Appetizers are often better than the meal or are they the one thing that is the spoiler of all?  Appetizers are fun because they give you a ‘taste’ of what is to come, but to enjoy the whole meal you have to stick around.  Here’s my vacation appetizer, my Road Trip that the kids wait for me to take them on each year, and be sure to stick around and keep reading as this summer road trip is just starting! Our adventure is always just that….an adventure.  I hint to my kids that we are going to go somewhere, and then they begin asking questions about the vacation adventure spot.  I am Vento House Famous for our road trips. Sometimes I drive to Clearwater, Myrtle Beach, or up to Niagara Falls, they just never know which way I am about to take them.  Let me plate this appetizer up for you, we will be taking a road trip about 10 hours away from our home for our first stop and our journey will be headed to tropical, warm weather, that will let us drive to the outermost sand bar, until we can drive no further!I don’t want to tell you too much yet, it is an appetizer remembers?  I will share with you 6 Tips When Renting A Vacation Home to help you lavishly live vacation home rental out loud!

Now this is going to be one great Road Trip and I just learned that it is National Rental Month when I rented the house for our family, so it is a perfect Time to pack it up and head out.  To get to where we are going I have enlisted the help of a most prominent and professional rental companies around, Wynhdam Vacation Rentals.

6 Tips When Renting A Vacation Home

Use A Well Established Rental Company

My trip will have us driving as far as we can, until we hit a sandbar, and that is the only reason we are stopping the car, because we can’t drive any further.  As a seasoned pro at home rental on road trips,  I know what company to use and choosing your rental company is the first step I securing a great vacation.  I lavishly live life out loud so for my travel, it is only fitting that in planning this adventure I turned to the experts who are the world’s largest professional managers of vacation rental properties: Wyndham Vacation Rentals.  Did you know that  Wyndham Vacation Rentals offers over 105,000 properties in more than 550 unique destinations worldwide.

That’s right, I am planning on living life large and there will be no nightmare stories from this vacation for this Travel Blogging Diva.  We are headed to Hatteras, in the Outer Banks in North Carolina and Hatteras Realty By Wyndham Vacation Rentals is amazing as they offer access to over 500 rental homes in Hatteras, North Carolina(OBX).  The homes are in well-known beach towns: Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras, so I know we won’t be shoved into some no name area that has NOTHING around it.  Now you know why we are traveling to the end of the North American Earth and looking for the sandbar as a stopping point right!

I know that I will have an awesome rental that will be comfortable, clean and met with customer service if needed and every Hatteras Realty vacation includes privileges to Club Hatteras, which provides complimentary access to a heated junior Olympic pool, bath house, tennis courts, putting green and playground. This is why we used this Well Established Rental Company~ Hatteras Realty.

Use Social Media

As a writer, and a person who loves on social media daily, there is a lot that Social Media Can offer you when you are rental home shopping.  Hashtags rule the world of social media, use them to find the area you are about to stay in, look for the home, and see what photos people have taken, trust me they are out there.  It’s that simple and use social media to check out the rental company’s  other properties too, you might find one you like EVEN more!

Hashtags rock vacation areas, read-up and make sure to follow your Rental Company and see what they post, the places as well as what everyone else is saying. Are they loaded with complaints or is it lots of LOVE from followers?

Investigate the Rental Company  You are Working With

I don’t mean to hire a Private Investigator, let your fingers do the walking for you. This elaborates a bit more on the Social Media, but it is not social, it is a pure seek and find situation via the computer.   Grab that smartphone, tablet or computer and get cranking.  Save yourself a headache and find out everything you need to know about the company before you go.  Using a well-established rental company is one thing, but do you KNOW them?

Read up on them, Google, check out travel sites, really do your homework, because it is too late to turn back once you get there, and when a company is fully booked, you might find your foot, fully turning on the gas and heading back home if the rental stinks!

A little trivia for you: Did you know that July is National Vacation Rental Month, the time of year when the greatest number of travelers enjoys this better way to get away.

Read The Contract – Mail or Email? 

We have had odd experiences, with everything from pool heating to gas for a grill.  Read the contract, find out how things work, what you have to do, what you are expected to do in order to get your deposit back and learn about the cleaning fees, garbage fees, etc.  Every contract is different and sometimes there are expectations. The one home we stayed at we had to take the trash out and bring the cans back in. There was a particular way the cans had to be placed inside and when outside they had to be locked down, pay attention to the small print. 

What is the laundry process? What is the expectation of cleaning and what condition does the house need left in when you leave it?  Can you throw a party or will you get in trouble? Are there noise limitations? Our contract is cut, clear and concise with Hatteras Realty by Wyndham Vacation Rentals.

Speaking of Contracts you will have to sign a contract, is your company internet savvy? Are they encrypted and safe? Do they have email addresses? Is there a way to send info safely to your Rental Firm? Who wants a stamp when you you can scan, and use email.  Think of a company that is internet savvy making your life easier on all aspects of travel.

What Is Provided

Often you will find a lot of  what you can expect in the contract.  Hatteras Realty by Wyndham Vacation Rentals had an easy to navigate contract, calling attention to anything that we NEEDED to know.  Do you need to bring linens? Can you pay for linens? Do you need to wash the sheets and leave them in the washer before you leave(you gotta get up and manage this process the day you leave then..)

What happens with the trash? Do you have to haul it all down before you leave? Should all dirty dishes be left in a WASHED mode in the dishwasher? Does all trash need to be collected? IF you use Charcoal for the grill where do you empty the debris or do you empty it? Will You find pots, pans, condiments, dishwasher detergent, paper towels, etc.?

Manage Your Time & Your Deposit

While we all want vacation to NEVER end, the sad truth is it will end.  Make sure to manage your time well, and while that last night party seems so cool, remember it has be cleaned up and you need to pack, and vacate the premises long before the next family arrives.   Are you going to have to wake up at 4 in the morning to make sure you are out of there before your checkout time or are you all packed up and have you double checked all the rooms for your stuff?

Consider packing up a bit the day before you leave, and doing a light clean up in between.  If you don’t feel like doing this, you can hire ahead a cleaning service to come in and do a ‘tidy-up’ service with Hatteras Realty & With Wyndham Vacation Rentals, but again not all Rental Firms manage as well as Wyndham Vacation Rentals, so read, and learn.  You really want your deposit back, so make sure to follow your timing, contract and read up before you arrive.

You too can have a fabulous, lavish vacation in over  105,000 properties in more than 550 unique destinations worldwide with Wyndham Vacation Rentals. Remember the 6 Tips When Renting A Vacation Home: Use A Well Established Rental Company, Use Social Media, Investigate the Rental Company  You are Working With,Read The Contract, What Is Provided, Manage Your Time & Your Deposit.  

Renting a home for vacation is so much fun and it should be and these 6 tip when renting a vacation home should keep you on the good road to fun as you lavishly live life out loud. While you can have a lot of fun remember with rental does come responsibility and you need to understand the contract you are about to enter and the return on the deposit you left will feel so grand! What tips do you have before signing on to a Vacation Home?