HomeAway Rentals in Orlando – Tips VRBO
In an article in the New York Times Travel section, a Vice President of HomeAway® vacation rentals (Alexis de Belloy) provides some advice for first time holiday villa renters. This piece entitled “Vacation Homework”,details some of the basics that this HomeAway executive finds most valuable. These important booking considerations for any vacation rental include location, villa configuration and amenities. We certainly agree with each of these plus one that was missing, professional quality assurance and cleanliness standards necessary for any vacation rental by owner.
Orlando Vacation Rentals by Owner
Location in Orlando
We have emphasized the importance of location for your Central Florida vacation experience. In fact, searching HomeAway rentals in Florida alone yields over 19,000 options and HomeAway rentals in Orlando has over 4,000 homes for rent. Moreover, our website posts alone reviews on over 80 resort communities which exemplifies the multitude of available locations. Each of the villas listed on the HomeAway rentals site are of course “vacation rentals by owner”. Details for location on each home or resort community are often difficult to find on many other websites. This is precisely why we have posted rental home community reviews which include distance to the major parks along with other pertinent criteria for making an educated decision.
Configuration
In addition to simply evaluating the maximum occupancy, Mr. de Belloy suggests taking this one step further by ascertaining how the home accomplishes this (i.e. sleeper sofas, twin beds, etc…). Moreover, as Mr. de Belloy and HomeAway rentals recommends, research the square footage of the living space and bedrooms to make a competitive evaluation. Any prospective renter should have access to this information from the internet or reservation representative.
Amenities
We wrote a recent a blog post on the latest trends for Kissimmee rental home amenities. In the local market, amenities such as game rooms, wireless internet, a private pool, hot tub and a residential view are all important attributes for most renters. However, the most important amenities are ones that the individual renter deems to be important to meet one’s own personal vacation accommodation needs. We suggest focusing on what is most important for you or your family.
Cleanliness and Maintenance Standards for Vacation Homes
Finally, the one missing item from the HomeAway rentals interview would be the cleaning and maintenance standards for the home rental in question. This can perhaps be the biggest variable for renting directly from an owner and a major disadvantage that vacation rentals have versus hotels. This aspect of the home rental experience provides some perceived risk for the consumer and is often why mainstream consumers turn to hotels for their lodging needs. We also find that HomeAway rental reviews are helpful, but review all content before making a conclusion.
We believe this latter reality is a shame. Make sure you inquire about what professional maintenance and cleanliness standards are maintained for any home you are about to rent. If an individual homeowner cannot quickly identify these standards, seek other options including looking at vacation rental choices managed by a professional management company. In Central Florida, there are many reputable management companies you can trust for a great vacation experience.
For advice and options on villas in Central Florida, give the OVH 360 team a call at 407-966-4144. Although we review them all, we only pick a select few for booking reservations.
