Kent Krueger asked:


So you are planning another trip to Florida with the family! Why should you choose a Florida vacation rental? Because there’s nothing better than waking up to the sounds of seagulls and the breathtaking views found only along the white, powdery beaches of Florida’s Gulf of Mexico coastline. That is, of course, unless you’d rather dance into the wee hours of the morning at Miami’s hottest nightclubs and view some of the finest anatomy you’ve ever seen (even some that money can buy)! Either way, the view you’ll get of this popular tourist destination is guaranteed to be better if you see it from one of the many Florida vacation rentals that are available year-round.

Whether you visit Panama City or Destin in the panhandle, Miami or the Florida Keys in the south, or somewhere in between like the pristine beaches of Clearwater, you need not settle for a hotel when you can enjoy all the comforts of home – plus a view more spectacular than you’ve probably ever seen before – simply by choosing to stay in a Florida vacation rental.

Perhaps you prefer the solitude and roominess of a beachfront home. Or maybe you prefer to be surrounded by all the amenities that only condo life offers. And even if you prefer something in between such as a villa, town home, duplex, or triplex you’ll have no problem locating the perfect accommodations. And with rates that are comparable to what you’ll pay for an ordinary hotel room, choosing a Florida vacation rental makes financial sense, too.

Yes, there’s a Florida vacation rental that’s just right for you. The trouble is, you’ll likely be so comfortable that you won’t want to leave. And that’s okay. Florida is the one state that will beckon you back with open arms year after year!



Yolanda

IC asked:


So, you’ve gone ahead and purchased your perfect vacation home. You found the right home, in the best location and at your budgeted price. Now you need to start attracting vacationers to view your property and book it, thus giving you some much needed income to fund your second home investment.

How do you present your home to the widest audience possible at the lowest price? Conventional printed media is one route to consider – local/national newspaper ad’s, specialist vacation magazines, flyers on the office notice board etc. Whilst these can be pretty effective in their own right, taking out an advert in a newspaper can be rather costly. And the wider the distribution of the newspaper, the higher the cost of advertising within their pages.

With over 90% of all vacationers now doing their initial research of where to go via the internet, the novice vacation home owner should consider advertising their home through one of the many vacation home directories which populate the web. The principle idea of these directories is that it allows private vacation homeowners to showcase their property with pictures and in some cases, a virtual tour, accompanied by lots of text detailing what the home has to offer. The potential vacationer can then browse these details at leisure and, if they like what they see, contact the homeowner direct and enquire about renting the home.

There are many of these websites out there and a vacation home owner should do their own research by viewing a few and comparing things such as layout, ease of navigation and price to list their home, before making a final decision. As a rule of thumb, quality websites which will bring the homeowner a good amount of enquiries charge anywhere from $75 to $300 per annum to list the home within their pages. Some established websites you may want to check out and compare include www.greatrentals.com

www.vacationhomes2rent.com and www.vrbo.com

Once you’ve decided which directory you wish to join, here are some key pointers you should consider:

* Make sure you select a directory that specializes in properties in the state that your home is in. For example, if you purchased in Florida, you should advertise on a Florida specific vacation directory.

* Include on your listing as many excellent quality pictures of the interior of your home and outside area/view from lanai as you are allowed. A picture truly paints a thousand words.

* Consider investing in a virtual tour to showcase the home. These usually cost around $150 but you’ll have it for life. Including a link so potential vacationers can literally ‘walk around the home’ is a big bonus.

* Tell the truth when you write about the home; if you can’t see the ocean unless you lean off the lanai and strain your neck it is not an ocean view! Presenting it this way will only lead to disappointed clients. Disappointed clients means non-repeat business.

* When you write your text onto the directory, make it fresh text and not something you copied from another website or what you maybe published elsewhere on the Internet. Fresh text means new content on the web and is very much more attractive to search engines who are constantly seeking new information. Old text is old news and not very interesting to search tools such as Google and Yahoo.

For the new vacationer homeowner wishing to present their home to the biggest audience at a minimal cost, a good vacation home directory should be their first choice. Remember, if you attract only one rental for the year based on your advert, a week’s rent will pay for a whole year’s advertising on a website and is best value for money for the savvy second home owner.



David

Jim Grayson asked:


The kids have finally broken you down and you’ve agreed on that family vacation getaway to Florida. They’re excited. They want to go to Orlando, and you’re fairly certain that if you hear one more thing about Goofy or Micky your head is going to explode. What’s a poor mom or dad to do? While it’s true that Disney World is one of the premier family vacation getaways in Florida, it is by no means the only fun place to be.

The Orlando/Kissimmee area boasts a plentiful array of family vacation getaways. In fact, Kissimmee can be considered the laid-back, historic alternative to Orlando. Residents of Kissimmee have gone to great lengths to keep the hometown charm that the area is noted for. While there are some water parks and resorts, attractions such as Old Town, rodeos, horseback riding and a petting farm make it a wonderful family vacation getaway.

Other towns in the area which are ideal family vacation getaways include: Mount Dora, perfect for biking trips; Polk City, for the family of aircraft enthusiasts; and Sanford, home of the Central Florida Zoological Park.

Further south lies Palm Beach County. Yes, that’s right; I did say Palm Beach. I know what you’re thinking. ‘Palm Beach’ and ‘family vacation getaways’ don’t go hand in hand. That’s where you’re wrong. You just have to know where to look. West Palm Beach is perfect for that family vacation getaway, thanks to destinations such as the Norton Museum of Art and the Lion Country Safari, where visitors can see lions, giraffes, and a host of other animals, running free.

As you travel further north, you can give your kids the perfect opportunity to use their family vacation getaway to learn about the environment, by visiting the Loggerhead Park and The Marine Life Center in Juno. Here they can be taught about turtles and go on turtle walks.

We’re not done yet. Welcome to the Florida Keys, the perfect destination for putting a little more excitement in your family vacation getaway. Certainly I wouldn’t suggest you take your children diving, unless they’re accustomed to that sort of thing, but you can definitely visit Islamorada. They’ll love their family vacation getaway when they get to interact one-on-one with dolphins and sea lions. You’ll also have the chance to feed the giant tarpon that gather around the docks. Now how many people can say they had a chance to do that on their family vacation getaway? So you see? Disney World isn’t the only option for your family vacation getaway.



Johnny