Vacation Rentals: What you need to know.
Vacation Rentals: a definition
A ‘vacation rental’ in the travel industry refers to making available a house or furnished apartment for a short time to tavellers as an alternative to a hotel. For a long time now, vacation rentals have been very popular in Europe, in Canada and especially in the UK specifically.
People often only have well known locations like London Apartments in mind, but you can find these rentals all over. Its popularity is increasing worlwide. You could think of them as self-catering rentals or villas. Take vacation rentals in Barcelona as an example. In cities like Barcelona, local officials decided that vacation rentals had become a threat to the hotel industry and passed laws placing regulations and limitations on the industry, while in others, such as England, France, and Ireland, the government certifies and promotes holiday rentals, even offering their own program of holiday / vacation rentals.
Vacation rentals are completely furnished properties, such as a condo, townhouse or single-family dwelling, generally referred to in Europe as villa rentals. The client/tourist makes arrangements to rent the vacation rental property for a specific duration.
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 less expensive than reserving a hotel room or in some cases multiple rooms for the same length of time, especially if vacationing with a family or large group of people. They usually have a variety of amenities to make your visit more enjoyable, often including a pool or private hot tub (with no loud neighbors), a full-size kitchen (so you don’t have to eat out for every meal), laundry facilities (so you don’t have to pack as much).
- These vacation rentals provide the privacy and comfort of home so you can have a more enjoyable, relaxing stay.
- 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).
