House Rental versus a Hotel Stay

For our vacations, I’ve enjoyed hotel/resort accommodations, as well as home rentals.

When traveling with extended family, a home or condo is ideal.  We can all have our own space, prepare simple meals (with no set time for breakfast!), and still enjoy time together.

For some destinations, I prefer to stay at a resort hotel.  I like when my husband can walk or be shuttled to the adjacent golf course while I hang out on the beach.  For a short vacation, an on site restaurant is convenient, too.

I was thinking about this yesterday while enjoying lunch outside at The Reeds.  Families were riding the double decker pontoon boat on the bay, and boarding the hotel golf cart headed to the beach.  Because we live here, I sometimes forget the resort aspects of our community!

With Covid, the demand for vacation rentals increased. Some families just felt more comfortable with their own space rather than shared common areas.

Observation as a rental agent: “hotel people” adjusting to the reality of renting someone’s private home.  Every property is unique in decor and amenities.  Owners set up their kitchen to their personal preferences.  There might be extra batteries for the TV remote in a junk drawer…or maybe not.  Same with spare light bulbs or a fly swatter! There’s no front desk, or on-call maintenance crew to resolve issues.  Rental agents do our best, yet we are at the mercy of local vendors.

If you are new to the vacation home rental process (either as a landlord or tenant), I am happy to help along the way!