Have you discovered vacation rentals yet? If you have never tried booking a vacation rental you are in for a pleasant surprise. The advantages of vacation rentals are many. Most of us who have experienced them will not go back to hotel living, except when needing one or two nights. Anything over two nights and two persons makes vacation rentals a great bet. Here’s Why …
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What is a Vacation Rental?
By Deborah S. Nelson, Author/Publisher VRTG
We define a vacation rental as a private home, condo, flat, castle, villa, ranch, cottage, or cabin with a full-sized kitchen and yard space. A bed and breakfast is not a vacation rental. Crashing on a couch through “couch surfing” or renting a spare room through Air B n B is not a vacation rental. When you book a vacation rental, you are booking an entire place and the spot is yours to call home for a few days, weeks or months. From lakeside cottages, mountaintop cabins, and beachfront villas, to luxury townhouses, ski chalets, resort condominiums, and country farms; vacation rentals come in all shapes and sizes, locations and geographical settings. The following article covers the seven advantages of renting a vacation rental instead of a hotel.
1. ENJOY YOUR PRIVACY
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I feel privacy is the best reason to book a vacation home instead of a hotel. Hotels typically are designed and built to accommodate masses of people. People are coming and going all hours of the day and night; and if not on the top floor, you may hear people walking overhead, and children screeching in the pool, or babies crying all hours of the day and night. Additionally, you may be near a parking lot, and hear cars coming and going all night long..
2. KITCHEN AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
With vacation rentals you will have access to a kitchen; usually including pots and pans, dishes and silverware. You’ll be able to shop at the local food market and cook some or all of your meals to your liking. Most of us will go out to eat a time or two or more; but it is nice being able to make coffee and breakfast in the morning, or to whip up a snack when hungry. Your home cooked food will be healthier, and less expensive, as well as more convenient. When you do go out to eat, you’ll enjoy it as a special night out, and will make better restaurant choices because of not being desperately hungry.
3. SPACE AND COMMON AREAS
If vacationing with a large group, extended family, or a big clan, you can’t beat a vacation rental. You will have larger bedrooms, and will also enjoy the benefits of a living room, kitchen, backyard, and patio or terrace areas. These are places where people can congregate and visit in an environment of comfort and peace. Common areas can be used for educational purposes when traveling for work or training purposes.
4. MORE FOR YOUR MONEY
While trying to accommodate an entire family or group in multiple hotel rooms, instead treat yourself to a large multi-bedroom home with a full size kitchen, fully furnished living room, spacious bathroom, and laundry facilities. The room cost per person can range from $25-$75 and a little more for super luxurious places. Added extras can include balconies, private patios and gardens, pools, playgrounds and beach access. Split the cost by traveling with larger groups. Perhaps this is why vacation rentals are popular choices for extended families, friends, parties, sports teams, and those planning company excursions. Whereas most hotel rates vary according to single or double occupancy, vacation rentals advertise a flat fee. It is only until you exceed the occupancy that the owner may charge an extra fee per person and it is usually minimal.
5. LIVE LIKE A LOCAL, PLAY LIKE A TOURIST
Your vacation experience will be different than staying in a hotel. Hotel rooms are designed mostly for sleeping, and not especially pleasant to hang around in. Therefore, when staying in a vacation rental you can actually live in the home. The pressure to go out and spend too much money to be entertained is much less while staying in a vacation rental. Many vacation rentals have pools, Jacuzzis or hot tubs, where people can relax and enjoy visiting together without spending massive amounts of money going out. When you do go out, it will be much more enjoyable as it is not so much an escape from a crowded hotel room, but rather a choice of something important to do. You’ll discover local parks, swimming holes, and attractions that are off the beaten path from where tourists typically visit. When visiting the high profile tourist attractions, you’ll be able to go home to a real home instead of a tiny hotel room. Living locally you’ll discover treasures that you would not normally find staying in the zoned areas of town.
See PART II: Why Vacation Rentals-10 Benefits of Vacation Rental Homes
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My husband and I are trying to plan an anniversary trip and we were curious if we should get a vacation rental or a hotel. I liked the point you made that hotels are made for the masses of people, and we could get way more privacy if we did a rental. Thanks for the great advice about rentals!
I love how you said that a rental would be a much better option if you are travelling with a big group. Every year my extended family gets together and we do a big family reunion somewhere that none of us has been. It can get pretty expensive having everybody go their separate ways but this idea of a beach rental or something like that could really work for us. We’ll have to look into it before the next one rolls around in the coming year.
I like that you mention that a rental vacation home is usually less expensive than a hotel and that it has more accommodations that come with it. Staying in a rental home means that you can be in a comfort of a home, even when you’re on vacation. It’s a great option for those with large families or those who want to live more like a local when they’re staying somewhere away from home.
I just wanted to thank you for explaining why vacation rentals are beneficial. It’s good to know that this is a good place for big groups, like a family, because you can have larger bedrooms and patio areas. This seems like it could also be good if you have a lot of kids there, because they may have the room to run around and play.
My husband and I have three kids, and we want to go on a vacation. We want a different option from a hotel because it’s hard for all of us to fit in one room. So I do like how you say that vacation rentals have a lot of room and have larger bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and a backyard. We’ll have to find a rental to get for our family to use.
I’ve been wanting to go one vacation, though I haven’t been sure if I should rent a hotel or vacation home. I like how you mentioned that vacation rentals typically cost less than hotels when comparing space. I think that it can also help you feel more secure, as only your family will be in the home.
I love the idea of getting a vacation rental because it has enough space for everyone and how everyone can be in the same space together. I want to go on vacation this summer so I’ve been looking between getting a hotel or vacation rental for my whole family. I feel like a vacation rental would give you that home feeling without actually being at home so it sounds a lot more fun.
I like how you brought up how much more privacy you have in a vacation rental over a hotel. I would like to be all alone when I go on vacation with my wife. I don’t want to deal with noisy neighbors or people crowded halls.
It’s great that you point out that booking a vacation rental gives you more privacy than staying in a hotel. I want to take a trip to the Suwannee River soon with my family, so I’m thinking about booking a vacation home there for us. I’m going to search for a good vacation home rental in the area that we can use.
I like that you mentioned that cabin rentals often have good kitchens as well. One of the things I’d like to do for my family when going on vacations is going to extra mile in my cooking. Vacation time gives me the freedom to focus on cooking and not think about other responsibilities.