Hi everyone, I finally secured a place to stay in the California wine country. As I was searching for a vacation rental, I made some notes about the process I went through. It's always a good learning experience to be on the other side as a renter.

So here's what I noticed about how I ended up searching and ultimately booking a home to rent. I searched through 3 different websites: VRBO.com, HomeAway.com and VacationRentals.com. I only looked at properties that had a calendar, as we had very specific dates in mind. With each calendar that I came upon that was booked (this is a busy time of the year for wine country homes and many were booked already), my sense of urgency became greater. I sent inquires to 8 different owners who had homes that fit my criteria (my specific dates open, # of bedrooms/bathrooms, price range, proximity to vineyards.)

In almost all of the ads, my proximity to vineyards criterion was very difficult to decipher just based on the name of the town on the property listing page. Not knowing the area at all, I wasn't even sure exactly which town we wanted to be in or near; I just knew that we wanted easy access to some vineyards. 

I also found that after look at all the homes and having email conversations with the owners,  I eventually got mixed up.

So here's the tally:

Timeliness:
• Within 1 hour of sending the inquiries, I got 1 response.
• Within 3 hours of sending the inquiries, I got 3 more responses.
• The following day I got 1 more response.
• The third day I got the final response.
• I never heard from 2 of the owners.
• None of the owners called me. I really wanted to talk to someone and would have welcomed a phone call.
• One owner (who had emailed me to let me know she did have my dates open) called me a week later to follow up to see if I had made a decision yet.  I was not offended by this at all.  In fact, if I hadn't reserved a place yet, it may have been a strong deciding factor.

Accuracy of the info:
• 3 of the homes were booked (despite their calendars showing as available.) Two of the 3 offered different dates, and although my dates were firm I think this is good practice.
• One owner sent a new email back to me and didn't hit “reply” to my original inquiry. Therefore, she did not include the link to her property on the site where I found it. She did send a link to her personal website, but it massively confused me.
• The rates the owners quoted were the same (or less) than the rates displayed on the property listing.
• All the extra fees (taxes and cleaning) were quoted exactly as they appeared on the listing.

So which property did I end up booking?  Though I waited a day for responses to come in, I ended up booking from the first owner who responded to me!

Moral of the story:
• Advertise on more than one website – remember, I went to 3 different sites and sent inquiries from all of them.
• Check your calendar and make sure it is up-to-date.
• Make sure your rates reflect the real prices you will charge.
• Read your ad from the perspective of someone who has never been to your area and make sure it gives some really clear descriptions of where your home is located. Convince them that your location is the best location for the activities your area offers. Not every renter will be looking for the same thing, so sell everything you have! Here are some helpful examples: “We're within walking distance of town,” “We're just a quick 5 minute drive to 5 wineries,” or “We're situated in a beautiful tranquil setting, farther away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but still just a 15-20 minute drive to restaurants and wineries if you feel so inclined to leave.”
• To avoid confusion before you take the reservation, be sure to clarify which home was yours and reiterate the key features as well as location information.
• And last, but certainly NOT least, respond very quickly (phone call preferred!) Most often the first one to respond will be the one who ends up booking.

Happy Renting by Owner!

Christine

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