Vacation Rentals Blog

Sept. 30, 2009. We keep a close eye on travel regulations that affect luxury vacation rental travelers, so a recent column by MSNBC travel writer Christopher Elliot caught our eye. The most important change for our readers will, once again, involve passports.
Starting June 1, anyone coming or going across any border of the United States will be required to show a passport - no matter whether they are traveling by plan, train, automobile, boat or foot.
If you have any aspirations to ever travel beyond the borders of the United States, whether headed to Canada or the Caribbean, go ahead and order or renew a passport. Ever since the post-9/11 Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was passed in 2004, the federal passport offices have been operating in fits and spasms, occasionally suffering large backups and sometimes flat-out losing applications.
We're not trying to scare you here. If you're reading this blog, however, you probably aspire to travel, so why wait? Get the passport process out of the way now, and any potential delays or mishaps will be less likely to affect your trip, whether it's this winter or the next.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff at 07:33 AM | Permalink

Sept. 24, 2008. We have always sought to make the pages of VacationRental.org as informative as possible for travel planners, whether you're reading this blog or researching activities at destinations such as Hawaii.
This month's Outside magazine also had some great recommendations:
OffbeatGuides.com - What if you could create your own travel guide for a destination, based on the activities you like? The size of the book would be significantly slimmer, so it takes up less space and doesn't require thumbing through a bunch of fluff. That's the idea here. Just choose the activities you want, and have a custom guidebook printed or download it in a pdf form.
TripIt.com - Say goodbye to messy manila folders with two dozen receipts, printouts and pamphlets. Say hello to a single document with all of your reservations, confirmations, directions, etc. That's the idea behind TripIt, an online travel organizatino tool that lets you forward info from all sorts of other websites.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff at 07:59 AM | Permalink

Sept. 16, 2008. One of the greatest parts about being retired has always been having the time and money to travel. As many retirees tire of the pace high cost of travel, however, many are looking at long-term stays in luxury vacation rentals as a way to rest and rejuvenate.
To be sure, the globetrotting life certainly has its glamor: dining in Paris, sightseeing in Egypt, driving an RV across America. but all that going, going, going can wear a person down. And let's face it: Can you really get to know a place in a matter of days, or even weeks?
How about spending a summer in Nova Scotia, exploring the rugged coast and centuries-old fishing villages? Or hiking and fly fishing all season in the Sawtooths of Idaho? You could reinvent yourself as a high-rent ski bum in Colorado!
Whatever you choose, a long-term rental will be the best option for several reasons. First, with the cost of gasoline, airline flights, and other transportation going up, this option relieves travel-related expenses. Second, with a kitchen and other on-site amenities, you're bound to spend less money at pricey restaurants. And last, renting eliminates the added costs that can make real estate too expensive when you only plan to live in a place for a short period of time (buying makes sense much of the time, but not always.)

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff at 08:38 PM | Permalink

Sept. 11, 2008. Conventional wisdom says to avoid holiday travel at all costs, because it's the busiest and most expensive. This year, however, might be the year to go ahead and book that luxury vacation rental for Christmas break. MSNBC.com travel columnist Christopher Elliot said the slow economy will spell fast deals at many destinations.
That's because tourism-related businesses will be desperate for customers. Airlines have already scaled back there flights by the biggest margin since 2001. Car rental companies are reporting drastic reductions in demand. While some "drive markets" have been reporting steady numbers, the "attractions" -- restaurants, museums, theaters, etc. -- seem to be feeling pain overall.
So, keep your eyes out for deals this winter, from beach communities like Galveston to ski towns like Ketchum.
Try following links from local visitor bureau websites to individual business websites, where Internet specials may be plentiful. If you don't see anything advertised on their home page, give the business a call -- they might mail you some valuable coupons.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff at 09:00 PM | Permalink

Sept. 9, 2008. In every market, there are winners and losers. In this market, luxury vacation rentals are winners, especially in "drive markets," according to a recent article in the New York Times. People aren't just renting them, either -- they're buying them as sound investments.
The regional markets that are benefiting the most from vacationers are drive markets that are within a day's drive of major population centers. Examples are the Berkshires, near NYC and Boston, and Palm Springs, near L.A.
Here's a quote from one expert:
"As the economy sours, demand for vacation home rentals increases, as rental homes are seen as inexpensive alternatives to luxury hotels. Also, people are now beginning to divert their vacations to more local spots where rental homes are an option.”
And while the residential real estate market in Southern California and Las Vegas have been remained sour this year, inquiries about vacation rental purchases have spiked by 67 and 58 percent, respectively. Real estate experts say the investment properties are ideal for mid- to long-term investors, however, and do not make good one- or two-year "flips."

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff at 09:00 PM | Permalink

Sept. 4, 2009. Those who haven't already reserved luxury vacation rentals for this autumn should act now - many areas of the U.S. are predicting early and fantastic fall color displays. Drought affected many regions throughout the summer, hastening the transition. Fortunately, recent rains have been keeping things from getting too dry.
In North Carolina, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported the colors should be great provided the Blue Ridge Mountains get just enough rain from the hurricane remnants - but not too much rain, or the leaves will come down too quickly.
Kim's New England Travel blog talks about the first signs on color in the Northeast, in particular at the Green Mountains of Vermont.
We'll be keeping our eyes out for fall foliage reports throughout the season. This is one of our favorite times to travel!

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff at 08:58 AM | Permalink

Sept. 2, 2008. The average person doesn't choose a luxury vacation rental based on the destination's tax rates. They do, however, make choices based on price, and so-called travelers taxes have a huge impact on those end results.
In a recent report called "Lodging, Rental and Meal Taxes on Travelers in the Top 50 U.S. Cities," the National Business Travel Association identified the destinations where local governments dipped their hands deepest into visitors' pockets.
This report shows that large metropolitan areas seem to have the highest discriminatory taxes in all three categories. Small cities such as Asheville, N.C., and Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, were virtually absent from the list.
The trend could reveal how hesitant smaller communities are to create burdens on local businesses, especially when their economies are dependent in any way on tourism. Or it may show how desperate large municipalities are for revenue.
So, could Americans save money by visiting smaller destinations, or at least destinations with fewer travel-related taxes? One thing is clear: the average American pays fewer taxes when he stays in a smaller destination.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff at 11:20 AM | Permalink