Vacation Rentals Blog

August 30, 2007. If you're headed to a luxury vacation rental for Labor Day weekend, please be patient and courteous. Experts predict major crowds on the roads and in the air.

The American Automobile Association predicts 34.6 million Americans will travel this weekend, according to Newsday. That figure is down just slightly from last year, but it's still one in 10 Americans. Economic woes tied to the housing market are blamed for the minor drop.

There is good news. The national average earlier this week for regular gasoline was $2.758 per gallon, 8.2 cents less than a year earlier. That helps the vast majority of travelers, 29 million of whom will drive to places like Cape Cod and the Cascades in cars and RVs, according to the AAA.

The Federal Aviation Administration expects 15.7 million Americans to fly this weekend, a three percent increase over last year, according to ABC News. That rise comes despite the number of flight cancellations having doubled since last year.

For a humorous and informative column on Labor Day flights, check out James Wysong's column on MSNBC.com.

Posted by VRO at 01:31 AM | Permalink

August 28, 2007. What if you arrived at the airport, ready to fly home, only to realize you had left your plane ticket in the luxury vacation rental? A hassle of epic proportions would most likely ensue, no doubt. That is what is great about e-tickets – you don't get them until you arrive at the airport, so you can't lose them (until you get to the airport).

Starting May 31 next year, paper tickets will be a thing of the past, according The World radio program. Many air travelers may have already noticed the gradual disappearance of paper tickets, which were once mailed to the traveler's home in advance of a journey.

The International Air Transport Association announced its last order for paper ticket, which marks the "nail in the coffin." Already, 84 percent of international flights already use paperless tickets, so most travelers will hardly notice the transition.

The story reminded me of the time I left my paper tickets in the arriving flight on a trip Washington, D.C. I didn't notice I had lost them until the day before I was scheduled to fly back to Kentucky, my home at the time. I spent many hours on the phone and had to arrive at the airport several hours early to obtain a new ticket.

Another advantage of the complete switch: the airlines will save $9 per passenger and an estimated 50,000 trees per year.

Posted by VRO at 01:11 PM | Permalink

August 25, 2007. Savvy fall foliage pilgrims know that now is the time to book luxury vacation rentals. Those who wait much longer will find the choices considerably limited, at least for weekends. Here are some ideas for destinations with great autumn colors:

White Mountains, New Hampshire – Take the scenic route on the Kancamagus Highway for more photo opportunities than a memory card can handle. Popular spots include Crawford Notch State Park and Mt. Washington, the highest peak in New England. Area ski resorts probably won't have enough snow to ride on yet, but their village condos often have great off-season rates.

Stowe, Vermont – Also a year-round destination, Stowe offers stiff competition for New Hampshire. If the White Mountains have the most rugged scenery, Stowe has the most picture-perfect New England town, complete with village steeple. The gondola ride to the top of Mt. Mansfield is also a bonus.

Shenandoah Valley – This is our top pick for residents of the Baltimore-D.C. area who don't want to venture too far from home. Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway both offer numerous vistas to take in the changing seasons.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – With approximately 900 miles of trails, this national park has plenty of great autumn hikes. The drive through the park has a plethora of scenic views, too. Best of all, the fall is the best time to observe the park's reintroduced elk population. It's rutting season, so they'll be active, and the males will be bugling.

Posted by VRO at 05:59 PM | Permalink

August 24, 2007. You can't stay in a luxury vacation rental without taking some photos for posterity. For those interested in the latest photography news, The Washington Post travel section published several features on cameras and photos.

The Post reviewed single-use digital cameras, which are shipped to a photo developer after use and then recycled. Let's say you're in Hawaii and you forgot your own – no need to worry, just buy a single-use, heir to the disposable film camera. As can be expected, the picture quality isn't tops, but it's an inexpensive alternative to buying a new one and it's better than nothing at all.

They also reviewed the Quikpod Pro, an extendable handheld monopod that lets you hold the camera and take a picture of yourself. "Instead of an uncomfortably up-close-and-personal shot of our forehead, we ended up with a balanced image good enough to hold on to. Be on the lookout for camera shake, though."

A survey of online photo-hosting sites compares four websites that allow users to upload their photos, email them to friends and order prints. Another feature discusses unusual ways to display your photos, from purses to postcards.

Posted by VRO at 01:48 PM | Permalink

August 22, 2007. The New York Times published this weekend an ode to lake trout, step-child to the brook trout. When it comes to trout, most fishermen picture an angler wading in a stream or river, rhythmically casting his fly rod back and forth across the surface. One doesn't ascribe that vision to the bass, varieties of which can be found in streams, lakes and oceans, but life just isn't fair.

The Times focused on the lake-trout-crazy communities of the Finger Lakes region of New York. Located in the western part of the state, these long, skinny lakes sit parallel to one another between small mountain ridges. Some local restaurants serve up the fish for dinner, and one photo showed a mailbox painted and shaped in homage.

Lake trout prefer cold, deep waters, making the Finger Lakes ideal for them. Another great place to cast for these underrated guys is Lake Michigan. A stay at a Michigan vacation cottage is nice enough, but a bountiful catch of lake trout for the grill will make the stay unforgettable. The cold, northern waters of Minnesota often harbor some lake trout as well.

If you go fishing in search of this species, you'll need a boat. Because they prefer the cold, deep waters, they tend to congregate off shore.

Posted by VRO at 07:05 AM | Permalink

August 21, 2007. MSNBC and Concierge.com published a nice little guide to mountain towns for the summer. "…there are other places than the ocean for cooling off," the article reads. "August is the best month to seek out great mountain towns, which have finally cast aside their snowy comforters for crisp sheets of green trees with patterns of blue lakes and rivers."

Here are some of their suggestions:

North Adams, Massachusetts – Stay anywhere in the Berkshires, but make sure you visit North Adams while you're there. The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, or MASS MoCA, is the country's largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts, with 13 acres, 19 galleries, and 100,000 square feet of exhibition space. Nearby, hikers enjoy bagging the state's highest peak, 3,491-foot Mount Greylock.

Brevard, N.C. – This is just one of many mountain towns in near Asheville in Western North Carolina. Interestingly, Concierge.com highlighted Brevard College's Porter Center for the Performing Arts, but forgot to mention the famous white squirrels that scurry about campus.

Park City, Utah– A perennial favorite with skiers can also be a fantastic summer getaway. Thanks to the big money from the Hollywood set that arrives every year for the Sundance Film Festival, Park City has become rather upscale. Rembrandts grace some of the art galleries, and foie gras can be found on a restaurant menu.

Posted by VRO at 10:43 AM | Permalink

August 19, 2007. So, you're driving to a luxury vacation rental when it appears on the horizon: a giant pair of scissors. Then, you see the Eiffel Tower. Next, a 40-foot-tall Paul Bunyan.

You could be in anywhere in America, with its affinity for eye-catching roadside attractions. RoadsideAmerica.com , self-dubbed "Your Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions," highlights strange sights such as these all over the country. The aforementioned oddities can be found in Northern California .

Other sights include the world's largest ball of string, found in Missouri, and the largest Jackalope, spotted in Wyoming.

The website also features weird news tidbits related to roadside attractions, such as this item about a "vampire peacock memorial" in New York City:

"On the morning of June 28, 2007, a peacock wandered into the parking lot of a Burger King on Staten Island in New York City. The workers were astonished, and walked outside to feed it bread. What happened next was even more astonishing. A homeless man appeared, grabbed the bird by the neck, threw it to the ground, and stomped it to death… 'I'm killing a vampire!' he cried, and then ran away.

"Police caught the man four days later… He was identified as John Potts. His mother explained that he was a schizophrenic who actually loved animals, but who had also stopped taking his medicine. When the police asked him why he had killed the peacock, Potts replied, 'It had negative energy. It came out of the darkness and I kicked it.'"

Posted by VRO at 07:18 PM | Permalink

August 17, 2007. For some people, the ideal luxury vacation rental sits on a beach or a golf course. For others, it sits in the midst of an adventure. Adventure-based travel companies are reporting an increase in business, according to USA Today.

At one company called Backroads, "Bookings this year alone are up 35%. Similar increases are being reported in family offerings from other leading outdoor tour companies such as Mountain Travel Sobek and Butterfield & Robinson. Luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent, with a 30% rise in families booking adventure tours this year, created a website especially for family adventures, akadventurecrew.com."

VacationRental.org offers a plethora of cabins and homes with adventures waiting right out the backyard, no tour operator needed. Here are two ideas:

Glacier National Park – Featured in the above-mentioned article, this park on the Montana-Canada border displays spectacularly carved mountain ranges teeming with wildlife. Take a guided horseback tour to get farther into the backcountry, or book an expedition to one of the vanishing namesake glaciers.

Yosemite National Park – The 17-mile roundtrip hike to the top of Half Dome will be the walk of your life. Lasting about 10-12 hours, the trip is only for the physically fit, although the summit often sees small children and elderly sloggers. The last stretch involves a steep ascent up some bare granite, with cables installed to give you something to hold onto.

Posted by VRO at 01:47 AM | Permalink

August 15, 2007. In the latest technology news, travelers to luxury vacation rentals can now download podcasts with recorded travel guides, according to an article on MSNBC.com. The podcasts come at a time when 11 percent of all Americans have MP3 players, and almost one-fifth of all Americans under age 30 have one, according to a Pew survey.

With those numbers expected to grow on all fronts, podcast travel guides make sense. Some of our homes and condos on VacationRental.org even feature MP3 "docks" with stereo speakers.

Let's say you're staying on California's Monterey Bay. Before leaving, you can download guides to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Pebble Beach and the nearby town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Florida has podcasts for Orlando and the Everglades National Park. Great Smoky Mountains National Park has downloadable guides to bears, hiking, bird watching and more.

The podcasts create a new marketing opportunity that could be useful to everyone, but that especially targets the elusive 18- to 30-year-old niche. This media savvy group has been found to be a powerful consumer group, but spurns traditional advertising methods. Many advertising methods now attempt to infiltrate their lifestyles through less conspicuous means.

Posted by VRO at 02:16 AM | Permalink

August 14, 2007. Luxury vacation rentals remain popular throughout the year at Lake Placid, New York. But no matter what time you visit, the Winter Olympics will surely be prominent, according to an article in the New York Times.

A travel writer who visited the resort destination found the main attractions to center around Winter Olympic sports, history and training. Because so many athletes train here in the summer, popular pastimes include watching figure skaters perfect their routines. You can ride a bobsled down the run used in the 1980 Olympics. Or take the gondola to the top of Little Whiteface, once the site of the downhill skiing contests and still a popular hill with skiers and snowboarders.

It's easy to see why this place draws visitors all year long. Lake Placid's shimmering waters beckon visitors in the summer, and the surrounding hikes travel through beautiful forests. In the fall, these hills blaze with color. And at 3,420 feet, Whiteface offers the most vertical drop of any ski resort in the East. Its steeps are also legendary.

Being a short jaunt from Interstate 87, the area is also an easy drive from most places in New England.

Posted by VRO at 07:05 AM | Permalink

August 11, 2007. If you ever need to travel with a family pet en route to a luxury vacation rental, do not try to smuggle the animal on board an airplane. On Tuesday, a man was discovered on a flight to New York City with a monkey hidden under his ponytail.
According to news reports, the man had already gotten away with flying from Lima, Peru, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Apparently, the monkey grew tired of hiding out and emerged from underneath the man’s hair.
“Other passengers asked the man if he knew he had a monkey on him,” an airline spokesperson said.
The monkey was initially deemed to be healthy, but it will be quarantined for one month to be certain. The owner was taken away for questioning, but it remained unclear as this blog was written whether he would face criminal charges.
Some airlines do allow pets in the cabin, depending on the size and type of the animal. Most airlines, however, require the animal to remain in a container for during the flight. For a quick overview, see the Federal Aviation Administration’s FAQ “Pets in the Passenger Cabin.”

Posted by VRO at 01:26 AM | Permalink

August 9, 2007. If you haven't already booked a luxury vacation rental for a fall foliage trip, now would be the time to do so. According to an Asheville Citizen-Times article, a North Carolina biologist and seasoned fall colors forecaster said this year's weather could produce some of the best autumn displays in years.

The biologist said Western North Carolina has historically benefited from the drought in spring and early summer, especially since the drought has abated somewhat. In September and October, the most helpful weather will be warm, sunny days with cool, frost-free nights. Another drought, excessive rains, or cold snaps could foil a dramatic display.

The most popular places to stay in the region include Grandfather Mountain, Asheville , the Murphy-Franklin area , and the Smoky Mountains. All of these destinations provide easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the area's plentiful public lands.

Posted by VRO at 01:23 AM | Permalink

August 8, 2007. If you are flying, just keep repeating to yourself: "I will make it to the luxury vacation rental."
The U.S. Department of Transportation released its Air Travel Consumer Report, and the news was not good. Complaints are increasing, the rate of cancellations and lost baggage has risen since last year, and delays are at their highest since 1995, when thorough records began.

The Associated Press reported that experts blame the problems on three main factors: soaring demand, profit chasing and an antiquated radar system. To begin with, more people are flying than ever before. Airlines, seeking to increase their bottom line, have turned to smaller jets rather than fewer larger jets, causing more congestion. Compounding matters is the need for a new radar system to keep up with the increased traffic, but airline companies are fighting over how to pay for the upgrade.

As you fly this summer, we encourage you to arrive early and be patient. Picture yourself on that beach at Martha's Vineyard, or in those Cascade mountains of Washington. If that doesn't appeal to you might try driving instead—unless your vacation destination is in Hawaii or a Caribbean Island

Posted by VRO at 03:21 PM | Permalink

August 7, 2007. The New York Times mentioned two of our favorite places for luxury vacation rentals in the Southwest: Sante Fe, New Mexico, and Sedona, Arizona.

The article, "Is Santa Fe Ready for a Makeover?" compares this town's 400-year-old history with some recent developments. The newest additions only underscore the wonder of Santa Fe. Consider this excerpt:

"The Rail Runner commuter train is coming, linking Santa Fe directly to downtown Albuquerque in an hour and a quarter. A huge new $100 million commercial center, the Railyard, is being built downtown, a rival hub to the plaza in contemporary-industrial steel and glass. Tax incentives have greatly enhanced the film industry in New Mexico and much of the post-production is centered around Santa Fe. The celebrated Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta is now represented not only by the Marion Center for Photographic Arts at the College of Santa Fe but also by the Zocalo, an extraordinary condominium development spilling down a hillside north of town. And in 2005, Santa Fe was designated America's first Unesco Creative City, a global acknowledgment of its place at the forefront not just of folk art, crafts and design, but in new media too."

On another Southwestern note, the Times also ran a great weekend getaway profile (LINK 3) on Sedona, Arizona . After checking out the photos on the slideshow, you'll be ready to head out. Surrounded by red rock formations, this town has a special place on the planet. It's the kind of destination that will please a rebellious teenager as much as a stressed-out parent or relaxed retirees.

Posted by VRO at 08:22 AM | Permalink

August 5, 2007. Is stress starting to get to you? Have you taken a break lately?

Perhaps a relaxing weekend getaway is just what you need.

Even at the height of summer tourist season, some rentals will have openings or cancellations. If you have enough vacation days to be flexible with your reservation, you increase the odds of finding one. Consider it an investment in your mental health that will benefit your productivity in the long run.

Here are some suggestions for rejuvenating trips:

Northern Illinois – Not far from the Type-A city of Chicago, the peaceful plains resume their pastoral way of life. The area along the Mississippi River has a particularly quaint feel. Go antiquing in Galena, take a riverboat ride down the big river, or visit a local winery.

Blue Ridge Mountains – The Blue Ridge Mountains have a timelessness that puts your own life into perspective. Go for a scenic drive or a hike to an overlook, and just spend some time soaking in the view. Little towns like Murphy and Cashiers have great restaurants, so you don't have to cook if you don't want to.

Cape Cod – Nothing soothes the soul more than the sound of gently crashing ocean waves. For New Englanders, Cape Cod is one of the best places to enjoy the beach. The local spas and seafood restaurants will augment the good life.

Posted by VRO at 06:58 PM | Permalink

August 3, 2007. The Los Angeles Times published a story about Glacier National Park that makes us want to book a cabin and pack our bags. With attractions like impressive glaciers, the scenic Going to the Sun Road, and the bears, how can you go wrong?

(Yes, bears. Best seen from far away, of course. Appropriately, the L.A. Times also published a guide to bear awareness and safety.)

The author stayed in a lodge inside the park, but more spacious and affordable accommodations can be found outside the park, too. If you're visiting the area, you'll also want to take some time to visit nearby attractions outside the park. The gigantic Flathead Lake is a great place to go fishing and boating. The historic town of Kalispell offers classic mining town ambience with modern shops and restaurants.

This is an important time in the national park's history because the namesake glaciers are disappearing, according to the article.

"Toward the end of the 19th century, explorers documented more than 100 glaciers, some covering nearly 1,000 acres. Five years ago, there were 37, and today, 27. By 2030, scientists predict, they will all be gone."

So, if you want to include the glaciers in your sightseeing itinerary, you'd better get there sooner rather than later.

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Posted by VRO at 09:08 PM | Permalink

August 2, 2007. When families stay at luxury vacation rentals, they are certain to dine out. How can one visit Maine without going to a seafood restaurant? Or travel in Texas without sampling a steakhouse?

But things change when you have children in tow. For many parents, it's an embarassing and frustrating experience. And for the other diners, a misbehaving kid can be a real annoyance. Fodor's offered "7 Mistakes Not to Make When Dining Out with Kids."

Mistake #1: Picking a place devoid of other kids

Mistake #2: Relying on the kids' menu

Mistake #3: Trying a totally new food on vacation

Mistake #4: Not anticipating meltdowns

Mistake #5: Having their meals brought out first

Mistake #6: Not tasting their food first

Mistake #7: Being a jerk when things go wrong

When traveling with the family, luxury vacation rentals can offer a real advantage: a kitchen. By strategically splitting the meals between the vacation home and the restaurants, half the battle has already been won.

Begin planning meals by thinking about which meals are toughest on the children. If Bobby gets cranky in the evenings, maybe breakfast and lunch are the best times to eat out. If Susie only likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made a certain way, maybe lunch is best taken in.

Posted by VRO at 07:31 PM | Permalink

Aug 1, 2007. At VacationRental.org, we're always looking at the newest, coolest websites related to luxury vacation rentals. A few items recently caught our eye.

Rob Lovitt's most recent column on MSNBC.com's travel page discusses some new websites that will likely have a big impact.

YAPTA, which stands for "Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant," takes a fresh look at airfare watchers. It's actually a plug-in, a type of program used in conjunction with online travel agencies and airline websites.

Let's say, for example, that you want to find a good deal on a flight to the Cayman Islands. As you search for airfares on those other sites, use YAPTA to bookmark your finds. The program monitors the flights you mark, and over the coming weeks will alert you of rate increases or decreases. Ideally, you snag a ticket when the price drops.

We've also recently been turned on to National Geographic Traveler's IT blog, winner of the "Best Travel Blog" at the 2007 Travvies. An acronym for Intelligent Travel, this blog focuses on "sustainable," or environmentally friendly, travel trends. Recent posts have covered items such as a new short-haul jet that will emit 75% less nitrous oxide and 50% less carbon dioxide.

Posted by VRO at 08:06 PM | Permalink