The vacation rental industry is expected to grow by 3.4% between now and 2027. This growth means that the industry will be valued at $87.61 billion!
With all the money to be made in the vacation rental industry, it’s no surprise that there are a lot of rental options available. This large market means that there is a lot of competition and vacationers can often land an amazing deal. But it can be extremely hard to narrow down the rentals and book a vacation with that many options.
Keep reading to discover the steps you should take before booking any beach vacation rentals.
1. Start By Choosing Your Ideal Location
The very first step in how to find vacation rentals is to narrow down your search by location. If you don’t have a specific location in mind, it will be almost impossible to choose one rental out of the many listings.
Start by thinking about what area of the country you want to visit.
Maybe you want to enjoy the white beaches offered by the Gulf side of Florida. Or, maybe you want to enjoy the waves that California beaches have to offer. Some people may want to enjoy a more scenic vacation by visiting a beach in Washington or Oregon.
Once you’ve narrowed down the graphical location, do some research on the local beaches. Take into consideration how busy the beach is, what local towns have to offer, and the projected weather during your trip.
2. Make a List of Needed Features and Amenities
Once you’ve decided on the location, you’ll want to make a list of all the features and amenities you’re looking for in vacation rentals.
Start with the basics, such as how many bedrooms and bathrooms you’ll need. From there, consider other features of the rental, such as a stocked kitchen or multiple living areas.
Then, consider the extra amenities you’re looking for. These could include the following:
3. Go Through a Reputable Rental Site
You now have a better idea of the ideal place you’re looking for, so now it’s time to start looking at actual rental options. You’ll want to book through a reputable rental site to protect yourself from scams and fraud.
You can look at well-known sites, such as Airbnb or VRBO. Or, do a search for rental companies in the location you’re looking at. Often times, communities will form their own rental companies so that the majority of local rentals are handled by one company. These will also provide you the security you’re looking for.
If you come across a rental site you’ve never heard of, make sure you do your research before putting in any of your information. Search the companies name online to look for reviews or search the Better Business Bureau.
4. Carefully Read the Descriptions
Once you’re on a reputable site, the most important things to look at are the rental descriptions.
In the descriptions, you should find all the features and amenities of the rental listed. Compare these to the list you made earlier and keep track of which rentals fit your needs.
Pay attention to the rest of the information in the rental. Do they describe the local area and beach access? Does the description give extra information that helps the rental stand out amongst others in your search?
Descriptions should be extremely detailed, check out these beach rentals as examples. If you come across any sites with very short descriptions or none at all, steer clear of these rentals. Also, steer clear of online timeshare deals. Most are not what they seem when you reach there. If you have already opted for a timeshare, you can easily cancel it.
5. Study All Photographs
Photographs are an extremely important part of any rental listing. You want to get a clear vision of the place you are booking before you commit to a specific rental.
Carefully look at all the photographs provided. Preferably, a quality listing will have photos of each room and exterior pictures of the building. Compare the exterior photos to Google Maps Street View to ensure that the photographs provided are recent and accurate.
When it comes to your beach vacation, a lot of your time will be spent outside of the rental. For this reason, make sure that the listing has photographs of the closest beach area and the view from the rental’s windows or porch.
6. Check the Previous Reviews
The best vacation rentals should have plenty of amazing reviews attached to the listing. It’s important that you read a majority of a listing’s reviews to get a better idea of the rental and to know how to cancel holiday inn club vacation.
Reviewers will be honest, as they’ve already finished their trip and have little reason to lie. Read through both the five-star and one-star reviews to see what the renter’s reasons were for their rating. Most rentals will have a few bad reviews but consider all the reviews together before making any decisions.
If the site does not feature reviews or the listing only has a handful of reviews, you may want to choose a different rental. This rental could be brand new or the company could be hiding bad reviews.
Taking These Steps Will Help You Enjoy Your Beach Vacation Rentals
After reading this article, you can feel secure when you book future beach vacation rentals.
Start by deciding on your ideal location and the features and amenities you’ll need. From there, find a reputable rental site and read all the descriptions until you find a few that fit your needs. To narrow down your search, make sure you look at all the photographs, and previous reviews to get a better understanding of the rental property.
Looking for tips to help you enjoy your vacation when you’ve arrived at your beach rental? Make sure to bookmark the Travel section of this website and check back often for new content.
You made a good point that reviews from past customers can help a lot in gauging the reputation of vacation rentals. I plan to take my kids to the beach next year in order to make up for our cancelled plans earlier this year. Getting vacation rental will provide us with private space in order to be able to stay away from crowded places.
Thanks for sharing informative content.
Nice Post.