Several months ago I wrote an article about the so-called Craigslist Vacation Rental Scam. The article highlighted the risk of renting a vacation home long distance. This year we planned to take our family vacation in Key West Florida and wanted to rent a vacation home instead of a hotel room. This was my first experience with a vacation home rental. I have rented timeshare properties but never a private home before.
We decided to use the website Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO). We did some searching and found a wonderful 3 bedroom 3 bath house in Key West for less than the cost of most hotels for the same number of days. We paid $1,380 for the 7 days at a home located just 10 minutes from Duval Street in Key West.
Since our children are older, this gave them the ability to have their own rooms with TV’s and their own bathrooms as well. Although there are just five of us, the house we are renting could have easily accommodated 8 to 10 people. One of the major savings was having our own kitchen. We have been eating out only once per day, buying our own groceries, and preparing most of our meals. The house also has a washer and dryer as well. The complex that we are staying in is gated with a private swimming pool, clubhouse, and fitness center.
How To Protect Yourself When Renting A Vacation Home
When renting a vacation home it is imperative that you pay for your rental with a credit card or Pay Pal. This gives you a layer of protection if the rental turns out to be a scam. Sites like VRBO are a simply a network connecting renters and owners and do not guarantee your rental. As a renter, you are required to pay the owner directly. Using a credit card for your rental is your best protection. The only exception I would make to this would be if you are paying a licensed Realtor. If the property is represented by a licensed real estate company (and you can officially verify that) you should be able to count on the legitimacy of the transaction. Nonetheless, still paying with a credit card would be even more protection.
One of the other features at VRBO is user comments and ratings for each property. A property with multiple good reviews is another level of assurance that you have about the legitimacy and quality of the rental.
National Vacation Rental Services
Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO)
Having never used VRBO I can only say that we are thrilled at how our vacation rental worked out in Key West. Not only did we save money, but we got far more value than we would have renting a hotel. If you have rented a vacation home and would like to share your experience, please use the comment section below. The best comment this week will receive a $50 gift certificate for use at my online store.
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Nice post-very powerful encouragement for those who are looking for a great vacation. Thanks!
Posted by: Taylors Real Estate | April 30, 2012 at 07:07 PM
I have checked that site VRBO, it contains information of worldwide vacation rentals. Vacation rentals are better place to stay than hotels. They are cheap and you will feel like home.
Posted by: seagrove vacation rentals | February 27, 2012 at 06:33 AM
You didn't mention HereStay...have you not heard of them? They're great, they even give you free airline miles for booking your vacation rental through them.
Posted by: Jay Kane | January 08, 2012 at 06:28 AM
a few years back we decided to rent a vacation home for our family of 4 in door county, wisconsin. the owner was super friendly, helpful and reassuring about this new endeavor, and when we arrived to see an amazing lovely home that was just what she promised, we were thrilled! a year later when we were to take our first really long road trip and needed 2 nites near Yellowstone Natl Park, finding another vacation home was the choice. again thru the internet, we found a fabulously accomodating owner, who gave us a super discount because of the short notice availability & her christian heart felt led to gift us this way so we could afford the beauty of her place. she gave great directions, instructions for entry, etc. what she failed to do was explain the extreme steepness and 5+ mile distance up a hill we'd be traveling to arrive at the beautiful home! our adventure up the hill in a mini van on the icey, snow covered narrow road with no guard rails thinking we'd fall down the cliff edge where elk were roaming free and fearing for our lives sharing the road when others were going down with my husband driving--a 20+ year firefighter who is plenty experienced driving firetrucks thru extreme traffic at high speeds--had all of 4 of us including him filled with fear, tears, silence & crying, praying for help, and we've told the story of our adventure to many, bringing up the same fear & bonding our family had experienced! we'll never ever forget this vacation, where we packed all our belongings up, forfeiting the 2nd nite we'd paid for in order to not have to make the trip back up the hill! it was the most beautiful place to finally be at, and we had a wonderful family evening together, thankful we stopped to get dinner & breakfast groceries before leaving the small town at the base of the hill. i can still hear how upon arriving, our daughter announced when we were getting out of the car, "mom...you always find the best places...its gorgeous" !! upon falling asleep on the nite we did spend there, i told my husband i had figured out how i was going to deal with the fear of having to now drive DOWN the scarry hill--he'd have to find one of those mountain rangers & shoot me with a bear sized tranquilizer, or, i'd keep the kids up there with me & become a homeschooling mountain mama with the kids, and he could send supplies & visit whenever he'd like! OUR ADVICE: make sure to ask vacation home rental owners ALL about the terrain & access to the home to be informed & prepared!
Posted by: linda | July 06, 2011 at 08:37 AM
I've seen VRBO mentioned a lot in my research but I didn't know what it was. My family spent a lot of time at vacation rentals but they are finally considering just moving there now that they are older. I think for the amount of time they plan to be there, it is a great idea!
Posted by: Samantha | July 04, 2011 at 05:29 PM
I have vacationed in Paris often and have always rented an apartment in the city. There are apartments in all price ranges and in all sections of the city so you can find whatever you are interested in. We have rented one and two bedroom apartment because it's usually just my wife and me. Our daughters have occasionally joined us so its worked out fine. Every year we have rented in a different district in the city so we have become familiar with much of the city. We have also rented an in Panama City, Panama. We have always had good luck. We are now thinking about swapping homes.
Posted by: Leonard Bass | July 03, 2011 at 11:22 PM