Travel and Leisure Articles

Resourceful people are taking incredible, once in a lifetime vacations, seemingly every year. You may even know some of them. They don’t earn that much more than you, but they’re going on a big vacation this year and they’re already planning their big vacation for next year. Do you want to know their secret? They rent houses, condos or timeshares! What do you think it costs to stay at a 4 star resort in Hawaii for a week? How about just a nice hotel? People own vacation properties all over the world and when they aren’t using it they rent them out for a fraction of the cost of staying at a hotel. Despite the cost savings, most people would never consider renting one of these properties. Let’s discuss why.

One of the biggest reasons you might hold back is fear of the unknown. A well known hotel is relatively easy to reserve and you understand the process. You’ve never rented a vacation home before, though. Where do you go to find these rental properties? How do you know you can trust the owner? What if you give all that money to the owner, only to find out that you’ve been cheated? Rest assured, the majority of these transactions are quite safe, though it takes trust from both the renter and the owner. You naturally question everything when you do something for the first time. As a renter, asking questions is the best way to protect yourself. Remember, if it doesn’t feel right, keep asking the owner questions until it does or it’s time for you to walk away and find another rental. The number of vacation properties available may surprise you. Unless you’re looking for a vacation in the middle of nowhere, you can find another property fairly easily. Keep in mind, if you’re not comfortable with the rental transaction, it can really dampen the excitement of an upcoming vacation.

Vacation home rentals have many advantages over hotels, but most people turn to rentals in order to save money. When you vacation at a hotel, you also need to factor in the cost of all your meals. For a family, it really adds up. With a vacation home or condo, and even most timeshares you have a kitchen available to prepare some meals. Between the finicky kids and eating out on every meal for a week, that kitchen becomes a godsend of convenience and savings. Early in the process ask the owner for some pictures of their vacation home. Map out the address. See if Google has a street-level picture of the area. Find out as much about the property as you can. While you can find a lot of information on the Internet for most timeshare properties, a vacation home or condo is a little harder to verify the property meets your needs.

If you can’t tell by now, you need to do a bit more homework for this type of vacation accommodation. Each type of property has its own issues. Is it in a location you’re comfortable with? Can you live without daily maid service? The home owners usually control their property completely and can rent them out fairly easily. On the other hand, a timeshare owner must work within many rules. You should make an effort to learn about them. Sometimes the owners themselves don’t know all the rules, so it’s in your own best interest to be smart and learn as much as you can about a timeshare you’re interested in renting. For example, don’t be alarmed if the owner has a no refund policy because a timeshare reservation is a “use it or loose it” proposition for the owner. If you cancel on them, the owner is left with very few options. They need to protect themselves too, so if they’re asking you to do something that may sound questionable, don’t immediately walk away from the deal. Find out why they want it. If they can’t give you a good answer, then you might seriously consider walking away at that point.

You can build up your comfort level by asking for a rental agreement and review it carefully before going any further with the transaction. You need to know what happens if things go wrong. Not only do you become more comfortable with the transaction, but more importantly you find out who’s responsible for what. Nothing could ruin a vacation faster than something going wrong and you’re wasting your time arguing with the owner. In the pursuit of comfort, you should also probably pass on anyone wanting you to use a wire transfer to send money for this type of transaction. They’re good for getting money somewhere fast, but why would you want to rush through this?

Here are a couple of quick tips to help protect yourself before leaving on vacation:

• Get a reservation at a regular hotel in case the rental falls through. You can usually cancel the room right up to the day before arrival. Just remember to cancel it if you don’t need it.
• Look into buying travel insurance. Some companies will cover the vacation rental, you just need to ask. Most will require you to buy coverage within a couple of weeks of booking so don’t wait too long.
• Use an escrow company. You may have to pay the fees yourself, but if that’s the only way you’ll trust the owner then go for it, just make sure the cost doesn’t wipe out the savings.

If you lease a timeshare or rent a vacation home, you’re now saving money and taking better vacations. Fear may be holding you back, but with a few easy steps, you can increase your level of comfort with the transaction. They key to the whole thing is constant communication. Ask questions. Confirm the details with the owner before leaving. If renting a timeshare, contact the property directly to confirm your reservation before you leave. Look for a verifiable contact address and phone number for the owner. Get a copy of the timeshare reservation with your name on it. Do your homework and research the property. Know the timeshare rules the owner has to work with. These steps go a long way to ensure a flawless vacation home rental and remember if all else fails, if it doesn’t feel right, it’s time to walk away.

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