Never Pay Vacation Rental Service Fees Again
No matter if your Florida vacation is a lifetime’s dream or an annual family ritual, there are many changes to keep in mind, first Hurricanes. With the devastation with IRMA, MICHAEL and DORIAN impacting more than 2 million homes talk with the property owners before booking. Theivacation rentalr rental may be fine but the area is not.
FEMA provides assistance for immediate expenses in the event insurance settlement is delayed by 30 days or more. This situation is all too common in Florida, as many people are filing large, complicated claims at the same time.
So, resist Instant Book and ask the property owners about their home, homes in the neighborhood even a few years after the storm.
Since February 2016 there has been massive consolidation of Online Travel websites and vacation rentals have multiplied. But more than a few permanent residents don’t feel very welcoming to this ever-revolving door of new people week after week in their tight-knit neighborhoods. Along with that, service fees. Select communities’ and city leaders feel many new listings run afoul of residential zoning rules, and many post properties that may be dodging sales and bed tax, condo rules, or apartment leases, and guests are irritated with Service Fees imposed by the travel websites. Guests never pay a Service Fee when they Book Direct.
To help you find the ideal vacation, consider my 2017 top tips for finding the perfect vacation rental service at the best price. As over 60% of American vacationers have yet to try a vacation rental, if this is a new idea also look at my 2015 top tips.
Lowest cost per night may not be cheapest
All properties advertised prices are pre-tax and usually without consideration of cleaning charge and often come with a whole host of ‘optional extras’ that you can’t avoid paying out for. When planning your trip, it’s good to remember that High and Peak Seasons are the time you’ll can expect a Florida vacation home rental will be 45-55% less compared with area hotel rates.
With a vacation rental you’ll often be living in 2 to 5 times the space of the average 450 sq. foot hotel room. In the Off Season, hotels with rooms to fill are much keener to match vacation rental rates. Remember also that a hotel isn’t the same as a vacation rental home. Vacation rental properties are increasingly seeking to offer a unique experience, where every detail is designed to complement their locale and the kind of break their guests are seeking, whereas hotels focus on giving a standard experience wherever you are in the world.
Use trusted travel sites
When looking for a longer stay, Vacation Rental by Owner (Vrbo) may have the ideal place for longer stays – for example if you search on ‘Tampa FL’ you’ll find Erehwon Retreat listed. If your trip is a last-minute getaway AirBnB often offers excellent options particularly home shares in which the owner is present. Extended stays are so in demand with Covid19, Booking.com has recently enabled Weekly and Monthly fees on its site.
Trust your instincts, and your host’s instincts
Travel portals can be great, but remember algorithms rob us of the opportunity to be exposed to things we haven’t already endorsed. They place us within a prison of our own predetermined desires. We only get what we have wanted previously and nothing else. This is a limiting way to travel. Further, they increasingly are making changes that remove your email and phone number and don’t provide guests the property owners phone number or give the property owner any information about you. Many proprietors have set up their own websites to let you book direct and avoid the 9-16.4% service fees now being charged and in many sites offer a discount.
Read reviews
Whichever Online Travel Agency your potential vacation rental service is listed on, reach deep into the review process and see what people have to say. Many properties are also reviewed on YELP, FOURSQUARE, TRUST PILOT, Google. It’s a disaster to discover your property changed hands and the new owners didn’t earn the rave reviews you read online. It’s also good to look at photographs taken by guests and ask the owner for more photos than are shown online to get a real sense not just of the property but of its location and the neighborhood. Google Street View can help give you a sense of what you’re renting. Keep in mind, Street Views are updated every three to five years.
While OTAs make it easy to set up as a vacation rental owner, it takes a real commitment to become part of the Hospitality industry. That’s why at Erehwon Retreat our refresh program ensures every tiny detail makes your vacation special, as our Eight or Great post makes clear.