posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 15

Cheap Orlando Vacation Homes

Expect the Orlando vacation home rental rates to drop further for the following reasons:

1. Many current owners are now cash strapped and are willing to rent their homes for less
2. As the recession sets in, less people are visiting driving demand down to rent these homes for their Orlando vacation. Please see our POST on this topic.
3. There are large amounts of these vacation villas entering foreclosure and are being picked up for a fraction of their original price, thus the new owners can rent them out more affordably.

Many of these expansive villas can now be rented at a lesser price than most cramped hotel rooms.

Don’t be afraid to shop around for vacation villas in Orlando, and feel free to ask a lot of questions. Remember, all vacation villas and vacation home management companies are not created equal, so do your homework.

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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.

1. Professionally run with 24/7 customer service
2. A professional easy to navigate web site to select your Orlando villa
3. 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).
4. The Orlando vacaction villa management company has their own service trucks and maintenance staff and are always on call.
5. 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.
6. Great vacation villa community facilities (i.e. pool, clubhouse, community activities)
7. Internet access or WiFi in the Orlando area villa
8. Crystal clear pool/spa
9. Fully furnished includes items like blenders and other amenities in the kitchen – not just the basics
10. 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 1

We started this blog with this tagline promise “… the inside scoop”. We never thought good news would be this hard to find much less discussed publicly.

Although it’s no large consolation for Orlando villa homeowners who are losing their homes to foreclosure, the recent 50%+ slide in petroleum prices

Gas / Petrol Prices Down

should be a big boon for the Orlando vacation home industry/market. This would include both the domestic and international travel market that is desperate for some good news. This drop in fuel should help bring about firmer occupancy demand for the Orlando vacation home market. We have established in another blog that vacation villas in Orlando can present a great value to consumers in general when purchased at a distressed level from a bank. Those on the ground in Orlando estimate that transient occupancy demand is now off by as much as 15% year over year due to the recession. Disney attendance by all accounts is off as well.

As stated in another area of the blog, one cannot be sure where the bottom is for actual vacation home pricing. There are many factors that come into play in evaluating this. However, one can be sure that lower costs for petro should eventually help turn the travel market in the right direction to the benefit of vacation home owners and consumers. Demand in the vacation home rental consumer market does play a role in the valuation equilibrium which is played out in the form of net rental revenues to the home owner. Let’s hope that will be the case moving into 2009.

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 31

We think good Vacation Home Management includes, but is not limited to:

1. All rental mark ups are fully disclosed to owners
2. All repair costs are fully disclosed in detail
3. Accounts can be accessed on line at anytime to see all bookings, fees and revenues
4. Any conflicts of interest are always fully disclosed by the managing entity
5. The cost of property maintenance is clearly broken down
6. The ability to opt out of the management agreement at any time
7. Quality assurance scores and complete inspection photos are disclosed monthly
8. Quarterly contacts to go over the scores by the manager
9. Realistic estimates formulated on the level and type of rental income the home can generate
10. Enabling owners to escrow for capital (major repairs) in an account the owner controls

Please see our other blog posts for additional tips and suggestions for choosing a vacation home management company.

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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 2

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