Some travel consumers are a little intimidated by renting a vacation home because rental homes are not branded like hotels. National and international brands give a sense of comfort in terms of consistency and perceived risk, but they can fall short in terms of the most important element – the experience itself. Vacation homes excel for this experiential aspect plus many others, just ask anyone who has stayed in a vacation home rental.

For those that need a little extra help, we wanted to provide cover the basics of how to rent a vacation home. These are defined within 6 easy steps that should be considered during the rental decision process:

• The first most obvious step in the planning process is to determine where and when should I take our vacation? Although impacted by established personal work and school schedules, anyone with flexibility should consider the seasonal demand fluctuations for your desired destination and its impact on rental pricing. This may include the overall cost for airfare, entertainment and of course lodging.
• Once you’ve determined a destination and the best time of year for your vacation, it’s now time to assess your group or family needs for Step 2. Questions such as the size of your party and number of desired bedrooms, privacy considerations for each member of your party (who can share bedrooms and bathrooms) and amenities desired will all impact your decision. The key here is to initially keep as many options open as possible so one can make an informed and successful choice.
• The next step is to begin your vacation home search. Many major media outlets suggest renting directly from an owner via vacation rental by owner websites,  but these owner rental outlets are a mistake in our opinion. For example, unless you know the owner personally, will their standards of cleanliness and maintenance be up to your personal expectations? Often these house rentals are often price and rate discounted for a reason – inconsistent quality. We highly recommend renting from a professional management company with consistently high ethical and professional operational standards. be sure to consult listings of professional vacation rental managers and Better Business Bureau rated vacation rental companies for your desired locale during this step.
• Once you have honed in on a professional management company or companies using your consumer powers (quality and functionality of company website, testimonials or trust indicators, etc…) start looking at rates for your selected times of year and size of home desired. This will often narrow your budgetary options based on a myriad of subdivision locations, neighborhood quality and resort amenities associated with the individual vacation homes to rent.
• If you do decide to personally call a management company, write down a few of your concerns and questions after reviewing their website. Consider that rental policies will also vary among the companies including refund policy, deposits, and security. Conscious awareness of the highs and lows will help you frame what is reasonable to pay for each.
• Finally, assess each rental home in terms of overall quality and location when possible. This together with size of home desired plus in-home and community amenities should help firm up your confidence in making a final decision and determine the best means of how to rent a vacation home in Orlando.

The team at Orlando Vacation Homes 360 (OVH 360) has designed the resources of this online website to achieve all of these goals. Over 80 resort reviews are posted on our main page along with essential community information. We assign a star rating based on opinions associated with each important aspect.

How to Rent a Vacation Home

If Orlando and Central Florida is your destination, the OVH reviews will be helpful winnowing down the many resort community options down to the one that best fits your individual needs and budgetary requirements. We also hand pick all of our Orlando vacation rental houses to ensure the highest quality vacation experience. As we always say, not all vacation homes are created equal, and our website can be the tool you need to make the best educated choice. If you have any questions about any of the above on how to rent a vacation home in Orlando, be sure to contact us at 407-966-4144.