The trend of staying in vacation rentals sounds like 21st century behavior - but like a lot of things, the truth is, it's not necessarily more common these days. It’s much easier thanks to the Internet.
For example, Eric Anderson, a serial entrepreneur from New
York, used to find rentals in the classifieds of the New York Review of Books,
which is about as pre-Internet as it gets.
"We hate hotels and have been staying in apartments -
assuming a friend's sofa wasn't available - for years," he said. “Every
trip to Paris over the past 25 years has meant finding a niche - first through
the New York Review of Books classifieds, and now online.”
We have great resources on why (Vacation Rentals: For You?)
And Where (Find Vacation Rental) to book vacation rentals. Together, these
articles outline some of the reasons you might want to find a vacation home and
how to go about it. It's critical to remember that you're not paying for a global
chain hotel room with established policies, more or less consistent quality
control, and another room down the hall if your own room is messed up.
Instead, you're going to rent a house from a private
individual, with all the personal quirks and potential conflicts that could
come with it. Even if you go through an agency, at the end of the day, the
owner's expectations and inclinations are just as important as yours, and you
want to be aware of this fact from the start.
So what happens when you get there, put the combo on the
chest and walk through the door? Over the years, I have stayed in vacation
rentals in Seattle and Whidbey Island, WA; San Diego, California; Margate, NJ;
Cinque Terre; Mexico; London and Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom; Alaska and
more - and in almost everyone, I have found little differences and peccadilloes
that you would never encounter in any Marriott chain hotel, for example. One
owner demanded that the dishes be done a certain way, while another recommended
space the showers at least 15 minutes apart if we wanted hot water. And these
are just the ones I have chosen; I saw all kinds of weird features and
restrictions while searching for places
to stay in Manzanita Oregon.
Since I have found something a little different in each
place we have stayed, I knew I couldn't know all the possible tips and trials
of a vacation rental. To that end, I conducted an informal survey of my vast
network of die-hard traveler friends that revealed some things to consider
before sending a security deposit. With the lack of some of the amenities manzanita
hotels can offer (on-site restaurants and small convenience stores, room
service, a stock of toiletries behind the front desk, and even shuttles to
airports and attractions), you'll want to familiarize yourself with the
following issues and questions when choosing a vacation rental. Read on for
essential tips for renting a vacation home.
Be Not
Afraid
Before I start, and lest the following scare
anyone off avacation rental, I should say that under the right conditions, a vacation rental can offer an experience like no other. Very few hotels offer doorstep access to tide pools, a garage full of bikes, an unobstructed view of both the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, a direct view of a major sporting event in manzanita lodging, or a surf break out front — but I have enjoyed all of these at vacation rentals, including some on work trips! The buildings and the owners themselves can be special, even extraordinary. Ex-pat Dan McLaughlin tells of a superb experience in Florence: “The fact that the apartment was in a 15th-century building … went a long way with the cool factor.”
And you never know what kind of surprise for places
to stay in manzanita or you might encounter that might never happen in a
hotel. At a house on Whidbey Island in Washington, we stayed immediately next
door to the home of the seventh-grade English teacher of one of our best
friends back in New Jersey. The chances of that kind of “small world” encounter
go way up when you ditch the Holiday Inn and go stay in folks’ homes.
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