What do you look for in a vacation rental?

[kimbug]

We have rented at a place with a private pool only once and for us a private pool has never been a requirement. The "kids" in our group are much older now then we first started visiting so they can just go to the pool whenever they want to leave the beach. I do like community pools that are actually big enough to support the community though! Some are way too small. I agree that when visiting the beach that is what you are there for. I can swim in my community pool in Ohio all summer long but I appreciated the pool much more than usual on this past visit due to all the June grass. I think the private pools are usually really small too.

Personally, since we are an extended family group when we vacation bed sizes & number of rooms are much more important features for us. We prefer homes with 2 king bedrooms if possible! Just my 2 cents!

 

[luvthebeach57]

I obsess over which place I'm going to rent. This year, I spent at least a month online every day researching all the possibilities. I determine what my price range is to start with. Location and views are very important to me. Access to a pool (either private or community) are also a must. I also take photos of the furnishings into consideration. If an owner is willing to give us a price break, then that is the icing on cake.

 

[traderx]

Congrats on providing wireless internet. It is surprising how many property owners still do not seem to be aware of the need for this. I don't know how your wireless is set up but please provide it free, or as part of the rental. There are few things more irritating than to pay good money to rent a vacation home and then have to pay a third party for internet access. You feel like you are nickel and dimed to death.

My pet peeve is furniture and decorations. Nobody expects top of the line furnishings in a rental home but provide an atmosphere in keeping with the rental price. While, yes, there are people who enjoy lime green and bright yellow, I think most people, whether buying or renting, prefer neutral colors. Comfortable living room seating is a must for evenings and those rainy days.

My other pet peeve is a dishwasher which operates at sound levels only equalled by a Kiss concert. Spend the money to get a decent DW that won't bust eardrums.

As for a private pool, I really enjoy the convenience of one but I would get thru at least one year of rental experience before I would consider going to the expense.

 

[Mango]

Congrats on providing wireless internet. It is surprising how many property owners still do not seem to be aware of the need for this. I don't know how your wireless is set up but please provide it free, or as part of the rental. There are few things more irritating than to pay good money to rent a vacation home and then have to pay a third party for internet access. You feel like you are nickel and dimed to death.

My pet peeve is furniture and decorations. Nobody expects top of the line furnishings in a rental home but provide an atmosphere in keeping with the rental price. While, yes, there are people who enjoy lime green and bright yellow, I think most people, whether buying or renting, prefer neutral colors. Comfortable living room seating is a must for evenings and those rainy days.

My other pet peeve is a dishwasher which operates at sound levels only equalled by a Kiss concert. Spend the money to get a decent DW that won't bust eardrums.

As for a private pool, I really enjoy the convenience of one but I would get thru at least one year of rental experience before I would consider going to the expense.

You're at THE BEACH ?, in Florida and on vacation. Enough said.
Frankly, I enjoy the bright funky beach colors and local art.

You could put in top of the line everything, but with this economy, people will still be asking for rate reductions. Then send me messages from their PDA's. Can't afford the vacation, but can afford expensive IPHONES and such. I don't even have one. :roll:

Honestly, I didn't understand the true meaning of Southern Comfort until I came South. We rent a small beachfront house at the shore in Jersey decorated with 80's kitsch, it's a tiny 3 bedroom with no a/c, I have had to buy a remote for the tv, fill the propane tanks, the laundry room is down below. No beach set up. We bring our own linens and towels. We carry everything back and forth daily without complaint.

Best vacations we have ever had. We're with family, happy to be away together, just enjoying life's little pleasures

 

[ransom]

When renting, we put a private pool in the "nice to have" rather than "have to have" categories. Location of the house, proximity to the beach, general style, layout, and upkeep of the house are much more important to us than having a pool in the backyard. As someone else said, we're going there for the beach, not for a swimming pool which we have at home.

Also, having a backyard pool may be a detriment for parents of little bitty kids who don't want to spend the week worrying about them falling in.

 

[Beach Runner]

Having a pool down here lately is a definitely a vacation saver with all of the double-red flags. Now that they've gone to yellow, there's a purple one. Don't want to get stung by a jellyfish. So we haven't been in the Gulf all week.

 

[traderx]

You're at THE BEACH ?, in Florida and on vacation. Enough said.
Frankly, I enjoy the bright funky beach colors and local art.

You could put in top of the line everything, but with this economy, people will still be asking for rate reductions. Then send me messages from their PDA's. Can't afford the vacation, but can afford expensive IPHONES and such. I don't even have one. :roll:

Honestly, I didn't understand the true meaning of Southern Comfort until I came South. We rent a small beachfront house at the shore in Jersey decorated with 80's kitsch, it's a tiny 3 bedroom with no a/c, I have had to buy a remote for the tv, fill the propane tanks, the laundry room is down below. No beach set up. We bring our own linens and towels. We carry everything back and forth daily without complaint.

Best vacations we have ever had. We're with family, happy to be away together, just enjoying life's little pleasures

I stipulated that renters do not expect top of the line furnishings. I'll give you an example. A neighbor bought a unit at the Inn at Blue Mountain Beach. She hired a designer to select furniture, accessories and color. Apparently, her designer specializes in services to prop owners. Her unit looks professional and is extremely comfortable. Too much color for my tastes but hey.....I like monochromatic. Color hurts my eyes and I am color blind. Go figure...

 

[ohmom]

We've only rented condos, not stand alone homes. Clean would be top priority. One time we went to Pensacola Beach and teenage daughters found a used condom on the floor of their room. Granted it was between the bed and the wall but needless to say "yuck". Everything in working order would be 2nd priority. That same condo had a shower that leaked all over the floor. No amount of manipulating the shower enclosure would help. Combined with threadbare towels that didn't show up until the 2nd day...let's just say we've never returned to Pensacola Beach. Rented once in Destin. That owner watched too many episodes of Trading Spaces. Ever sit on a painted couch for a week?
Have had only good experiences in Sowal...renting both from an agency and vrbo We always opt for gulffront...can't get that in Ohio and def. a priority for us. We love the sound of the water. Can't understand the need for music (ipod, boombox) on the beach. Above 3 stories, I'd appreciate an elevator. As far as a pool...always a good idea. You can swim at night (fun for teenagers) or if the gulf is too rough. If a private home had access to a community pool that would be good enough for me.
And to keep it all in perspective our first two family vacas to the beach were done by tent camping. After tenting the second time, I vowed to never go to the beach again unless we could afford a condo...we had sand in places that sand should just not go! The cost meant some years we just couldn't afford to go to the beach. This year it is taking a month of my take home pay for a 3 bedroom condo on the gulf. A luxury to be sure.

 

[Paula]

When we vacation anywhere we like enough space to have privacy (enough bedrooms important/extra baths a nice bonus but not critical) yet we like the places to have places for people to gather because we're on vacation to be together. Size of the place doesn't matter to me, but enough gathering places with enough comfortable chairs and a room/porch/dining arrangement that encourages people to come together and eat, talk, play games, do puzzles easily is what I look for.

Clean is a must - more important than style -- for me. It shows that the owners are on top of the quality of their place and the experiences of their renters. Enough kitchen equipment is important to me because the convenience and I personally like the aesthetic side of cooking/eating so I like the dining dishes/glasses/etc.,, to look nice - don't have to be new or top quality, but I just want to be able to set a nice table and not have to use beach buckets as serving bowls.

I like extra linens, too, because of the flexibility they offer (e.g., a nice blanket for using while resting on the couch or porch), extra pillows for comfort. And I appreciate it when the sheets, especially the fitted sheets, fit the bed and don't come off while sleeping and when the blankets are good quality (I don't like the old polyester pilled ones from the 80s that are still in some places). Cotton is wonderful...

I love outdoor seating areas, too. As for a pool, we have a community pool at our rentals and we love it because it's very big (we couldn't have such a big one if it was a private pool) and someone else takes care of it and we spread the cost of taking care of it among several owners. And pools from what I hear are high maintenance.

Quiet in general is important to me - whether it's inside (relatively quiet appliances which is a challenge) or outside (cars, people, etc.).

Games, puzzles, deck of cards, books, beach chairs - anything that says "we care about your vacation" and things to do and space to do them in on a rainy day means a lot to me. Beach chairs are nice for a lot of reasons and you don't have to worry about always saving a seat at the pool because you can bring your own chairs if needed (and I really like beach chairs that recline).

Parking close to the place for bringing in luggage and bags of groceries is helpful. Close to beach, too.

Ah, and directions for how to use things like the dvd player, etc. We were in Italy vacationing in a great apartment but it took me forever to figure out how to use the washing machine and to figure out how to manage recycling and trash. (By the way, I told the guy who owns the apartment about how wonderful SoWal is as a place to buy and will be sending him more information...)

Wireless is a plus, or a note where I can find inexpensive wireless (e.g., coffee shop) very closeby is important. I can go on more vacations if I'm able to get wireless because I can do whatever work I need to do - even if it's just checking in to make sure all's well or respond to a few emails - and sometimes I use it to stay in touch with family or to find resources where i'm vacationing.

A telephone and phone book, too - these aren't guaranteed in rentals anymore because the assumption is that everyone has a cell phone.

 

[Mango]

Rented once in Destin. That owner watched too many episodes of Trading Spaces. Ever sit on a painted couch for a week?
Have had only good experiences in Sowal...renting both from an agency and vrbo We always opt for gulffront...can't get that in Ohio and def. a priority for us. We love the sound of the water. Can't understand the need for music (ipod, boombox) on the beach. Above 3 stories, I'd appreciate an elevator. As far as a pool...always a good idea. You can swim at night (fun for teenagers) or if the gulf is too rough. If a private home had access to a community pool that would be good enough for me.
And to keep it all in perspective our first two family vacas to the beach were done by tent camping. After tenting the second time, I vowed to never go to the beach again unless we could afford a condo...we had sand in places that sand should just not go! The cost meant some years we just couldn't afford to go to the beach. This year it is taking a month of my take home pay for a 3 bedroom condo on the gulf. A luxury to be sure.

Thanks for the chuckle. A painted couch.... Bless your heart.

Hope you can make it to Sowal again.