Deciding between a vacation-home rental and a hotel for your next vacation? Here are the pros and cons of each, from our travel expert Christopher Elliott…
The top vacation-home websites are Airbnb.com, which currently has nearly 8 million listings of homes, guest cottages, apartments and rooms in homes…and VRBO.com, which stands for “Vacation Rentals by Owner” but often is pronounced “VERB-OH,” and rents out only fully private accommodations. Vacation-home owners pay a commission to have their listings on Airbnb and VRBO and may place their properties on both sites. Bookings are done through the companies’ online platforms.
Vacation-home rentals vary widely and may not have standardized hotel amenities such as an onsite pool, fitness club or restaurant. They typically do have kitchen appliances, dinnerware and utensils, but you may have to bring your own toiletries, sheets and towels—the listing should explain that. Also, the properties may not be professionally cleaned prior to your stay.
There may be bikes, beach towels and chairs for your use, along with a washer/dryer. Important: Pay close attention to the listed amenities—assume nothing. Also look closely at the host ratings and guest comments to see if the property lives up to the photographs and descriptions on the website.
Airbnbs and VRBOs can be great for families who want to save money…or if you want separate bedrooms and to be able to cook during your stay. Also, many owners offer discounts for stays that last more than a week. In general, when you factor in the number of guests, vacation rentals are more cost-effective than hotels.
You may be asked to do some housework before you leave, such as loading the dishwasher, stripping the beds and taking out the trash, and some owners impose high cleaning fees. The host should tell you what is expected before you arrive. Important: Be sure you are seeing all of the fees associated with your stay, which include the cost of the rental, taxes, the platform service charge and cleaning fees, before you book. Also look at the cancellation policy, which is set by the property owner and differs from one rental to the next.
Both Airbnb and VRBO have confidence guarantees you can rely on. Example: I rented a VRBO in Oahu a few years back, and just days before I arrived, the owner told me she was selling her property and I couldn’t stay there. I contacted VRBO and they found me a new place immediately.
Initially you can communicate with property owners only via the platforms, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions. Important things to ask…
Are there grocery stores and restaurants nearby?
Are there any noise issues we should be aware of, such as people or pets around us or construction that will be ongoing during our stay?
Can you give us the property’s exact address so we can look it up online?
What are your expectations of guests in terms of cleaning?
You even can ask for a better rate or to book off platform. I have sometimes gotten a discount of 50% when I asked. But booking off platform can be problematic—you should do it only if you know that host or are already at the location and can verify that the property is available. Booking off-platform will mean you will have none of the protection that you would have had if you had booked through the platform.
Caution: There are a lot of scams out there. Always make sure the listing has a history of comments (and is not a brand new listing). Ask for the address of the property, and do a Google search for it. And most important—if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!
