» Navigation » Disney Vacation Homes

If you have been looking for a vacation home in Orlando you probably know all to well how many choices there are to choose from. The most desirable places for theme park goers to stay in are vacation homes, Disney condos, Orlando villas, and town homes. For obvious reasons: most are built very close to all the theme parks, plus they offer many more amenities than your normal Orlando hotel room.

Often times when I am at our call center, I hear horror stories about families coming to Orlando who were described a vacation home which was suppose to be beautifully decorated and having all the special amenities they could ever want. Then they come hear only to find they were promised the 9’s and they ended up with a 3.

Choosing the right vacation home company is the key to having a great a time in Orlando. This article is not designed to throw specific vacation home companies under the bus; even though we keep a growing list of companies that we could not recommend even to our worst enemies. The purpose of the article however, is to give you some insight into what to look for in a reputable vacation home company.

1. Better Business Bureau- Always look for the BBB sign on a company’s website. The neat thing about the BBB is that you should be able to click on the logo and see the company’s history and guest complaints. If the company has a BBB logo, but it is not linked to the BBB’s website they might be hiding something.
2. Call them directly- You get a great feel for the company when you pick the phone up and call them directly. Are the customer service people friendly? Are they knowledgeable about their homes? Are they answering all your questions directly? Hint: Go on your first instinct, if they are not answering your questions honestly or if they sound annoyed that you called, don’t do business with them. There are too many good companies which offer great homes in Orlando to deal with a company who is not on the up and up
3. Don’t Rent from Homeowners directly- There are many websites which help homeowners market their homes and condos. Of all the horror stories, renting from the homeowner directly tops the list. Yes, going directly to the homeowner is sometimes the least expensive option, but be cautious cheaper is not always better.

The bottom line is things happen, and if you rent from a homeowner who lives in New York, or anywhere else for that matter, they do not know who to call to get things fixed promptly. In addition, most homeowners give out their personal e-mail address, but no phone number or other way to get in touch with them. So if there is a problem, you have to e-mail the homeowner and then sit around until they respond.

Another huge problem is when things get broken in a house. They do not have a management company do a full inspection of a house before your stay, so if you move into a house for your vacation and the couch is broken, the homeowner wants to be reimbursed the couch they are going to have to replace. At this point, the previous renter says that everything was fine when they checked out, and the new renter says it was broken when they moved in. Nobody confesses to who broke the couch, so the homeowner ends up going after both short term rental clients for the cost of a new sofa.

1. Stay away from Real Estate Companies- There is no secret; realtors who specialize in selling short term rental properties can make a lot of money. In fact, the going rate is 10% commission on the sale of these homes, which is a lot of money. Many rental companies main focus is selling the vacation homes, not renting them out. In addition, their loyalty will always be to the homeowner. This causes a lot of customer service issues.

This article is not to scare you away from renting a vacation home or condo. They are by far the best way to go when staying in Orlando. Just be careful when choosing the company you are renting from. There are over 500 vacation home management companies in Orlando, many are good and many are not so good.

Choose a company is who is a proud member of the BBB, and their only job is focusing on short term rentals. If you go to a website and there is more information about buying a home then renting a home, continue looking. There are many great companies which only specialize in renting vacation homes and condos rather than selling them. You will receive better customer service from a company which has a narrowed business focus.

We have many vacation homes to choose from, and we will be more than happy to answering any questions you might have. Here is a link to our Orlando Vacation Homes.

 

Call 1-800-641-4008 to book your
Kissimmee Vacation Home today!