The below article is written and composed be Roxanne P. who is a working Mom and associated with many travel and living communities as their freelance and staff writer. She writes articles in her free time which are related to Golf Holidays, exotic vacation plans etc.
Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Family Vacation by Renting a Home or Condo Directly from Owners
We’re all fed up of hearing about the economy – but hey, sticking your head in the sand doesn’t make it go away, right? It sucks, to the point where a lot of us ditch the family vacation in an attempt to rein in a few dollars against the inevitable rainy day.
Thing is, not going on holiday can be a really bad way of economising. A holiday is often your one chance to get some real distance from the stresses and strains of everyday life. We ought to be straining ourselves to go on holiday, by finding out ways to do it for a lot less than we used to.
So here’s a way to save hundreds, possibly even thousands of dollars on your annual vacation. Rent a home or a condo directly from an owner.
There’s an obvious key word in this sentence. “Directly”. And “Owner”. OK, so two obvious key words. You know what I mean. If you go through an agency then your final price is basically the owner’s price, plus a bunch of agency fees on top.
Now, the more stuff your agency does for the owner the more money it will be charging them. Which, of course, means that your holiday cost goes up and up and up – because the owner has his r her own margins he or she needs to make to make the process of renting his or her home or condo through an agency worthwhile in the first place.
With the advent of the new-look internet, fuelled by ever increasing download speeds and radical new uses of social media technology, it has become easier and easier to cut out the middle party in holiday rental arrangements and start a dialogue between the customer (you and your family) and the private owner. You pay your money straight to the owner of the home or condo you want o stay in, you avoid a ton of fees and you get a holiday that is way cheaper than it would otherwise have been.
Often we find that things that sound too good to be true, are. And this sounds too good to be true. So is it?
No, actually. In this case, as long as you go through a recognised online portal to find holiday rental direct to owner, you’ll still be backed by the sorts of protection you get when you buy any advertised product. The owner is the proprietor of a small business and the home or condo he or she is offering for direct private rental is his or her product. By buying that product online you are protected by the strict distance selling laws that regulate all net based transactions.
You will probably also be protected by guarantees given by the site through which you make the connection. These sites generate their revenue through advertising and one-off fees, paid by the owners to list their properties. So it’s in their interests to ensure that the products the owners sell, through them, are fit for purpose.
If you have any doubts, check the terms and conditions on the website you use before you go ahead and book your vacation.
Budget before you begin, so you have a figure you will not exceed. Then search for potential direct to owner rentals within that price range. You’ll find most owners are extremely friendly and accommodating – again, this is their business and your holiday is their product. So don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you like before you sign on the dotted line.
