10 Tips in Choosing a Holiday Rental
If you are looking for a holiday home where you can enjoy some quality time with the family but do not want to end up with a property with a leaking roof and old, smelly carpeting, read on and you might find the tips below useful:
1- Privately or company managed
When choosing a holiday rental, one of the choices you need to make is whether you will be renting from a company or a family or individual. Owner-managed properties will somehow make it more personalized and more budget-friendly. On the other side, company-managed holiday homes are pre-screened and usually come with a 24-hour support in case problems pop up.
2- Set your priorities
Be open to possibilities. When you check holiday rental websites, sort your search according to price, location, features, and other amenities. Also take note that the availability calendars might not be up to date so be sure to check with the owner or the company.
3- Multiple photos
Do not be satisfied with a picture of the exterior. Checkout multiple photos of the holiday home. Make sure you see how it looks like outside and how the property is setup inside. Beware of lenses that make the rooms bigger.
4- Be specific
Ask questions about the holiday rental or be sorry when you and your family get there. Get down to the specifics from sleeping arrangements, nearby establishments, or even kitchen gears. Know the details that you want to know before signing any contract so you still have the leverage.
5- Negotiate
There is always some room to get some discount especially in a struggling market. Depending on the duration of your stay, you can bargain for some discount or free services.
6- Reviews
Look for reviews of holiday rentals and see how the experience has been like for other renters. Be sure that you check out balanced reviews as some sites make glowing praises for properties and delete the negative posts.
7- Guarantees
You need to make sure that you can get refunds or at least guarantees when the vacation rental property ends up far from how it is described and promised to be. Make sure you can reimburse your money if the posting is illegitimate and worst, do not exist.
8- Contract
The responsibilities of the owner and the renter should be in black and white. Read the agreement thoroughly and ask for clarifications or amendments to the document if necessary. A detailed contract is a lot better and puts you on a much safer ground as a renter.
9- Payment options
When you are renting a property during your vacation, be careful with the payment options you will use. Arrange your rental closest to your vacation dates as possible so you can avoid paying for a foreclosed property.
10- Travel insurance
Rental properties do not work like hotels do. They do not have much of walk-in clients so their cancellation policies can be quite strict. Some do not allow refunds within a month or two from your date of arrival while some ask for upfront insurance fee to cover for any possible damage to their vacation home.
