What are the best websites for offsite accommodations?
Last time we looked for vacation rentals my experience was there were sites where you dealt directly with the home owners and skipped the high fees of VRBO. I should have mentioned that in the OP.
I use vacatia.com Their niche is searching for large suites with multiple bedrooms at resorts. I have been to Floridays and have a current booking with Worldquest. Both of these resorts are located around halfway between WDW and UOR. Booking direct is usually best.
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Thanks. I saw that website in my search
but hadn’t clicked on it yet.
Your welcome. It’s amazing how much space you can get for a very reasonable price! My current booking is less than $200 a night for 1,500 sq ft, 1 level, 3 bedroom, 3 full bathrooms.
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I never found Vrbo rates to be high. In fact, I once was offered by a guy who listed through Vrbo to go through his direct site to save money. I looked. It was a bit cheaper…but the protections like the cancellation policies were not nearly as nice, so I chose to book through Vrbo instead.
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A number of the best players out there have been congealing into fewer and fewer sites. For example, VRBO picked up Homeaway. I try to look at a LOT of sites. You can usually find the same home in few places if you drill in on locations. If you can connect with an owner outside a “host site” you can usually get a better price.
I’ve gone through a different site almost every time and I’ve been renting properties since 2003. I’m going to see if I can find a post I did last year with some info on it. (I’ve rented 6 times, IIRC. The post I did find below was shared almost two years ago before my fall 2019 trip.)
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I use hotels.com for regular hotels. I have had to get refunds many many times and they are by far the easiest I’ve ever used - everything online.
If you want to support a small business but don’t mind losing some of that refund convenience, try Undercover Tourist. Great customer service, but you have to call in for refunds. They sometimes have better rates than others.
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This is true. I started using vrbo years ago, but they joined with HomeAway and technically I used HomeAway…which was just a different name for Vrbo. Vrbo recently decided to drop the HomeAway name…which I found odd since I think HomeAway is a better name. But whatever! They, like Disney, didn’t consult with me first.
We used vacationupgrades.com twice in the past for condo rental at Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort. They took good care of us.
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