When we were making our plans to go to North Carolina with my husband while he went to his conference, I was surprised that a hotel suite would cost us $160 a night plus tax. He was only being reimbursed for the cost the hotel onsite would have cost, which was $110 a night, so we really didn’t want to pay an additional $50 a night.
Instead, I looked into using a vacation rental by owner (VRBO). I used the site VRBO.com, and found a condo a few miles away from his conference for $116 a night plus tax. Rather than staying in a small two room suite, we would be staying in a 2 bedroom, 1,000 square foot condo complete with a fully equipped kitchen, which is vital to us since we need to bring all of our food when we travel due to our dairy and soy intolerances.
The condo was quite spacious and perfectly met our needs. The owner was quite attentive from answering my e-mails before we travelled and while we were visiting. He was frequently on the property, and whenever we had trouble such as the air conditioner not working, he offered to bring over a portable air conditioning unit until ours could be fixed, which it was the next day. (I still find it crazy that we needed to worry about air conditioning in March, but that is a different story.) There was a washer and dryer in the condo, so I could do laundry and not have to worry about doing several loads when we got home. The location was also very quiet, which was perfect for my kids who are light sleepers.
On the other hand, there were a few negatives. First, the appliances were ridiculously old. The microwave still had a turn dial to set the cooking time, and the dryer was so old, when I opened the door to check if the clothes were dry without turning off the dryer, it just kept going. There was no automatic safety shut off. In addition, I was only able to do one load of laundry because the dryer was so old, even after two hours of drying the clothes were still damp. It was also very loud.
Besides the appliances, the owner stipulated that the kitchen must be exactly as it was when you arrived, which meant we had to run the dishwasher and put all of the dishes away before we left. That meant that I had to run the dishwasher late in the afternoon and serve our dinner on the last night and our breakfast the next morning on paper plates we had to buy since we were leaving very early and wouldn’t have time to run and empty the dishwasher before we left. In addition, we had to take out all of our garbage and sweep before we left. While I understand his purpose in having the rules, it was inconvenient to have to do all of that before leaving.
While we had mixed reviews about our VRBO experience, we plan to book a VRBO at least one more time. Since this was our first time, we don’t yet know if we will have a similar experience at another VRBO or if the drawbacks we experienced at this one were unique. The next time my husband goes to a conference, we will book a VRBO.
Have you stayed at a VRBO before? If so, would you say my experience is typical?
Photo courtesy of Skaneateles Suites via Flickr.
I have used VRBO and similar sites.. one for a three story cabin at Wolf Laurel, NC and once for a 9th floor condo on Broadway in New York City and a condo on Hilton Head Island.
Basically those rules apply everywhere. Yes, we have made sure all the dishes were washed. Yes, we have put the garbage where they instructed us.
It is different from a hotel in that we all think the hotel staff like to clean up after us. I don’t even think about it now… it seems second nature to me to make sure I have tidied up.. some places allow you to just have the dishes in the dishwasher and it running– they put them up after you check out. But I generally try and have them all put away.
For the condo in NYC.. we went a step further. We even cleaned out the fish tank. We had that place as immaculate as it was when we walked through the doors. This was a show room place and the owner had been amazing– even waiving our security deposits after we got there because we were trustworthy.
I like to think of the care I put back into the place before I leave as leaving on a good note in case I ever need to use services again.. I want them to think as highly of me as I did them.
I admit I have good luck with renting places like this and it is infinitely cheaper in a lot of markets- especially if you are going to be in a place for a few days. My boss does it almost every trip she takes. And boy does she travel! She’s even used VRBO in Puerto Rico…
It tends to be my go to travel planning stop. It allows me to save some money on lodging and it lets me feel more like a native than a visitor.
Wow. The one in New York City sounds amazing!
I would have to say that yes, your experience was typical. It was pretty comparable to my experience, at least. We stayed for a week in a lake side house, on the beach. It was a small two-bedroom house, maybe 750 square feet? It didn’t have a dishwasher but it did have a microwave. I don’t remember if it had a spin dial to set it for sure but I believe that it did.
We were also told to leave the house as we found it and to take our trash with us. The people don’t have trash pick up out there because it is a vacation home for them and they don’t need full-time trash pick-up.
We stripped the beds, laundered the linens, remade the beds, vacuumed and swept. We also cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen before leaving as well.
I think it is pretty typical of that kind of rental. If you think about it, you are paying less money (usually) per night than a hotel suite, with more space and more privacy than a suite would give you. There’s a bit of a trade-off for that and it’s just simple upkeep. Way worth it in my opinion!
Yes, it was a bit inconvenient, but overall the experience was worthwhile.
I’ve stayed at many VBRO rentals and your experience is pretty typical. I mostly stay at cottages and so its a wide variety of amenities. I mostly find that the kitchen items are seriously lacking and I always end up being creative (no bottle opener, terribly dull knives, tiny pots/pans, etc)
I’ve found that some require a cleaning fee – and then the cleaning requirements are much lower. But generally, most people want the place swept, linens in a particular spot, garbage bagged, etc…
I’ve never stayed at any VBRO where it was specified that I had to put all of the dishes away. Usually I wash dishes just before we leave and they sit in the dryer rack.
Often those cleaning rules are in place because of bad experiences with renters leaving the place a mess – and so the owner goes to extremes with their expectations. Often, if you leave the place fairly tidy, but with a few dishes left out, the owner will not complain. At least – that’s been my experience.
I have never had a bad VBRO experience.
We’ve stayed in VRBO places several times. I do always run the dishwasher beause that’s not a big deal to me, but I’ve not ever been asked to do so or asked to do any sort of cleaning at all. All the places we have stayed did have a cleaning fee – is it possible that yours didn’t? We’ve been very happy with all our VRBO experiences. We have not ever seen an owner in person, either. That would be a bit weird to me, honestly, but it’s not ever happened to us. I think we have stayed in VRBO places three times.
Yes, ours didn’t have a cleaning fee. I wouldn’t have minded running the dishwasher because we could have done that right before we left. But to have it all dry and put away was a pain. 🙂
I started out in VRBO, but in St. Augustine, FL found a bunch of places that had some insane add-ons. We’re talking nearly doubling the total cost when I was looking at a 1 week trip.
We ended up with someone through Craig’sList and had a GREAT experience. There were a few quirky things, but overall just generally expected to pick up after ourselves and they did the rest. I think I ran the dishwasher the morning we left. The only inconvenient part was putting back all of the breakable knick-knacks that we moved out of 2 yr old reach.
Melissa-
This is a perfectly timed article for me! I just paid my deposit for a VRBO rental near Disney. I think that this will help manage my expectations.
Did the place you rented have reviews?
Yes, all of the reviews were positive except one. Funny, no one mentioned how old the appliances were. However, everything else was great. Hope you like your stay.
We’ve stayed at rentals like that a couple of times in the past through my in-laws, and for the most part it was a good experience. There are trade-offs like the ones you mention – having to clean up after yourself being one – but a lot of the time you’ll get more space, and a more relaxed atmosphere.. We’d definitely do it again. Of course, we didn’t have to deal with a turn dial on the microwave.. 😉
We stay in an VRBO place every year when we go to the beach. Many of the cleaning stipulations are typical, but after so long it becomes second nature- we’ve been vacationing this way for at least 15 years! The pros definitely outweigh the cons for us, because we don’t like to stay in a busy, boardwalk-type area, so we rent in a private beachfront neighborhood where there are only a few condo buildings at the very end of the beach and hotels are not allowed. Another huge pro, especially for week-long stays, is having a full kitchen. We go out to eat once, maybe twice during our whole stay and end up saving a ton of money. We’ve never really had any issues with old kitchen appliances, but I swear many of these places will keep the dryer until it won’t even dry anymore! Every rental we pick also includes a free cleaning service, so dishes and trash are really all we had to deal with- check into that next time you’re looking for a rental, you’d be surprised at how many offer it! Hope you had a good time on your trip!
Thanks for the advice! We will check into that next time.
We’ve always had a cleaning fee but even then, they still ask that you load and run the dishwasher, bring out the trash, strip the beds and put linens and towels in the washer/laundry room…. If it’s a good rental, it’s usually rented for most of the year and if you’re leaving at noon and the next people are coming at 4, there’s not a lot of turn around time for them to clean!
I hope that you told the owner about your disappointment in the appliances. It could maybe be his clue that it’s time to update a little…. We went to florida with my family this past january (sisters, spouses, grandparents and kids….) My parents VRBO’d a 4000, 4 bedroom home so each sister had a space for their family- it was a big investment and my parents happened to be in florida 6 months before for a wedding so they talked to the owner and got permission to check out the space during the 4 hr saturday afternoon cleaning time… my dad mentioned to the owner that he really hoped the carpeting would be fixed prior to our visit (it was pretty worn) – when we showed up in january, the carpeting throughout the upstairs bedrooms had been replaced and a half bath on the mainfloor had been remodeled with a shower (which is always a good thing with 12 people sharing a space to have another shower!)- would have it been done if my dad hadn’t commented, possibly- but maybe not….
When I travel with my kids, I like VRBO as it is usually quieter than a hotel and you can cook (which saves $ over dining out for evey meal). Even when my hubby and I went to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary, I found a VRBO property- we still treated ourselves to dinners out, but stocking the fridge and cupboards with cereal, juice, snacks, water, pop, lunch meat, cheese, bread, chips and fruit was cheaper than eating out every meal and it allowed us some pretty spectacular picnics!
You can also pack less clothes if you know that you have a working laundry- which can save you on the baggages fees from the airlines! Just plan a day or two halfway to do a couple loads to restock your suitcase…
Yes, these are all reasons we plan to stay in a VRBO in the future. I didn’t say anything about the appliances. The carpet was pretty worn too, but we have also stayed in hotels before that had seen better days. He was attentive to all of the other problems we had like the broken air conditioner.
We have a family of 7 so a regular hotel won’t accommodate our family without an expensive suite or two rooms which doubles the cost. We had a wonderful experience with a cabin/house on mountain in Durango, Colorado a year ago. We spent $100 a night, had an amazing view, hot tub, two story home, and a wonderful owner to work with. I’ve never had to put the dishes away – just start the dishwasher. I usually try to find places that don’t charge the cleaning fee to save money. With the seven of us we’re able to usually get the “check-out” steps done pretty quickly (empty trash, strip beds, gather towels, start dishes, start a load of wash). I would definitely give it another try. My experiences with vrbo.com have been wonderful.
Years ago before I found vrbo.com we had a horrible experience renting a condo from a new owner in California. They required a $600 refundable deposit for the week on top of the rental fee. I was inexperienced enough to think that was normal and I paid it. They ended up keeping most of my deposit (a check) and wouldn’t respond when I countered the lies they listed as reasons why they were keeping our deposit. I’ve learned from that and now never give more than $100 security deposit to a site. I also read the reviews carefully. Good luck!
Wow. I am surprised you tried VRBO again after the first miserable experience! Our owner was very good; it was just the OLD appliances that were the only drawback. Thanks for sharing.
We use VRBO.com frequently when we travel. The thing to remember is that each experience is different because the owners are different. We’ve had wonderful experiences and some good experiences. None have been horrible. There was only 1 rental that we used that had requirements that I felt were out of line. I called the owner and told her that I understood the rules, but that it would be very difficult to do x, y, and z because of our schedule that week. I asked if she could work with us. She offered to charge us an extra $30 and she took care of the emptying of the dishwasher and remaking of beds. (Most that we’ve stay in do not have those rules.) So, talk to the owners and see if they will work with you if you have that situation again.
Thanks. I will keep that in mind for next time!