Travelers who prefer this type of accommodation to hotels must be aware of these safety tips for booking vacation rentals. We won’t go into vacation rental tips for owners. That’s a whole different thing. You can book luxury villas too for your vacations, but make sure the place is right for you. Let’s concentrate on safety tips for renters for now. While vacation rentals may be cheap, not all of them can be deemed safe. So, how do we know if a vacation rental is safe? There are a couple of ways to do so. For one, never pick a rental that hasn’t got an online review – it means the advert could be shady. Now, let’s take a detailed look at some other safety tips for booking vacation rentals.
Safety Tips for Renters to Follow When Booking Vacation Rentals:
Making sure the vacation rental is safe is among the top tips for solo travelers and group travelers alike. Try not to get rooms at a vacation rental when landing on emergency last minute flights. That gives you barely any time to check out whether the establishment is safe. Take a good look at the important safety tips for booking vacation rentals listed below and stay safe on all your travels.
- Don’t book if there are no reviews of it
Pretty much everything has a review and rating online these days. Ever come across Facebook vacation rentals? It’s among the cleverest marketing strategies for vacation rentals. But if the vacation rental you’re eyeing has neither of those things, you can be sure it’s a scam. Don’t book it. This is among the most vital tips for booking vacation rentals to follow.
- Rental fee isn’t listed clearly
Which genuine vacation rental website would not list their fee clearly? There must be at least a small section somewhere referring to it. In case you come across nothing when scouting for the vacation rental fee, give them a call. If whoever you speak with still refuses to divulge the fee, don’t book accommodation there.
- No address is a shady aspect
Another of the most tips for booking vacation rentals is to make sure there is an address listed for the place. If there’s no address listed, it’s mostly a bogus advert and the place does not exist. However, you can call them and ask for the address as well. Cross-check the same on Google Earth map to ensure the property is genuine.
- Unbelievably low prices
Even if you’re planning to stay at a vacation rental and skimping on business class flights to save money, don’t assume that all deals that come with the ‘money-saver’ tag are genuine. Yes, vacation rentals are cheaper than most hotels – but nothing is rock-bottom cheap. Call and ask them why the place is that cheap. If they fail to give you a convincing answer, back out instantly.
- Is there a cancelation or rebooking policy?
This is among the top tips for booking vacation rentals: You must always find out if the rental has a fair cancelation and rebooking policy. Find out what the additional fee for rebooking is and make sure everything is in writing. Else, you could be dealing with someone who will not follow through on the rental agreement.
- If they don’t ask for a deposit, don’t book
What kind of vacation rental does not ask for a deposit? Most of the genuine vacation rentals won’t allow one-night stays and will ask for a deposit at the time of booking. You will be asked to pay the rest prior to arriving. If the owner is willing to give you the place without any payment or deposit whatsoever, this could be a bad omen.
- Asking for a wire transfer is mostly a scam
Never trust anyone who asks you to transfer money online however much they claim to be genuine. This is among the most important safety tips for booking vacation rentals. Your bank can’t help you if you authorize a transaction that proves to be a scam later on. If the payment method is not secure, don’t pay.
- Owner refuses to disclose his name and other details
One of the top tips for renters is to focus on the owner’s language and attitude. Is he overly friendly? Is he the exact opposite and refuses to even divulge his name? If that is the case, refrain from booking here. Why would you want to stay in a place whose owner refuses to tell you his name? Under these circumstances, how genuine can the place be?
- You can’t find the list of amenities
Among the top marketing strategies for vacation rentals is to give out a list of their best amenities. They do this to vie for more customers. One of the top tips for booking vacation rentals is to look for this list. If you can’t find it anywhere on their website, it’s a big red flag. To double check, you can call and ask them about it. Don’t book if you get muffled, too-general, or shady answers from them.
- Photos have markings and there are multiple listings of it online
If the photos on the vacation rental website have markings on them, it means they are not genuine. Often, scammers will take photos of the internet and create bogus adverts in the hope that unsuspecting people will pay them. Also, look if there are multiple listings of the same ad in different cities. This is also a bogus advert. They post the same thing after changing merely the names of the city. So, one of the top tips for booking vacation rentals is to keep an eye out for this.
- Be honest with the vacation rental owner
Your are booked and only the vacation rental booking is pending. But before you finalize this, make sure you’re honest about yourself with the vacation rental owner. It’s among the top tips for booking vacation rentals. You expect honesty from them so it’s only fair you do the same. Tell them clearly how many people to expect, how long you wish to stay, and other such details. It’ll make your trip that much smoother.
