How far in advance to book a condo

[Jedimom]

How far in advance does one book a condo? We're looking for a 2-BR (3-BR is okay too) at Windsor Hills for 10 days starting 1/26/13. I'm finding $89 and up, per night, plus 13% tax. And that seems kind of high to me, considering all I hear about the FL market not being that great. And the fact that there seems to be little, sometimes no difference in price between a 2 and 3 BR. Odd.

I'm not stuck on Windsor Hills. Prefer, yes (like the idea of zero entry pool). There seem to be other properties in nearby communities for a bit less; they'd work just as well.

Would I be okay to wait it out a bit longer and see what comes down in price? I mean, I will find something, somewhere, right? Even if I don't get all 10 nights and have to do a split stay at a hotel for a few nights.

Also, any ideas on how much price could come down? Are we talking $10 per night or more? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Brian Noble]

Are you asking for quotes, or just looking at ads? Often, if you ask for a quote (at e.g. windsorhillsrent.com) you will find that the quoted price is lower than the advertised price.

That said, I typically don't get too worked up about getting the very best possible price. If I think something is fair, I'll book it, just to get it out of the way. And, yes, WH will carry a bit of a name-brand premium.

 

[Jedimom]

Thanks for the reply. I've gotten a handful of quotes, and the price hasn't been down any on those I've received. Maybe I just haven't gotten enough back yet, or maybe I need to ask again at a later day?

 

[Jedimom]

Have now received a few dozen quotes and it's looking like I'd be lucky to get under $100/night. I'll have to think it over, decide if I truly want Windsor Hills and just bite the bullet, or start looking elsewhere.

 

[disneysteve]

I think $89/night for a condo is a reasonable price but everything is negotiable. This far in advance, though, the owners may be less likely to come down because they don't want to risk losing a full-price booking.

We visit in August (we're leaving on Thursday ) and I think we booked our rental in early June as our dates weren't firm until then. And we did get the owner to come down on the place we wanted. We booked a townhouse, not a condo, but we've done condos in the past. We are also in Windsor Palms, not Windsor Hills, but same thing.

 

[nessz79]

I think $89/night is reasonable, though you might keep looking for good deals. If you're going to go for a whole week, you might look into these rentals:

http://vacationcentralflorida.com/clickhereforrates.html

You can get a 3 bedroom for less than $400 for the whole week. It works out to around $50-60 per night.

 

[swilshire]

Is that a total price? If you stayed in a hotel, you would pay hefty taxes. If $89 is the total, that is about the equivalent of a $60 hotel room. Sounds cheap to me, even in January.

Sheila

 

[GlenR]

Did you check out vacations by the mouse? looks like they have some 3 beds for 80 bucks that time. I do not work for them, I have just been contemplating renting from the for my march trip.

 

[dtum]

I think $89/night is reasonable, though you might keep looking for good deals. If you're going to go for a whole week, you might look into these rentals:

http://vacationcentralflorida.com/clickhereforrates.html

You can get a 3 bedroom for less than $400 for the whole week. It works out to around $50-60 per night.

Not sure how busy January is, but if you sign up for the emails at above link, Dave is always sending out special deals for WH.

For us, we want a specific house at Emerald Island and I just booked it for next July (had wanted June, but it was booked).