Vacation Rentals are typically more economical than hotel reservations and are generally more spacious.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Understanding Vacation Rentals
What are Vacation Rentals?
The travel industry defines ‘vacation rental’ as renting out a house or furnished apartment on a short-term basis to tavellers as an alternative to a hotel. For some time now, vacation rentals have been a popular travel alternative in Europe, in Canada and even more so in the UK specifically.
Generally people only have popular spots like London Apartments in mind, but you can find these rentals all over. All over the world, vacation rentals are becoming more popular . You could view them as self-catering villas or rentals. Take Spain, specifically vacation rentals in Barcelona for example. In cities like Barcelona, officials determined that vacation rentals were a commercial threat to the hotel industry and enacted laws putting regulations and limitations on the industry, while in others, such as France, England, and Ireland, the government certifies and promotes holiday rentals, even administering their own program of holiday / vacation rentals.
Vacation rentals are totally furnished properties, such as townhouses, a condo, apartment, or single-family home, in Europe usually referred to as villa rentals. Arrangements to rent the vacation rental property for a preset period of time are made by the tourist/client.
Some may rent by the night similar to hotel accommodations. However, the more common practice is weekly rentals. A true vacation rental can’t be purchased by the guest; rather, the owner simply permits the guest to rent the property for a preset time period.
Vacation rentals are typically apartments or houses in popular travel destinations that are usually leased to leisure tourists. Guests generally have full use of the residence, including utilities but typically not meals or servicing.
This approach can be cheaper than booking a hotel room or in some cases several hotel rooms for the same length of time, especially if traveling with a family or other sizable group of people. They often come with a variety of amenities to make your stay more enjoyable, including a private hot tub or pool (without the noisy neighbors), a full size kitchen (so you don’t have to dine out for every meal), laundry facilities (so you can pack light).
Some Benefits of Vacation Rentals
- Vacation rentals offer the comfort and privacy of a home so you can have a more relaxing, enjoyable vacation.
- Once again, vacation rentals are often less expensive than hotel rooms and are great for groups and families who would otherwise have to pay for multiple hotel rooms.
- The typical hotel room is 400 square feet (37 sq. meters); the average vacation rental is a 2,000 square foot house (186 sq. meters).










