posted by orlandovacationhome on Sep 17
Checking the latest data on the Orlando CVB web site, indicators show that hotel rates are dropping at a much faster rate than occupancy.
In a market where lodging products have become commoditized (little or no differentiation), it is important to understand that there are significant differences between hotels and vacation home communities (see our reviews on the right).
When hotels drop their rates, it typically has a treacherous impact on their profitability. Some credible news sources now claim that as many as 1 in 5 hotels are in some stage of foreclosure. Vacation homes have also seen huge amounts of foreclosures, but such issues can be largely prevented by renting a home from a larger reputable management company.
Bargains now abound in Orlando as the competition for the consumer lodging business grows fierce. However, for the price of a decent hotel room, you can typically rent an entire house with your own private pool. If arriving with a family, it can be much more enjoyable for everyone to have their own bedroom and television as well enjoy large common spaces such as kitchens and living rooms. This may be contrasted to staying in a cramped hotel room. Many Orlando vacation homes also come with private pools and full garages.
In conclusion, if you are planning on coming to Orlando, consider renting a vacation home from a well established and reputable management company. Consult our unbiased vacation reviews and profiles and details of various vacation resorts in the area.
Orlando Vacation Homes
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 12
When booking an Orlando vacation home rental via the internet, part of your decision will include selection a quality vacation home management company. There are plenty of Orlando vacaction managment companies to choose from in the Central Florida area.
- Professionally run with 24/7 customer service
- A professional easy to navigate web site to select your Orlando villa
- The vacation homes have a quality assurance program in place to maintain top notch vacation home standards (Please see our blog post on this topic).
- The Orlando vacaction villa management company has their own service trucks and maintenance staff and are always on call.
- Location of the vacation home.The home should be in a completed and well maintained vacation home community subdivision. No vacant lots and overgrown lawns in the area. Please consult our site often for updated vacation home community reviews and ratings.
- Great vacation villa community facilities (i.e. pool, clubhouse, community activities)
- Internet access or WiFi in the Orlando area villa
- Crystal clear pool/spa
- Fully furnished includes items like blenders and other amenities in the kitchen – not just the basics
- A game room for the kids
Ultimately, you will decide what’s important to you and your family’s Orlando vacation experience. Always try and book the homes with the best location (as close as possible to the parks if that’s where you want to be). Ask the management comany a lot of questions and consult our independent vacation home community ratings. The best run companies are always happy to answer all your questions.
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 12
Selecting the right Orlando area vacation home management company is a critical factor for having a great Orlando vacation. As we have established, when you do business with the right vacation home management company, your experience will and can be superior to that of staying in a hotel. Because this aspect is so important, here are a few more quick tips on choosing the right vacation home management company in Orlando:
- Call the Orlando vacation home management company directly- This will give you a feel of the type of customer service the company offers. Are the individuals that answer the phone courteous, professional and knowledgeable? Are you treated like a number or does the staff really try to make suggestions based on your Orlando vacation villa rental needs?
- Homeowners are not always the best source for directly booking an Orlando vacation villa rental - This often is the cheapest route in terms of rental rate, but if something goes wrong, an owner may not be in town to help you. So if renting by owner, do your homework. If they do not have staff personnel to respond quickly and often the quality assurance of your stay could be in question.(see other related blog posting on this topic).
- Better Business Bureau Linkage - Look for the BBB sign on the Orlando vacation home management company’s website. You should be able to click on the logo and see the company’s history with vacation home consumer comments. Without this important feature, the vacation villa management company may not be fully disclosing its operational history.
- Other Affiliations - Look for the vacation home management company to be well established and be members of various other professional organizations in their area. Often these affiliations are clearly shown on their web site.
Again, there are lots of vacation home management companies in the Orlando area. If you do a little shopping of Orlando vacation home reviews and ratings on this blog, you will greatly increase your odds of having a great Orlando vacation home rental experience with no surprises. Chances are that your overall Orlando vacation will be positive as well.
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 11
If you are visiting Orlando Florida and looking for a vacation villa rental, there is great news. There is a huge oversupply of Orlando luxury vacation homes for rent. This means deals to be had abound for your Orlando vacation. For about the price of a mid-market hotel room, you can rent a fully equipped vacation villa home with your own private pool and do as much self-catering in a full kitchen as you like. This would certainly help you cut down on your dining and entertainment bills. Thousands of homes were built over the last ten years, and now many owners need to rent them. On any single night in Orlando, many of these homes sit empty.
Occupancies Dropping
In Orlando, the hotel industry will be the first to tell you their occupancies plunged in September 2008 over 2007, with room revenues dropping by as much 20-25%.
Many Owners Need to Rent
Many vacation homeowners are now feeling the pinch of the housing crisis, and many of the speculators who bought now need to generate additional income to the pay the mortgage.
What does this mean to you, the renter?
You need to rent through a good Orlando vacation home management company. Booking direct from an owner can be hazardous, as often they are from out of state, and if there is a problem, you are often on your own. Also, the Orlando villa could be in some stage of foreclosure and a good vacation home management company can make sure your villa is still available, clean and inspected the day you arrive.
- Shop around. There are thousands of Orlando villas and hundreds of vacation home rental management companies. Make sure you rent a good home, get a great deal and stay in a great location for your Orlando vacation.
- Always pay by credit card.
Orlando Vacation Homes - Great Deals for Renters!
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 29
Buying A Vacation Home in Orlando - Kissimmee
At a dinner party in our home town of Frome, England, we recently met a couple who told us they just bought a vacation home in Orlando, Florida.
As we go to Orlando all the time and our mum owns two vacation homes, we had a lot in common. Our new friends told us where they bought the home, so we looked it up on the Internet. When we visited Kissimmee the following week, we met with our management company and started talking about the home. The owners told us they paid $220K cash for the house. Our property manager said the same model was selling for less than $160K (bank owned).
In America, there are various real estate professionals that can help you. To ensure you are getting the best deal possible, directly hire your own independent professional advisors. Your cost for this type of advice will be several hundred dollars for an appraiser as an example.
Hiring a professional to do some market research could have saved our friends almost $60,000. Don’t make the same mistake!
So if you are looking to buy a vacation home in the Orlando, Kissimmee, Clermont or Davenport area, do your homework and directly hire a team of independent professionals these might include CPAs, Appraisers and Attorneys. As always we just express an opinion and don’t offer professional advice. We are after all incompetent.
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 25
With a fragmented industry with lots of players and no strong “branded” presence, the consumer for vacation homes is left to make some decisions with little or no information regarding the maintenance and cleanliness of the home they will eventually be staying in. Quality assurance in the mind of the consumer will be the ultmate differentiator after staying in the home or referrring
Orlando Vacation Home Management Quality Assurance
How Clean is your Vacation Home
others to frequent that management company again. Along those lines, and before booking any vacation home, one should make sure that the management company has a program in place to proactively manage maintenance and cleanliness of each vacation home.
A quality program for housekeeping may include training methods, graded inspections and employee recognition to deliver a home that is clean and well maintained for each inbound guest. All three elements and others are part of an overall strategy to compete with the cleanest hotels, and to deliver a pleasurable experience.
From a maintenance perspective, regular and thorough inspections of the entire home are an important part of the process. Too many companies use the guests as their de facto QA team, which should not be the case, and is
All Vacation Homes Should be Quality Inspected
certainly not what you paid for. Performing needed maintenance and preventive maintenance at appropriate intervals before the guest arrives keep the home and its collective infrastructure operating effectively to the benefit of the occupants.
Before you book your vacation home, make sure the management company has a quality program in place as evidenced by testimonials, referrals or a program mentioned on their website. Although this might seem a given as a consumer, it is surprising to see the number of companies that don’t see the guest experience as part of their “brand”. Why? They put their time and efforts into other areas of the business or they purposely cut corners to reduce expenses. Make sure you never book with a company in the latter group.
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 5
Good Vacation Home Management
So you own a vacation home? Join about 40,000 other owners in the Orlando, Kissimmee, Disney, Clermont or Davenport area.
What Homeowners should demand from their management company:
- The option to opt out of the management contract at any time if you are not happy with the company.
- The ability to rent out your home at least 65% of the year.
- A quarterly quality assurance and inspection report with photos and scores for all aspects of your home from the AC system to pool.
- Assurance that home repairs are completed at cost, and that a detailed report is provided of work completed
- All capital projects are bid out in writing to at least three bidders for items such as roof repair, ac replacement, pool resurfacing etc.
- Minor repairs are billed at a rate no higher than $35 an hour.
- You can login-in to your account 24 hours a day to view all bookings, maintenance and account details.
- They are licensed and insured, and can provide all documentation
- They provide resumes of their key staff
- They respond quickly and professionally to your requests and answer their phones by the third ring 24/7
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posted by orlandovacationhome on Sep 12
Always do your homework. There are hundreds of management companies and picking the wrong one can be costly. Here are some questions you may want to consider asking:
- Are they licensed and do they have proof of licensure?
- Are they insured and do they have proof of insurance?
- How long have they been in business and do they have proof of that experience (references, etc…)?
- How many homes do they manage?
- Do they have a physical office and where is it located?
- How will they market your house to potential renters?
- How many full time staff do they have?
- Do they contract out and markup pool service, cleaning, landscaping and general maintenance or do it themselves at cost?
- Do they have a system that an owner can access and view when the home is booked?
- Do they have a system where I can view my account and property maintenance?
- What is the average occupancy of homes they have managed for 3 or more years?
- What type of preventative maintenance will they do on my home?
- Do they make a profit off repairs and maintenance?
- How is my home inspected and maintained?
- Will they guarantee a minimum net rental income in writing?
- Are they also real estate agents?
- Are they registered with the Better Business Bureau?
- Do they have 24 hour customer service?
- Can they provide you with a dozen references (of other home owners) for you to call?
- What type of quality assurance do they offer and how is it communicated?
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