Tips to Book a Great Vacation Rental

Guest Post: L Campos

Planning for a vacation is stressful — there’s no doubt about that. You have to find the best deals on travel, accommodations, and plan your itinerary, all while trying to save as much money as possible. Once everything is planned, nothing ruins your excitement more than getting to your vacation rental and finding out that it’s not what it looked like in the pictures. It may be dirty, too small, or in a bad neighborhood, all of which didn’t appear to be in the listing when you booked. To avoid that happening to you, we’ve assembled some of our favorite tips.

Use a Reputable Service

Online booking services have taken off in the past decade. There are now more options than ever, so how do you know if the website you’re booking on is reliable? In short, use a service you’ve heard of before. Sites like Kayak, Hotels.com, and Airbnb are all well-known and well-tested. For car rentals, Enterprise Rent a Car is one of your best options because they’re located around the world and are trustworthy. Using a site that you’ve never heard of before seems like a good idea if they have a cheaper price, but chances are that the price is cheaper because the rental isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Also, check out aggregate deal sites whenever possible. Aggregate deal sites have discounts for everything. For example, you can use these sites to find deals, coupons, and promo codes for businesses like Enterprise Rent a Car, which can help you fit more fun into your budget while saving money with a company you can trust.

Read Reviews

Booking a rental online comes with many advantages and conveniences, but one of the biggest problems is how easy it is to scam people. It would be incredibly simple to post fake or post old photos of a rental property to make people think it’s nicer than it actually is. One way to avoid this is to read the reviews on the listing — all of the reviews! Some reviews may be fake or edited to sound more positive than they actually are, so make sure that you read at least most of them to get a full idea of what the property offers.

Give Feedback Afterward

Pay it forward after you check out and leave reviews of your own. If it’s not a hotel, see if you can contact the property owner directly either by phone or email so you can ensure they receive your feedback. Communicate whether the property was up to your expectations based on the listing you used. Take note of any safety issues, such as broken or malfunctioning locks, a lack of smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors, or outdoor areas that are not safely maintained. Be sure to note whether you had a vehicle at the property, as well, and whether you found the parking area safe and adequate.

Vacationing in the 9 Lakes of East Tennessee

Finding easy, low-cost things to do in East Tennessee is incredibly easy when you know where to look. In addition to four national parks and a couple of scenic byways, there are quite a few lakes that will everyone happy — including your bank account. If you want to spend some time on the water, don’t hesitate to check out Norris Lake, Cherokee Lake, Fort Loudon Lake, Melton Hill Lake, and Watts Bar Lake — that’s a lot of lakes!

It can be a little risky to book your vacation rental online, but with these tips, you should be able to have confidence in your choices and shouldn’t expect any unfortunate surprises. Be sure to do your research beforehand and know what you’re getting into. Know your rights as the occupant and whether you can back out without penalty if the property isn’t safe or clean enough to live in for the duration of your stay. This way, you can ensure your vacation doesn’t fall apart simply because your rental turned out to be a dud!