Renting a Vacation Home directly from the owner

Experts estimate that about 10% of the vacation renting public now use websites such as VRBO.com to connect directly with the owner of the vacation home and rent directly.

The vast majority of people that do so are very happy with the results. When you're dealing directly with the owner, you probably are dealing with someone who may not have the prices set at market rates, so you can find a vacation rental for a bargain price! Also, if you are dealing with a reputable individual, most of the time you arrive to find that the keys work and that the vacation home is clean and well maintained, even though the owner only visits a few times each year and may live thousands of miles away.

So odds are, that you'll have a great experience renting directly from the owner.

However, there are some pitfalls to be aware of when renting directly from the owner.

1) Fraud - You usually have to send a personal check to the owner when you reserve. and anyone can go onto VRBO and put a listing for condo or home on there for a property that may or may not even exist. With all the internet scams going around, rely on your instinct to tell you if the condo will be there as advertised when you arrive.

2) Pricing - The condo pricing is set by the owner who probably doesn't have time to research market conditions. While this can be good when the property is priced lower than market rates, it can also mean the property is priced higher. Shop around alot to determine if the price is good. Also... check ALL the fees. Renting from owners typically have cleaning fees and big damage deposits that property management companies don't have. Individual owners very frequently don't charge sales tax, however they are in violation of the law when they don't.

3) Service - The owner lives thousands of miles away. Don't expect service or immediate help if a maintenance item comes up or if you get locked out. But on the other hand, you don't have service at your personal home either. So if you know what to expect, and are careful to not lock yourself out, this may not be an issue.

4) Discounts - Due to their critical mass, Property management companies can qualify for discounts for lift tickets, equipment rental and local restaurants and spas that individual owners simply can't offer. You can easily save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your total trip by taking advantage of these discounts.

5) Research Time - In order to find a good deal, you have to spend hours or days talking to dozens of owners to find out what their pricing and availability is and what the details of their terms are. Calling a property management company that has hundreds of properties lets you make one call and check out hundreds of different possibilities (and provides a good price comparison!)

6) Payment Method - You typically have to pay the owner by check, which can not be disputed if the rental is not what it was advertised. And individual owners don't have to worry about their reputation like a property management company does.

So renting a condo or home directly from the owner is usually a good experience if you watch out for the pitfalls above.

Some owners and property managers have started to partner in order to create the best of both worlds for guests. With these partnerships, you speak directly to the owner and rent the condo from them, and the on-site property management firm then handles your reservation, takes your credit card and provides discounts. If you can find a vacation rental from the owner that is represented by an on-site property management firm, you have the best chance of success. One such firm is www.SkyRun.com which represents 100 Keystone vacation property owners.

Barry Cox has used VRBO to rent condos for himself and to rent his Keystone vacation home. Barry is also the owner of SkyRun in Keytone Resort Colorado which provides guest services on behalf of owners in Keystone that rent on rent-from-owner websites.