Vacation rentals are becoming increasingly popular among all kinds of travelers and vacationers, from families to groups of friends to even solo travelers. One of the biggest reasons for such a trend is that vacation rentals offer more privacy and are also cheaper to check-in than hotels and resorts.
Just imagine a very private rental home with a private pool on exotic remote islands! Who wouldn’t like that for a vacation, right?
However, finding reliable vacation rentals in Wallace might become a daunting task if you are new to the trend. To help you with your search, we have compiled a list of tips that can help you find the dream rental for your vacation.
Know what you want
The first and foremost tip for finding the best vacation rental is to know what exactly you are looking for. Different individuals have different requirements when it comes to vacation homes. Some people might prioritize amenities, while others may be looking for more budget-friendly options. Some might even be more concerned about the location of the vacation rental property. For example, there are individuals who don’t mind paying a massive amount to rent out entire homes as long as they are near the sea at beach destinations. However, some people might want to save some money and consider a property situated within walking distance from the beach to be the perfect rental.
Such variety in priorities makes the concept of “the best vacation rental property” very subjective.
So, for finding vacation rentals that suit your requirements and cater to your needs, you have to know exactly what you want. Make a checklist of everything you want before booking a vacation rental. This will ensure that your search has a direction based on your preferences.
Time the purchase
While looking for a vacation rental home, the timing of your booking is an important element. The availability of vacation rentals might depend on what time of the year it is that you are making the booking in. For example, if there are annual festivities in certain places or grand celebrations are taking place, the availability of short-term rentals like vacation rentals might become scarce.
Additionally, if budget is a concern for you, avoid booking a vacation rental during such festivities as the rates of rental properties tend to be higher during these times.
Hence, if you are someone who is not intending to attend any such festivals in a certain location, make sure to time your travel dates and accommodation options accordingly. However, if attending such festivities is the sole purpose of your vacation, it is advisable to book rentals beforehand and not wait till all the vacation rentals are booked already.
Know what you are renting
You might feel tempted to only focus on getting a deal while opting for vacation rentals. But while a good deal is important, it is also important that you thoroughly understand the property you are renting. When finding reliable vacation rentals, it is very crucial that you focus equally on authenticating the property as much as its appeal.
So, how do you authenticate a property? Make sure to check and piece out every information available about the property. From photographs to articles about the given destination, from the rental property owners’ website to the reviews about the rental property you are choosing, go through absolutely everything. Your extensive research about the property will ensure that you find reliable holiday homes rather than getting into any scam or fraud.
Know who you are renting from
After understanding the rental property you are opting for, make sure you know who you are renting the parcel from. Research about the property owners providing vacation rentals and not just the homes you plan to rent. Do your research to ensure that the owners have been in the business for at least some time now. Ensure that the property owners are not just some faceless, anonymous users running a fraudulent scheme for people looking for vacation rentals.
You can do such kind of research by reading through the descriptions of the property rental sites, the personal websites of the owners and the rental properties, guest ratings of the homes, and reviews by their previous customers.
Being careful with the contract
Make sure to read the contract carefully. Rentals are not like hotel rooms; rather, they are more like apartments that you are renting for a short period of time. Thus, there might be rules and clauses in the contract that might be important to know about. For example, the contract might have a special mention for the cleaning options. You may clean after yourself, or you may leave the place as it is and lose your deposit as a cleaning fee.
Similarly, there might be a special service fee and rules for using the hot tubs in the high-end vacation rentals that you are looking for. But you will never know it unless you read the contract carefully beforehand.
Rent from a reliable hosting site
You might rent property from a sweet, decent, elderly couple in your vacation location, as that might be a better deal for you. But in such cases, the chances are you will be provided with no assistance or customer support. If there is an issue with the property concerning plumbing, air conditioning, or electricity, you might have to survive through it for the rest of your trip.
To avoid such inconvenience, it is advisable to rent your property from a reliable vacation rental site. The best vacation rental sites out there usually operate with a designated customer support team that is available 24/7 to support your needs. You might even avail of some additional services and amenities when you opt for a vacation rental from the official websites that are known to be reliable.
Some mistakes to avoid
Ensure that you follow the tips to find a reliable, safe rental property that caters to your needs? We would now like to share some common mistakes that limit the possibilities of finding the perfect vacation rental so you can avoid them and have a good time planning your next vacation.
Misjudging the location
Misjudging the location is one of the most common mistakes that many people make and thus, end up in a pool of inconvenience. Just imagine renting a vacation rental ‘near’ your favorite popular destination and later finding out that the ‘near’ is a 6-hour drive from the major cities around!
The best way to avoid this mistake is to know where and how far the property is located from your choice of destination. Use the map feature provided by most rental sites to see the exact location of the rental.
Not reading the vacation rental descriptions
Many people make the major mistake of judging the vacation home through the photographs given on the booking platforms. How much ever tempting the pictures may look, it is advisable never to skip reading the description of the home.
For example, a photograph with the view of trees and flowers from the window of the private room might persuade you to make the booking. But when you reach there, you find out the view has changed completely because the photograph was clicked in a different season. This can make you feel frustrated. So, make sure that you are doing your research thoroughly, and also, it’s best to ask some questions before booking a vacation rental.
Missing out on recent reviews and testimonials
Do not ever miss out on reviews and testimonials of the guests who have stayed in the rental earlier. Along with the guest rating, the most recent reviews can help you understand the latest condition of the rental. Understand if the vacation home rentals you are opting for are family-friendly or not, and identify the accommodation type. Make sure to analyze the ratio of critic review over favorable review.
Being mindful of the reviews and the testimonials can help you avoid unpleasant surprises to ensure convenience and comfort for your next trip.
Not using a reliable vacation rental site
This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make while looking to rent private rooms for your vacation. Cheaper deals and coupons offered by anonymous and unknown sites might be pretty tempting for some people. But doing so will make you more prone to getting trapped into scams and fraudulent schemes.
On the other hand, top vacation rental sites make sure that the listed properties are legit. Usually, such sites have a better authentication process than other vacation rental sites. A best vacation rental site that is reputed for its service will ensure that they verify the property and the owner before it offers vacation rentals.
Not reading about the amenities
Many people have very specific expectations from the rental sites. If you are someone who prioritizes amenities in vacation rental sites, make sure you read about what the rentals offer, for example, contactless check-in, hot tub, swimming pools, in-unit laundry, concierge service to make your visits easier to local attractions, etc. Understand the price breakdown for such amenities, since rentals do not usually include the price of extra amenities in their rent.
Not sharing the house rules with your group
Many rentals tend to have some specific house rules. These rules may be already mentioned on the best sites or on the contract that you are signing for the rental. The rules might be about anything related to what the owner does and doesn’t want guests to do inside the house. For example, there might be a very specific rule about not smoking inside the rental house because of the lingering smell that the smoke may leave behind.
One of the biggest mistakes that people do is that they forget to share such regulations with the group they are with. Especially when you are vacationing with a bigger group, make sure everyone is aware of any such rules to avoid any ‘extra fee’ situation.
Ignoring the cancellation policies
It is natural that the trip you have planned might get postponed or canceled due to some personal reason. So, it is important to always keep the possibility of cancellation in mind while booking a vacation rental. Most of the best vacation rental websites make sure to add the cancellation policies in their search results page itself so that you can be aware of the policies from the very first stage of the booking process.
Conclusion
Finding reliable vacation rentals might look like a difficult task. But it is important to remember that at the end of the day, the key to finding the best sites for your vacation stay is to find the most reliable booking sites that provide transparent services. While searching for a reliable place to rent, it is important that you prioritize your needs and requirements, plan accordingly, do your research, and then find out what’s best for you.
