Apartment holiday rental - any tips

[RRS_Staffs]

Hi

I fancy a family trip to Paris and have thought of staying in a private flat for about the same price as a hotel but a bit more space

There are a few websites offering this service
Some through an agency and some where you deal directly with the owner

Does anyone have any experience of them please?

Cheers

[LuS1fer]

The main downsides are that most private flats/villas prefer to rent for a week and will inevitably want a deposit of £100-£200 which is "dead money" until you get back and get it refunded.

We always book flats/villas for our holidays as it's more private, you get better facilities, no bleedin' early morning room service and better security.

We use www.ownersdirect.co.uk,www,villarenters.co.uk and www.holidaylettings.co.uk

Edited by LuS1fer on Monday 3rd October 12:51

[WWESTY]

VRBO is a good site particularly for USA.

We usually deal direct with the owners, but sometimes through an agent or the property manager/cleaner! Requires a leap of faith and trust (!) but the properties and prices make it worthwhile.

Only ever had one issue booking properties in this way and that was when we booked 3 apartments for a group of 3 families. 2 were great but the 3rd wasn't up to scratch, but had no problem getting a refund when we complained.

[anonymous-user]

I have used owners direct on a few occasions. The only advice I have is that it is worth spending a bit extra to get the best place. It's very easy to think "this flat is £100 less for the week" and end up with something disappointing. The thing to bear in mind is that these properties are not often controlled by an agent (hence the point of the website) and this means that standards vary.

Good luck

[RRS_Staffs]

Many thanks
Id found 2 of the above myself and they look good

It was precisely the 'honesty' bit/lack of agent which prompted my post

Fingers crossed - here I go.......

[milk2sugars]

Tips from me would be ownersdirect.co.uk, holidaylettings.co.uk and homeaway.co.uk
Others like VRBO, Cyber Vacation Rentals, homelidays

http://www.ownerdirect.co.uk
http://www.holidayrentals.co.uk
http://www.homeaway.co.uk
http://www.vrbo.com
http://www.cyberrentals.com
http://www.homelidays.co.uk

[anonymous-user]

RRS_Staffs said:

Many thanks
Id found 2 of the above myself and they look good

It was precisely the 'honesty' bit/lack of agent which prompted my post

Fingers crossed - here I go.......

In my experience, its generally fairly good, you just get what you pay for in my experience. One awful experience in Portugal where villa was totally miss sold, but then two other fab times.

[LuS1fer]

One of the sites, Villarenters, allows you to leave reviews which is why I like it. Others don't.

[milk2sugars]

LuS1fer said:

One of the sites, Villarenters, allows you to leave reviews which is why I like it. Others don't.

On HolidayLettings (which is also published on Trip Advisor) and also HomeAway you can! :-)

[RRS_Staffs]

Hmmmmm

Made approx 10 enquiries on holiday lettings last night
Had 1 immediate reply which looks promising

Also just had 5 replies from the same person who obviously has 5 of the places I looked at
Unfortunately his are all let, despite me searching specific dates which were allegedly free, however he has another 5 apartments at double the budget available immediately if I phone him with my credit card details

Funny that

Cheers