7 Mistakes to Avoid When Booking a Holiday Letting

Booking holiday lettings is a popular choice; they are often cheaper and come in many forms. Holiday home platforms make it easy to find the place that fulfils all your needs, whether it is size, interior design, or other features. But there are still some mistakes you can make when renting a holiday letting.

Here are 7 problems to avoid.

Pros of Holiday Lettings

Renting a holiday home is the perfect solution for many holidaymakers. Here is why:

It is cheaper  

A holiday letting is cheaper than a hotel room of the same quality, and the more people join you, the lower the price. In most cases, the price is lower too if you stay for longer periods.

Privacy & space  

In a holiday letting, you have a house to yourself. You are not confined to a single room and don’t have to deal with strangers or staff.

Living your dreams  

Holiday lettings come in a wide variety of forms – from apartments to boats, tree houses, and villas. Renting one of them and having free rein over it can fulfil your dream of living in a luxurious mansion.

More facilities  

A hotel room might have a mini-fridge and a hairdryer, but that’s about it. In holiday houses, you are living in a proper home with all facilities and amenities.

Not just for sleep  

A holiday letting isn’t just a place where you can sleep while you are on a holiday. The time you spend in a beautiful house is much more relaxing than in a small hotel room. Here you can cook and eat with your friends and family or spend evenings playing games.

7 Common Mistakes

If those benefits have convinced you to book a holiday letting, make sure to avoid these common mistakes:

Location

Make sure you take a good look at the location. Many services, especially when you book a private home, only tell you the full address when you have booked or paid. For some holidays, the exact location might be crucial.

If you want to enjoy Tenerife in a private home with no other prerequisite, that might be fine. But if you want to go on a beach holiday and live close by the sea, a house inland might be disappointing. Make sure to ask the host if you are unsure about the location.

Major Platform

It is best to use an established professional rental service. They have high standards of quality and safety. Even if they offer rentals by private homeowners, they typically have a process of verifying offers and weeding out scams and bad lettings. They have a reputation to uphold after all and expect the same from private hosts on their site.

Photos

The photos are a major factor in deciding whether you can picture yourself renting a specific holiday letting. But you should not trust them blindly. Read the descriptions, or you might miss some information on what to expect in real life.

Some hosts add pictures of the scenery in surrounding areas to show you everything you can experience. Not looking at the description, you might mistake it for the view from the house.

Amenities List

Even if you rent a private home, don’t expect that they have all the amenities you might need. Most offers list what you can expect. Things you might miss are electronics, bedding, or towels. Especially during times like the pandemic, some hosts have reduced the amenities they offer to reduce them coming in contact with people and having to thoroughly disinfect things after each visitor.

Not Reading Recent Reviews

Recent reviews are the most helpful information on a letting because they contain the most up-to-date information. Equipment, furniture, or rules might have changed at some point and old reviews might have lost their relevance.

Rules & Policies

Many hosts add house rules when they decide to rent their homes. They might include how many people are allowed to stay, whether pets are allowed, or if you are allowed to shower at night. Make sure every person involved knows these rules.

Other policies dictate how to handle actions like cancelling. Some are more flexible and will return all or some of the money if the rental was cancelled at a specific time before the actual stay.

They also include when and how to check in or out, and whether you must clean the holiday home before leaving.

Hotel Service

For most private holiday lettings, you can’t expect much more service than handing over the key and a little tour. Some holiday homes come with a sort of manager you can contact if the host is not in town. They might be willing to help with problems or give directions. You cannot, however, expect any sort of hotel service like housekeeping, unless it was agreed upon beforehand. That is part of what makes renting holiday homes cheaper than staying in a hotel.

Conclusion

If you have done your research and picked the right holiday home that suits both your taste and your needs, you can enjoy your holiday fully.

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