What makes a rental home so much more expensive??

[pooh's_my_fave]

Hii guys,

We're looking into the possibity of staying at a rental home instead of on-site for our first Disney trip. We are a family of 6 with 4 teenagers, so the extra room might be super nice!

My question is this - what makes some homes, like all star vacation homes, so much more than others, like florida sun vacation rentals? If they have the same number of bedrooms, and basically the same amenities, is there such a huge difference in quality of the home? Or location? I've been comparing ones in Windsor Hills, so that shouldn't be the case.

Any thoughts??

Thanks,
Andi

[Mysteria]

There are many things that will make a difference in cost. Including simply just who you are renting from. I find All Star to be a little pricey.

Some things are:
Location
Age of home/resort.
If it's a resort property or not.
The amenities the resort has if it is in a resort.
Entertainment in the home itself (# of tv's, dvd players, games room etc.)
# of bathrooms and if all or most are ensuite bathrooms
Furnishings (yes some people will pay more for high end furnishings)
Near or on golf courses
Some include tax, cleaning and pool heat in their price. Others list it separately.

That's off the top of my head. Other people can add to the list I'm sure.

[Samantha/NC]

I agree with the pp about the price differences. We have rented off site 2 times and we have actually LOVED it. The ONLY reason we are doing on site in November is because of free dining. Our kids loved the space and the game room of our rental. they also loved the pool.
Samantha

[Mysteria]

Originally Posted by Samantha/NC

I agree with the pp about the price differences. We have rented off site 2 times and we have actually LOVED it. The ONLY reason we are doing on site in November is because of free dining. Our kids loved the space and the game room of our rental. they also loved the pool.
Samantha

IMHO private pool homes are the way to go with a larger party. Don't get me wrong I love onsite. It's just too pricey and small with a big group.

We are doing onsite in November (first time since 2004) for free dining too! Just 3 of us though so much easier to stay onsite than when you have 8+ people and pets.

[mnrose]

They do a great job with maintenance, and if anything goes wrong, they send someone out to promptly fix it. They have a full time staff of handymen, which is very nice! We had a minor issue on a Sunday afternoon, and we had some one there to attend to it within an hour of calling, that's pretty good.

Now, here's the best part. I didn't rent through All Star, but rather directly from the owner (at about 1/2 the price), but it came with all the All Star benefits.

[sympatico]

We rent directly from owners also. You can usually get a better price because there's no middle man. Each owner has a management company that is there if there is a problem.
I think with using allstar or floridasun you may get the extra assurance that if the house is sold or foreclosed then they would put you in another home.
You need to do some research on your own if you're renting from an owner, trying to make sure if they own the property and how long, who the management company is ( you can contact them about the home) etc.
Why one company would be higher than the other I guess is basically the same as why one grocery store charges more than another. The services offered may include more in one than the other but both of these rental companies have gotten good reviews.
If the amenities and size of the homes are similar then go with the best price.

[sjanus]

A lot of times when you rent through owners, they also have a management company, and especially if they are placing your reservation through the management company, you may be privy to the same benefits as renting through the management company. It depends on how they have this set up with the management company.

Certain management companies, like All Star, you mention, have very high criteria for homes and owners in order to take their home on. That is how they keep their homes at such a high price--you are paying for a guarantee of having a high quality home.

You can also get homes of the same quality through owners, but you must search and do your homework. There are qualitative differences between homes, that's for sure.

Make a list of what you would like in a home, and then start eliminating ones that don't fit the criteria. When you get a list of all the ones that you feel are comparable, then look at price and availability calendar (lots of good rentals in place), management company, procedures, etc. Talk to the owner on the telephone, so you can get a feeling of who you have rapport with and feel comfortable.

Or if you feel more comfortable going through a management company, then compare between mgt. co.'s.

Then you will be sure you are not comparing apples with oranges! .

If you decide to rent through an owner, www.vrbo.com and www.homeaway.com are great websites. Narrow down the communities in which you are interested and go from there.

Good luck in your search!

Sandy

[Brian Noble]

Other reasons are that the rental market just isn't very efficient---it's hard to get a lot of information about what houses are available, etc., and effective marketing is difficult. So, a firm that markets more aggressively has a larger pool of potential renters that they than rent to, and that gives them the ability to charge more.

[isla bonita]

Originally Posted by Mysteria

There are many things that will make a difference in cost. Including simply just who you are renting from. I find All Star to be a little pricey.
Some things are:
Location
Age of home/resort.
If it's a resort property or not.
The amenities the resort has if it is in a resort.
Entertainment in the home itself (# of tv's, dvd players, games room etc.)
# of bathrooms and if all or most are ensuite bathrooms
Furnishings (yes some people will pay more for high end furnishings)
Near or on golf courses
Some include tax, cleaning and pool heat in their price. Others list it separately.
That's off the top of my head. Other people can add to the list I'm sure.

Andi
You have gotten great information. All of these individuals have done this before and are able to weed through what is inportant to them and what is required to make their individual holiday the best it can be.

When you will be renting will effect price, rent from man/co or direct, amenities/location are all big factors.

When renting make sure you have a man/co's info. They are your first line of defense.

I am sure with all this information you will find a lovely home that will fit perfectly with both budget and amenities.

If I may add we find what works best is to have as many beds as there is individuals. Not using the couch to sleep on offers more privcay and space to all. JMHO

Enjoy the search.

[castanhope]

Great advice from everyone here. I agree, you are going to be better off financially renting from an individual rather than a company like All Star, etc. These companies charge the owners anywhere from 10-40% commission for any bookings they get, and the owners have to raise their rates to cover this. Differences in prices from individuals are going to vary as well, even if they are both 6 bed/4 bath homes in Windsor Hills, depending on the age of the home and the amenities, decor, and services offered. Rent from someone who replies promptly to your inquiry, is courteous, and who's property stands out a little from the rest. The properties that look like they have a great deal of effort put into them are going to be the best value for your money. There are a lot of good deals out there, but a lot of these properties are very plain and might be ok if you are seriously only looking for a place to sleep, but if you want a luxurious vacation you might want to look beyond just the lowest price. It doesn't mean that the most expensive properties are necessarily the best either, but simply going with the cheapest property may not be the best decision for you. You should think about things like the configuration of the beds, available seating in the family room and dining areas vs. the size of your group, etc. There are enough choices out there that you should be able to find something in your price range that matches your needs. Don't be afraid to call or email owners with questions. Have fun!

[ClanHarrison]

Originally Posted by mnrose

They do a great job with maintenance, and if anything goes wrong, they send someone out to promptly fix it. They have a full time staff of handymen, which is very nice! We had a minor issue on a Sunday afternoon, and we had some one there to attend to it within an hour of calling, that's pretty good.

Now, here's the best part. I didn't rent through All Star, but rather directly from the owner (at about 1/2 the price), but it came with all the All Star benefits.

I can vouch for All Star also. They were EXCELLENT! So friendly, responsive & efficient.

We chose them because, being our first time in Orlando, it brought about a comfort level renting from a "company" as opposed to an individual (I didn't know how to check owner info. at that time...now I do; I love this board ). We were planning far enough in advance that the money just wasn't the priority over our safety & well-being at that time (not saying it should be different for anyone else, just my decision-making state of mind at the time).

Now that I'm more comfortable with the villa rental process and have done even more "homework", I probably won't rent from them again because I'm reading about MC's that do just as good a job as All Star. But it's really good to know about the renting threw the owner instead of going threw All Star. I'll have to keep that in mind. At least I'll know the MC is a good one .

Good luck in your search.

[TrustedTraveler]

Another piece of the pricing is that all the owners are independent business people who each have their own idea on how to run their business.
The owner we usually rent from believes that it's better to lose a little on the off season weeks than it is to lose a lot by having it empty. Others believe the opposite and would rather go empty than offer a discount.

When they purchased the property and the size of their monthly payments also comes into consideration.

We've had great luck renting directly from the owner in England and they have a local couple who provides excellent service.

[VillageMama]

Even when looking at similar homes in the same neighborhood through an owners-direct site like VRBO dot com, there can be big differences in price.

I have found that this is often due to the view from the house. If you look at photos carefully, you can see that some houses' backyards directly overlook another house's backyard. So if you are in the pool, you are looking directly into your back-door neighbor's pool.

We prefer more privacy than that. We like to be in the pool and be overlooking a field or some trees or a lake (quite costly for a water view!).

Homes with a decent view very often point that out. Homes that bump up to the neighbor's back yard will try to hide that fact. One way you can tell is by how they photograph their pool. Do they stand in the doorway of the house and take a picture of the pool and its view? Or do they stand in the backyard and take a photo of the pool and the house?

If privacy is important, be very careful if you can't see the view when looking at photos of the pool!

[Frothy]

Interesting thread. We've never used anyone but Florida Leisure and we know there are cheaper companies but for us, it's the people. They have become friends and they know what we like and don't like.

I suppose you could say it's like comparing hotels. At some hotels you are prepared to pay more because they look after you better.

I've recently heard of some scams on Craigslist where people rent homes and then find them not there so I prefer renting through people I know and trust. I also know how professional they are and how quickly they attend to a problem. They are usually there within minutes if we have a problem and that's because their service people live in the same communities. I'm more than happy to pay more to get what I want and I just don't see the sense of shopping around to save a few dollars a day when I'm already happy. Everyone likes a deal though but the company I use are fair and they are priced very reasonably for what they do IMO.

I also like the fact that they seem to genuinely care about Orlando. They send us a monthly newsletter and keep us in touch through their blog what is happening.

Being too cheap worries me...I wonder where owners and managers cut costs and I don't want the stress of having my vacation time being ruined. It's important to me.