Vacation Education:“101 Guide to Vacation Rental Leasing”

Need a little guidance on deciding the best places for a vacation rental or Airbnb cities for you and ensuring safe travels? As most of us know, searching for the perfect vacation destination is difficult in itself from having to find vacation rental owners, hotels or resorts, schedule and lease the rental to booking area attractions along with fun time can be one the most exhausting parts of the entire vacation process. From locating the best destination vacation packages from flights, rentals, boating trips, beaches to finding the right amenities, restaurants and attractions during your stay is such a daunting task. Hopefully… KT Properties can help eliminate some of those headaches by providing a little insight to the most highly sought after get-away vacation spots famous athletes and celebrities rent, from the famed New York City, Barcelona, Bora Bora, Bahamas, Switzerland, Sweden to London, Bali, Rome, Maui, Maldives, Tokyo, Virgin Islands, Paris, or Milan!

Regardless if you’re searching for an exclusive adults only resort or family fun adventure, when choosing your vacation rental, you want to be sure you’re getting the best out of your money that fits your particular occasion at the time. Here is some helpful information to help you know what to look for and avoid when choosing your vacation spot. 

How to Find the Perfect Vacation Rental

Hotels have been the premier choice for people planning vacations until a little startup called Airbnb entered the scene in 2008, allowing homeowners to rent out rooms, apartments, entire homes, cabins, townhouses, condos and villas on short-term leases for people looking for room and board on vacations. More people are turning to the unique charm and ample space that vacation rentals provide, not to mention they can be a more affordable option too!

A vacation is essential to get away and unwind with family and friends. You want to maximize your time on vacation and ensure everyone has a memorable experience. Here are some tips to help you find the best vacation rental to provide the ultimate getaway experience:

• Plan your Itinerary – Decide ahead of time the restaurants, attractions, and activities you would like to do before you begin to look for a vacation rental. Knowing a plan and mapping it out allows you to look for a place central to all your activities and ensures you aren’t wasting too much time traveling to and from places.
• Book Early ­– Most prices are more affordable when you book as early as possible. Last-minute bookings, you can end up paying higher premiums, especially around holidays and peak vacation times.
• Plan a Trip During the Weekdays –Weekday prices tend to be more affordable, and crowds in attractions tend to be lower. You’ll find yourself enjoying your time more or even having the ability to stay an extra day or two. 
• Shop Around – Shop around on more than one vacation rental site to expand your options and find a great deal for any budget you may have set.

#1. Itinerary Planning Guide

Once you have all the essentials booked, refine your itinerary and make this a trip to remember. Planning out activities should be completed before you book your vacation rental, but that isn’t always in the cards for some people. There are many resources to help you find more information and travel blogs for the people who have experienced what you hope to encounter. A Google search can provide you with many details to help you find popular restaurants, fun activities, and experiences, and historical and cultural site visits. 

Host sites such as Vrbo stands for “vacation rentals by owner,”which provides a wealth of articles to provide you with information and ideas that are helpful to find activities that would be fun for you and your group. Through Vrbo, owners and property managers offer an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with memorable experiences and benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy, for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations. The company also makes it easy for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online.

Many travel sites can help you find popular destinations based on the location you are planning to visit. Visit Expedia.com to find things to do. Who, by the way, acquired Vrbo in 2015 and now has more than 2 million vacation rentals on offer.

Trip Advisor is the ultimate one-stop shop to help you locate all the best experiences. It provides reviews from people who have experienced them and sets you up with packages and pricing and links to external sites to get you everything you need in one stop. You can plan your entire vacation through Trip Advisor along with activities. 

Mistakes to Avoid

Planning a vacation is more than just looking at pretty pictures listed on vacation rental sites. Many people book in a hurry or without thought or care because they found a cheap deal or were just too excited for the vacation to think of the details. First-timers and experienced planners alike make many mistakes, and here are just a few that are beneficial to avoid.

Understand Location – Location is everything, and most people want to choose vacation rentals to be central to everything. Often, the address isn’t listed on the listing and will list a neighborhood instead. Do the research and check to see if the place is close to the attractions you’d like to visit on your trip. Ensure you have easy access to grocery stores or restaurants and that you’re not stuck in the middle of nowhere with a 30-minute drive to any activity.

Stick to a Well-Known Rental Site – Though it may be tempting to save a few dollars, you will want to book through a well-known host site with a positive track record. Rental fraud and scams are easy to come across, and it would be a shame to lose out on hundreds of dollars. Tip: Avoid any requests for money transfers and only use credit cards. 

Read Reviews – Reviews can tell you a lot more than a listing can ever provide insight. Hosts often list the positives, and with reading reviews, you get a first-hand account of the experience people had stayed in that location. 

Follow the Rules – Vacation rentals can come with hefty security deposits and may have unique rules built-in to protect the homeowner and the home. Ensure you and everyone staying reviews all the rules and follows them to avoid losing out on your deposit.

#2. Find the Best Vacation Packages

Booking a vacation has a lot to consider. Do you need a car? Do you want to be close to a beach or the city? Are you needing a flight, or are you driving? Finding the best vacation packages usually means finding as many ways to bundle packages as you can. 

Many sites allow you to book cars, hotels, and flights all in one transaction. You can usually find discounts this way. Always be sure to visit reputable websites to find the perfect vacation rental. We all know of the top travel websites in the world such as:

• Airbnb
• Vrbo
• Expedia
• Orbitz
• Tripadvisor
• Hotels.com
• CheapOair
• Last Minute Travel
• Booking.com
• Google Flights
• Priceline
• Hotwire
• Travelocity
• Priceline
• Trivago
• Kayak

However, what about these little unknown unique travel website gems:

• Travelzoo
• AirfareWatchdog
• Secret Flying
• Hopper App
• Cruise Direct
• Cruise.com
• CruisesOnly
• Cruisewatch
• Costco Travel (yes you read that correctly… Costco!)
• Intrepid
• Gate 1 Travel
• Trafalgar
• TourRadar
• Contiki

If you want to go the old-fashioned route (but still very much helpful) you can book through a travel agent. A travel agent will work hard to find you the best deals on all that you need and even help you plan an itinerary to ensure your vacation time is put to good use. And guess what… many online travel agents have loyalty programs, so in addition to your great last-minute offer, you can collect points towards free future travel. Or… you can also locate opaque travel inventory which is the market of selling unsold travel inventory at a discounted price. Most common websites to offer *opaque booking options would be Hotwire, Priceline, Travelocity and Expedia. *Please note: while the deal may be good, the downside is these purchases are absolutely non-refundable and non-changeable and the specific hotel or airline is not revealed until after purchase.

The best vacation requires detailed planning in order to book an affordable vacation rental for you and your friends and family to enjoy. Follow the simple guidelines above, and you will surely plan a vacation everyone will remember.

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Travel Restrictions

As we know, it can be hard these days to stay on top of travel restrictions to each country. The travel status of vacation countries can change daily, weekly, monthly. That’s why it’s best you learn before you go and get the information you need to consider when planning travel. Learn about country-specific entry requirements such as:

• quarantine requirements,
• the border status and
• COVID-19 testing requirements.

Many countries are reopening their borders for international travel. Find out which countries are open to vaccinated travelers. Kayak offers a way to Check Travel Restrictions to any country… Here.

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