Vacation home rentals can be a cost effective and relaxing way to enjoy your trip. My family has enjoyed this option for more than 20 years of traveling and I must say, it is the way to go for us. Renting an apartment, villa or home gives you something that is desperately needed on every vacation, space. You spend all year planning and talking about that wonderful upcoming adventure only to find that once you are all there in your hotel room, you can’t wait to get out. Not to mention that eating every meal (and snacks) at a restaurant and can get a little pricey. Of course, my family, just like yours, has enjoyed many of vacations in hotels, they have their place. But by and large, give us a home with a pool, kitchen, separate bedrooms, living room, etc. and we’re happy. Space can be an amazing thing when on a vacation.
Now some of you are saying, “I’m on vacation. The last thing I want to do is cook and clean for this family.” Couldn’t agree more. But most often your home or apartment rental will come with a cleaning service included in the price. Some also include a cook, but sometimes there can be an additional charge. Regardless of the rental, it can be a rewarding experience to have everyone pitch in making a meal while you talk about the wonderful adventures of the day. Think about it, do you really want to spend $20 for your little one to have a bowl of cereal and a donut from the buffet?
As for renting a property for vacation, there are several choices. You can rent directly from owners; through listing agencies; and realtors, as well. We’ve found that it really depends on the type of property we’re looking for that drives our choice in providers. We’ve had very good luck renting from owners. The best part of this type of rental is they are more willing to negotiate on price. Yes, you can negotiate! Just because there is a price listed, doesn’t mean that is what you have to pay. Most owners would rather rent their property for a slight discount than have it go empty so they are willing to negotiate. Now, don’t think that means you can rent a 5 star villa that normally goes for $10,000.00 a week for a $1,000.00. No one will give their home away, but quite often they will accept a reasonable offer. On average I’ve found if you ask for 1 night free, that is pretty much the limit for a discount, and most of the time, I get it. Its really a win-win for both the renter and the homeowner. The renter gets a good deal they share with others, the owner gets income for that week.
Don’t be discouraged if the owner declines to negotiate, it happens. Negotiating during peak rental periods, homes that are extremely popular, during key events or holidays, not very successful. You may get a slight discount but don’t count on it. Rather if you choose to vacation at the start or end of peak season, or during the shoulder season the chances for a discount are much greater and can be more than a single free night. You just have to be ready to negotiate and have some flexibility. So pick your dates, location, type of rental and amenities and search the web for rentals meeting your needs. You’d be surprised what is available and will really give you that needed space for vacation.
Renting through agencies has been a little more firm on price, although some have given a discount, when I asked. Most of these agencies work off commission so reducing the revenue isn’t exactly their goal. One of the benefits of these groups is their ability to search out other properties for you if the one you want isn’t available or is too costly. Quite often if I’m working with an agency on a rental they will make recommendations of other properties that are closer to my budget, and still have the amenities I want. Often they can also help with car rentals, tours, transfers, etc. or arrange for a chef, kind of like your personal concierge.
Either way, we’ve found that vacation property rentals provide so much more and are actually cheaper than a hotel. And the space, can’t say enough about having space while on vacation.
Home Rental Tips:
1. First find an area that has items of interest to you (museums, ruins, bars, coffee shops, river walks, etc.) and then look for a property. You don’t want to find a great deal on a rental only to find it’s an hour’s drive to the nearest park or museum.
2. Pick your season. Remember that traveling during shoulder seasons can be much cheaper. If you can arrange for everyone to have the time off, this is the best time for vacationing. Fewer crowds, generally more moderate temperatures, lower airfares, the list goes on but the point is if this is a good time for you to vacation, grab it.
3. Find several rental properties that meet your needs. The reason for finding more than one is obvious, getting ready to negotiate.
4. Check the calendar. If the property you want is booked solid and has one week available, you may want to think about a different property. Sure it may be a beautiful apartment or villa but most likely there won’t be any negotiating for discounts.
5. If you find one that meets your needs and isn’t booked until 2030, negotiate on a rental. Send the owner or agent an email asking if they are offering any discounts or specials for your rental period. Ask if they provide airport transfers, stocking services, can they include a cook for one meal a day, whatever you feel comfortable asking just remember to be fair.
6. Once you check into your rental, make sure you go over everything with the manager. Everything includes: how to shut off the water (never know when a fitting will come loose or break); where the electrical panel is located, how does the clothes washer and dryer work, pots and pans are where?, TV’s all work, air conditioning works, toilets work (oh yeah!), etc. If you need to touch it to make it work, have the manager show you how to touch it, saves a lot of time later.
7. Make sure you have a good contact for your manager in case there are issues. If they give you a phone number, call it while they are there to make sure you know how to reach them.
8. Read the fine print before sending your deposit. I once rented a castle, yes a castle, from a company called Celtic Castles that were acting on behalf of the owner in Scotland. I confirmed the dates with our family and sent off my $1300.00USD to reserve the castle. We had a change come up and decided we couldn’t go, I requested a refund since it was 6 months from our arrival date. I was told in no uncertain terms that ALL deposits were non-refundable unless they could re-rent the castle for the same time. Naturally they didn’t and I didn’t get my deposit back. Lesson learned, read the fine print carefully.