist camp or any of central Florida’s other wonderful attractions, please check out our homes here.
Sue’s home is the very wonderful Sapphire Sky Villa at Orange Tree. See more – and book – here.
Would you like to share your tips for great days out in Florida?
We’d love to share contributions from our guests and homeowners about great days out in Florida. If you have tips or ideas you’d like to share on our blog, please reach out to our team.
September is always a quiet month in Orlando, but this year has been quieter than most. However, the parks are doing everything they can to tempt guests back whilst ensuring the safety of staff and guests.
There is plenty of Halloween fun to be enjoyed in Orlando’s theme parks this year, so what can you do to tempt guests back and maximise your vacation home’s autumn revenues?
1// Remove risk
Uncertainty prevails right now. Remove the risk for potential guests by offering flexible cancellation terms.
If you can, funnel your bookings through our booking agent partner, Ellis Exclusive Villas. This way they benefit from the Master Cancel guarantee. They can cancel anytime between 60 and 2 days before departure and receive a full refund. The owner still receives payment for the rental.
This gives people confidence to book in these uncertain times. Read more about the scheme here.
Share details of the scheme with your guests using this link: www.ellisexclusivevillas.com/additional-confidence-booking-vacation/
2// Be flexible on budget
It might sound too simplistic, but often the neatest solutions are the most simple.
If your home isn’t booking out, but you know others nearby are, check the rates. If your neighbour has slashed their prices for fall, then you’re going to struggle to book at full price – no matter how nice your home is.
Be prepared to be flexible on price. If a guest enquires about a discount, remember you can always counter offer. And make any deal time-limited to encourage your guest to book with you quickly so you can secure their booking before they start widening their search.
3// Remind people what they’re missing
The parks are open.
And who doesn’t feel like they need a holiday right now?
The stress of the pandemic and the lockdowns have been tough on everyone. Staying in a vacation home – especially those implementing enhanced cleaning regimes and time breaks between bookings – is a really safe way to get away from it all.
Whether your guests simply want to laze by the pool, explore the theme parks, or simply need a change of scenery, use your marketing efforts to show them all the fun they could be having.
4// Target the local market
Air passenger traffic remains a long way short of normal. Consumer confidence remains low for flying and changing travel bans are further damaging the international travel market.
By focusing on in-State travellers and other vacationers from the USA, you will be speaking to a much more receptive market.
Local travel comes with much less risk since the likelihood of facing quarantine measures is very low, but guests continue to value an opportunity to get away from it all. By focusing your marketing efforts on the local market, you can help to boost conversion rates.
5// Use social media
Social media requires little investment, but quite some commitment.
Making time to post regularly and keep your mailing list updated will pay dividends.
It may seem like an extra unnecessary effort when the likelihood of booking is small, but this is exactly the time to ramp up your efforts.
Be positive, post plenty of enticing photography, and focus on the local market.
We’ll be adopting all these techniques and more on your behalf through the fall season. If you have any questions about marketing or occupancy rates, please reach out to our team.
Similarly, if you’d like to talk to us about optimising rates to maximise bookings, our team can assist – just give us a call.
White Rose Villas property management is continually reviewing ways to help us improve occupancy rates for you, our homeowners.
The pandemic has been tough on us all. The added economic pressures of not being able to rent out your vacation home due to COVID’s impact on the global travel industry has made the crisis all the tougher.
Helping you by helping guests
We know one of the reasons that bookings have been down is because of the uncertainty that characterises so much international travel at the moment. The switch to local lockdowns is now impacting national travel patterns as well.
For this reason, White Rose Villas has been reviewing options on your behalf to give your guests increased confidence when booking.
After considerable research, we’ve decided to partner up with a company called Master Cancel through our sister vacation marketing company Ellis Exclusive Villas. This agreement with Master Cancel will give your guests flexible cancellation protection when they book through Ellis Exclusive Villas.
It’s an important step forward to help you protect your rental income.
What does the cover include?
The Master Cancel agreement reimburses property managers for cancellations made for any reason (barring war or terrorism), provided the cancellation is requested between 60 and 2 days before the check-in date.
A deduction is made for 10% of the value of the booking – unless the property rebooks, in which case, there is no deductible.
This means we are able to pass on to you, our homeowners, either 90 percent or 100 percent of the full value of the booking – so you aren’t out of pocket when a guest cancels.
Essentially, the scheme is designed to reassure guests that there is no reason to delay or put off their booking, as they won’t lose out financially – whatever happens. In this way, we hope that – with this added guest reassurance – we can boost occupancy rates as well as help by protecting your rental income.
How does it work?
There is a five percent surcharge for all bookings covered by the Master Cancel agreement.
To qualify, the booking must meet certain criteria:
- The booking must be made through Ellis Exclusive Villas
- The booking must be agreed in dollar payments
- A 25 percent deposit must be taken upon booking.
We appreciate that you may be taking direct bookings from friends and family but, in order to qualify for the scheme, each booking does need to be made through Ellis Exclusive Villas.
Deciding whether to put family bookings through the scheme
Ellis Exclusive Villas charges merchant account fees of between three to eight percent of the cost of the payment (depending on the payment card used) and this will need to be added to the cost of your family or friends’ holiday in addition to the five percent Master Cancel charge.
This means, in total, your friends and family will be paying a premium of between eight and thirteen percent on the cost of the booking. This is something you will need to discuss together to decide whether the additional peace of mind is worth this extra fee.
It’s totally up to you, of course.
What about other bookings?
It’s important to note that bookings made through tour operators will not be covered by this scheme. So if your home is booked out by James Villas, or any of the other tour operators we work with, and then that booking is cancelled, the compensation won’t be paid.
Only those bookings taken via Ellis Exclusive Villas with a 25 percent dollar deposit paid at the time of booking will be covered. The main idea is that, together, we’ll be able to drive more bookings for your home through the Ellis Exclusive Villas site. Ultimately, this should help to boost your occupancy rates through these difficult times.
For more information about the scheme, or to talk about extending the cover to bookings you are taking directly, please reach out to our team.
As always, we value your thoughts and feedback.
Are you looking for a property management partner in Central Florida?
Please complete the form below if you would like the White Rose Villas team to contact you about the options for our team to manage your vacation property in the Orlando area.
We’re delighted to bring you another blog by our homeowner Ruth Moriarty.
Winter Park is a gem of a town which Ruth wrote about in one of her earlier blogs for us.
She says one of Winter Park’s hidden gems is this unassuming museum and definitely recommends a visit.
The Charles Hosmer Museum of American Art in Winter Park
The Charles Hosmer Museum of American Art is also known as the Morse Museum.
It harbours some true treasures if you like Tiffany. Not the little blue boxes of wonderful jewellery Tiffany, but the art, glass and leaded lamps, created by Louis Comfort Tiffany – isn’t that just the best name! – (1848–1933), the jeweller’s son.
The museum is a quiet, dark, cool place – old fashioned, a bit of a rabbit warren but there are plenty of maps to orientate yourself. Each gallery has brochures to fully explain about the exhibits and everyone who works there is very helpful. You can take photos as long as you don’t use flash or video. You can easily spend all morning or afternoon there – there is no rush and just allow yourself time to stand and absorb the beauty of the exhibits. I was there for about three hours one afternoon and could have stayed longer. The Tiffany collection is truly amazing, including every medium he worked in, from every period of his life.
The Morse Museum’s Tiffany artworks
I kept going back to a stunning piece of leaded glass called Aurora which was created around 1894. The colours are so vibrant and the artistry is amazing.
Some door panels created around 1905 feature a full-sized statue behind them – it’s like looking into a garden.
Of the vases, one was a gorgeous piece of lustre. It is like silk as it catches the light!
The museum also houses an iconic Tiffany Wisteria Lamp. It is really incredible to see close up; the leaded glass looks like fabric that has been draped. This piece is absolutely stunning and was made around 1910.
The pieces are made with each piece of glass cut individually and put on a template. During your visit to the museum, you can watch a short video showing you how the artworks are made.
The treasures of the Morse Museum
Inside the museum is Tiffany’s chapel interior from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It is stunning, the work is so intricate and the lighting makes it look as if it is on exterior walls, except it isn’t. It’s simply beautiful to admire or just to sit quietly.
I was intrigued to see how Tiffany went from painting such a glorious image he did below in about 1888 to recreating it in a glass window about 1892– both pieces are mesmerising.
The Museum also contains American art, pottery, furniture, late 19th- and early 20th-century American paintings, which are equally as fascinating. This includes vases painted from photographs of Native Americans in the late 19th/ early 20th Century.
Best moment of the visit? Here’s one of my favourite selfies – myself reflected in a Tiffany mirror.
Morse Museum shop
The shop is last but certainly not least. Some amazing things to buy there from puzzles, pens and calendars to jewellery, tea towels, clothes, caps and umbrellas. It’s a great place to find a wide range of very unusual souvenirs for a good range of prices.
About your visit to the Morse Museum
$6 Adults
$5 Seniors age 60 and older
$1 Students (with valid ID)
Free for children younger than 12
All visitors free 4:00 pm–8:00 pm Fridays (November through April)
I came away feeling uplifted by having seen so many beautiful things. It’s well worth a visit and a great alternative to the parks.
About Ruth’s home
If you’d like to book your stay in Florida to enjoy a visit to Winter Park and the Morse Museum or any of central Florida’s other wonderful attractions, please check out our homes here.
Ruth’s home is the very wonderful Sapphire Sky Villa at Orange Tree. See more – and book – here.
Would you like to share your tips for great days out in Florida?
We’d love to share contributions from our guests and homeowners about great days out in Florida. If you have tips or ideas you’d like to share on our blog, please reach out to our team.