Renting etiquette?

[AMaloy314]

Having never rented before, I'm not sure of all the in's and out's of this. Where better to ask than here at the most informative boards ever?

I'm about to send out a general info request on a 4BR/3BA villa asking for responses from owners that have certain items. I'm expecting that there will be many responses. As an owner, do you expect an answering email, even if the person is not interested in your place? I don't want to be rude, but I also don't want to waste my time or yours.

Also, how far in advance do most places start to fill up? I'm looking for the end of Sept in 2008. I'm thinking that I probably have plenty of time, but I don't want to end up with a nasty surprise if I wait too long and there is nothing left.

This might be a stupid question, but: Is it expected to leave a 'Thank You' gift for the owner for letting us stay at their home? If it is, do we leave it at the home, send it to the owner directly, or give it to the MC?

Most of these homes that I'm seeing are just beautiful. It also looks as if people return over and over again. If relationships are built with the owners, I certainly don't want to get off on the wrong foot but not knowing the 'rules'.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Brian Noble]

You will get two kinds of responses. Some from people who clearly did not read your request (becuase they don't have half of the "certain items" you list), and others who at least tried (or just got lucky).

The people who obviously don't meet my request don't get a response, because they should have never sent the mail. Those who at least come close, do.

End of Sept 08 is plenty of time. Most places don't seem to book much farther than a year in advance, though I'm sure you'll find a few who do.

You do not need to thank them, because they are not letting you borrow their orlando house. You are renting it. It is purely a business transaction. Often, you develop something of a relationship with the owner, too, and that's nice, but it's a "friendly business" relationship, and not one that requires a hostess gift.

Edited to add: sometimes an owner doesn't directly meet what I'm asking for, but explains alternative arrangements that could be just as good or better. For example, one year I was interested in renting a condo at WH, and asked only condo owners to respond, but ended up renting a townhome for a *little* more money. It was a late booking, and the owner cut me a bit of a deal---not quite as good as some of the condo prices, but close enough to make the added benefits of a townhome a good value.

 

[UKDEB]

I'd suggest whittling down your shortlist and just emailing those you're really interested in, rather than sending general enquiries. That way, you won't get your inbox jammed (which, apart from anything else, gets confusing) and you can send polite 'thanks, but no thanks' responses to the also-rans once you've made your choice.

I've developed some quite close friendships with a few of those I've rented from (beyond that of a business relationship - we've been out to dinner with one couple and kept in telephone contact with others), but I've never even considered buying a 'thank you' gift. I do make sure I take the time, though, to thank them and provide feedback.

 

[JANNYANS]

As an owner it is nice to receive a "thanks but no thanks " e mail but I certainly wouldn't expect one and sending them can take you rather a lot of time.As far as a gift goes then again it isn't expected but I have hads guests -knowing I have a cow themed kitchen -that have seen items and purchased them for me but it really enough just to know that guests have enjoyed my home as much as I do .

 

[Mainebound]

Having never rented before, I'm not sure of all the in's and out's of this. Where better to ask than here at the most informative boards ever?

I'm about to send out a general info request on a 4BR/3BA villa asking for responses from owners that have certain items. I'm expecting that there will be many responses. As an owner, do you expect an answering email, even if the person is not interested in your place? I don't want to be rude, but I also don't want to waste my time or yours.

.

Here's what I do: in your enquiry, write "Thank you in advance for your replies. I am afraid I can only respond to ones we are seriously considering. Thank you."

If someone writes a second time, of course I reply. And if I have replied to an owner with a request for further info, but then decide not to pursue it, I always let them know.

As far as how far in advance, personally I would say 4-6 months, unless you have very firm holiday dates (Christmas or Easter), or are VERY specific about where and in what home you are willing to stay (how specific? for example, you MUST stay in Emerald Island, MUST have 5 bedrooms, one MUST be Mickey themed, one MUST be princess themed, you must have a games room with pool table and air hockey -- not foozball, and you need a stand alone spa, not an attached one, LOL!).

That's my experience renting three times in the Orlando areas the last three years, but also for making other inquiries for trips we didn't end up taking.

 

[FLParadisevilla]

I have to say I agree with most of what everyone else has said!

I would shorten your list of homes and do more specific enquires rather than general ones. You will get a full inbox with lots of homes that may not be what your looking for.
If you have a specific list of what you want in a home 4 bed 3 bath, themed rooms, etc. I would put all of that in your enquiries.

Responses yes its nice to get one saying thanks but no thanks, but its not required. I like the thought of thank you in advance on your enquiry.

Thank you Gifts They again are not required at all, but we too have had some great guests that we have become great friends with and they have left us some great gifts and added some personal touches to the home. I personally truly enjoy it!

I too just truly enjoy talking to our guest and just beam with happiness when they have enjoyed our home as much as I do. I have tried to think of everything I would want in a home and put it in ours, it just does not show so much in the pictures, but from the comments of our past guests, it does show.

The best part of all of this is you get to look at all the wonderful homes and pick which one gets to be your home for a while!

 

[Brian Noble]

Oh! I didn't think of that! We do sometimes buy something that fits "the house." For example, one of the places we rented in OBX was callled "Margaritaville", and had a subtle, but very cool, Jimmy Buffet theme. On one of our shopping trips we found these enormous "margarita glass" fishbowls, so we bought one to leave behind in the house.

The owners may well have thrown it away, but we enjoyed adding a bit to "our house."

I will also leave behind books I brought on the trip, but am done with, in houses that have libraries for guests. I enjoy reading some of those books that others have left behind, and want to add something for the next guest.

 

[allyn]

if you're sending direct queries, i would be certain to include a line that says "NO general queries" or "No query forwarding". we sent some direct queries and one of the homeowners "did us a favor" (NOT!) and sent out our request as a general query. our mailbox was flooded with about 300 emails for properties we did not want. it was a huge waste of time for ourselves and 300 home owners. if i was a homeowner i would be annoyed that my time was wasted by that. it is just amazing that there isn't a better process.

 

[JANNYANS]

Most of the time it isn't the owner who passes on your request as a lot of sites forbid that -it is part of the site format. Usually there will be a box to tick if you do not want your details passed on .On orlandovillas for example you can do just a request to the home/s you specifically want and there is box that says
Send to all ? bedroom villa owners?
if you check that it will go out and you may well get lots of replies.

 

[FLParadisevilla]

Yes on Orlando Villas you will get lots and lots of replies! I used that site when I found the home we rented for our first trip and got married at. I spent months looking at homes till I found the one we rented!

 

[KayR]

Most of the time it isn't the owner who passes on your request as a lot of sites forbid that -it is part of the site format. Usually there will be a box to tick if you do not want your details passed on .On orlandovillas for example you can do just a request to the home/s you specifically want and there is box that says
Send to all ? bedroom villa owners?
if you check that it will go out and you may well get lots of replies.

On that site, if you enquire after a specific home one and they don't have availability the rules say that you are to send the enquiry back to the site and they will forward it onto other homeowners of similar sized properties.

 

[KayR]

To go back to the original questions...

I'm about to send out a general info request on a 4BR/3BA villa asking for responses from owners that have certain items. I'm expecting that there will be many responses. As an owner, do you expect an answering email, even if the person is not interested in your place? I don't want to be rude, but I also don't want to waste my time or yours.
As an owner, it is nice to hear back, but the majority of people don't send a reply and it is not expected. If someone sent me a direct enquiry it would be nice to hear back if you chose a different place and sometimes an idea of why you chose somewhere different would be nice. But then I do understand that everyone is busy and don't expect anything.

Also, how far in advance do most places start to fill up? I'm looking for the end of Sept in 2008. I'm thinking that I probably have plenty of time, but I don't want to end up with a nasty surprise if I wait too long and there is nothing left.

We are starting to take bookings for 2008, but September is a slower time and you should still have a lot of choice if you leave it later to book. If you are chosing for a special occasion or have fallen in love with a particular home with a great owner, then you may want to book it. That is one less thing you have to worry about later on.

This might be a stupid question, but: Is it expected to leave a 'Thank You' gift for the owner for letting us stay at their home? If it is, do we leave it at the home, send it to the owner directly, or give it to the MC?

I don't think any owners expects a thank you gift. As an owner, the best thank yous I could get would be; to leave our home in great condition, accurate feedback and referrals to friends and family. Personally I would prefer any thank you gift's to be left for the housekeepers (in the form of a tip) rather than myself. Often it is not recognized how hard the housekeepers work to get the homes ready for guests (and the state that homes are sometimes left in).


Most of these homes that I'm seeing are just beautiful. It also looks as if people return over and over again. If relationships are built with the owners, I certainly don't want to get off on the wrong foot but not knowing the 'rules'.

OK, I can't speak for every owner, but those that I know love their homes and are happy to provide help and information where ever possible. Talk to whoever you rent with, either by phone or by email. Owners are happy to help.

-Kay

 

[mbb]

if you're sending direct queries, i would be certain to include a line that says "NO general queries" or "No query forwarding". we sent some direct queries and one of the homeowners "did us a favor" (NOT!) and sent out our request as a general query. our mailbox was flooded with about 300 emails for properties we did not want. it was a huge waste of time for ourselves and 300 home owners. if i was a homeowner i would be annoyed that my time was wasted by that. it is just amazing that there isn't a better process.

We sign up for a free email account, yahoo or hotmail, and use it for our home searches.

Once we narrow it down to one or two homes, I provide our "home" email address to the owner.

Much better

 

[mtmbyck]

We used VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owners) and we very clearly stated what $$ we wanted to pay for our 2 weeks in Orlando so if anyone responded at a higher price I declined. The house we settled on met our rate of $2400 for 2 weeks (6 bdrm, heat and bbq incld) and the published rate for this home is over $3500 for this same timeframe.

We booked well in advance and I committed to sending the money as soon as they committed to price.