VRBO

By Jane

I am kind of obsessed with the vacation home rental site VRBO. I have rented eight times from it, and I’ve never been let down. The first time I used it was back in 2017 to find a place to stay in Sedona, AZ for a winter getaway with my husband. After that, I used it to rent a place for our family to stay in the Asheville, NC area during our summer vacation. I’ve used it for every summer vacation since.

When searching VRBO, it’s important to realize just how much prices on these things can vary. Sometimes it’s unbelievable what people will charge on the low end and the high end. I will look at the site every day for weeks and just watch certain properties and keep my eye on new developments. The best way to start is deciding on a general area of where you want to stay. Then you can zero in on places and get a better feel for what’s out there.

Next, decide what’s important to you in a rental. I usually search for cabins or houses and try to find something that’s not near anything else. For example, I wouldn’t pick a cabin that’s 10 feet from another cabin. When I think of a cabin, I mean a secluded one or one that’s surrounded by property. Vacation means QUIET.

Amenities are also important. For our family, we do best when there are 3 bedrooms and at least 2 bathrooms. I also look for properties with a washer and dryer. I cannot express how happy clean laundry makes me, and I can’t stand a bunch of dirty, stinky vacation clothes. Wifi is also important as we’ll continue to spend evenings looking for more things to do, and bad wifi is not helpful. I also look for places with a coffee maker. If one isn’t listed as an amenity, I will look through the pictures of the kitchen until I find one.

You may not think of this, and I learned the hard way, but air conditioning is IMPORTANT. You may think you’re going to a cool climate, but that’s not always the case. Places won’t come out and say they don’t have air, but definitely add it in when you’re searching for amenities. Then you can be sure. It’s really a nice thing to have, especially after a long day of hiking.

Do you think you want a hot tub? Hot tubs are what I used to search for on every vacation. If you’re looking for one, make sure it’s outside. I’ve found a lot of people advertise their place with a hot tub when it’s really a jetted tub in the bathroom. That is okay, just not what I’m looking for when I think of a hot tub. This year I didn’t include hot tubs in my search, just because it seems that I’m really the only person interested once we get there. It’s nice to soak, but also a lot of work that sometimes I’m just not willing to do. But there have been some great nights under the stars in some of our rentals, and the hot tub can be worth it.

So check out VRBO for your next vacation. And compare it to the price of a hotel room. You may be shocked at what you can get for just about the same price.

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Planning & Packing