Central Florida attracts approximately fifty million tourists each year, drawn to the Disney World and other theme parks, yet most of them don't take advantage of one of the best bargains available there - Florida short term rentals. They don't know that for the price of a single hotel room they can rent a complete single family home or condo, on a day to day or week to week basis just as if it were a hotel or motel, and experience a far more relaxing vacation.
More and more visitors to the Central Florida theme parks are choosing short term rental homes as their vacation accommodation. The majority of these properties are owned by people who live outside Florida and they rent them out to help cover their running costs.
Many of the bookings for Florida short term rentals come via the internet and are offered by the individual homeowner or by a booking agency or by a travel company. Seeing pictures on the internet is one thing but how can you be sure that the property is really as good as it looks? After weeks and months of looking forward to your dream vacation how do you make sure that the home will live up to expectations?
One way to minimize the risk of disappointment is to find out as much as you can about the property you are interested in renting. Few people would trust to chance that the hotel or motel room they have booked was okay without first doing some research on the motel/hotel. So when choosing your short term rental accommodation think about the following:
* They say you get what you pay for and this is usually true of vacation homes. If you book the cheapest rental home, chances are that it will be poorly maintained and certainly won't be the dream home you imagined. After saving so hard for your vacation it would be a shame to spoil it by picking the cheapest home rather than a better one for just a few dollars more.
* To ensure the quality of the home you are thinking of booking, ask to see photos or a virtual tour of the property. Most owners have these on their websites so you can see exactly what you are getting. If you are booking through a company choose only those who allocate your home when you book it rather than one that assigns one when you arrive.
* To find the location of the property you are renting, ask the owner or booking company for the address then check it out on Google. If they won't give you the full address ask for the zip code. Don't rely on descriptions that state that the home is only "5 minutes from Disney World" because most of the rental homes are two to ten miles away from Disney. Travel times to the parks will obviously vary depending on time of day, season and traffic conditions.
* Customer Service: There's a lot of work to keep a hotel room in top class condition - and even more in a vacation rental home! Find out in advance how the management company or owner provides service when that television set doesn't light up or the pool heating isn't hot enough or the air conditioning stops working. What do they do if it's going to take days to fix? Can they offer alternative properties?
* Self help: Even a five-star hotel is unlikely to meet your every single need, and if you're going for a short-term rental home you'll have to accept the principle of self reliance even more. So if the level of noise at 11pm in the vacation house next to yours is disturbing you, call the Sheriff instead of the Front Desk. If you can't find the nearest restaurant, consult the Internet instead of the Concierge. And for almost anything else, find out from the management company how to deal with it!
No matter what kind of accommodation you are booking for your vacation it pays to do as much research as possible before hand to avoid disappointment on your arrival. It is certainly necessary when looking for Florida short term rentals to avoid distress and a costly mistake. - 20761
More and more visitors to the Central Florida theme parks are choosing short term rental homes as their vacation accommodation. The majority of these properties are owned by people who live outside Florida and they rent them out to help cover their running costs.
Many of the bookings for Florida short term rentals come via the internet and are offered by the individual homeowner or by a booking agency or by a travel company. Seeing pictures on the internet is one thing but how can you be sure that the property is really as good as it looks? After weeks and months of looking forward to your dream vacation how do you make sure that the home will live up to expectations?
One way to minimize the risk of disappointment is to find out as much as you can about the property you are interested in renting. Few people would trust to chance that the hotel or motel room they have booked was okay without first doing some research on the motel/hotel. So when choosing your short term rental accommodation think about the following:
* They say you get what you pay for and this is usually true of vacation homes. If you book the cheapest rental home, chances are that it will be poorly maintained and certainly won't be the dream home you imagined. After saving so hard for your vacation it would be a shame to spoil it by picking the cheapest home rather than a better one for just a few dollars more.
* To ensure the quality of the home you are thinking of booking, ask to see photos or a virtual tour of the property. Most owners have these on their websites so you can see exactly what you are getting. If you are booking through a company choose only those who allocate your home when you book it rather than one that assigns one when you arrive.
* To find the location of the property you are renting, ask the owner or booking company for the address then check it out on Google. If they won't give you the full address ask for the zip code. Don't rely on descriptions that state that the home is only "5 minutes from Disney World" because most of the rental homes are two to ten miles away from Disney. Travel times to the parks will obviously vary depending on time of day, season and traffic conditions.
* Customer Service: There's a lot of work to keep a hotel room in top class condition - and even more in a vacation rental home! Find out in advance how the management company or owner provides service when that television set doesn't light up or the pool heating isn't hot enough or the air conditioning stops working. What do they do if it's going to take days to fix? Can they offer alternative properties?
* Self help: Even a five-star hotel is unlikely to meet your every single need, and if you're going for a short-term rental home you'll have to accept the principle of self reliance even more. So if the level of noise at 11pm in the vacation house next to yours is disturbing you, call the Sheriff instead of the Front Desk. If you can't find the nearest restaurant, consult the Internet instead of the Concierge. And for almost anything else, find out from the management company how to deal with it!
No matter what kind of accommodation you are booking for your vacation it pays to do as much research as possible before hand to avoid disappointment on your arrival. It is certainly necessary when looking for Florida short term rentals to avoid distress and a costly mistake. - 20761
About the Author:
Benefit from the experience of an insider - read more about holiday villas in Orlando Florida and Florida short term vacation rentals here.
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