Almost everyone has stayed at hotels but not as many in vacation rentals. Renting a home all to yourself during your vacation is very different experience. With Airbnb and Vrbo gaining popularity, it has become easier than ever to rent amazing vacation homes that we would otherwise never get to live in. But is it always better to rent a vacation rental home as opposed to a hotel? Here we will cover the pros and cons of both.
Vacation Rentals
- More space
- Renting an entire house will give you more space than renting individual rooms. If you are in a large group you could book several separate rooms, but that can get expensive. So, this option is a lot more cost effective.
- Even if you aren’t in a large group, more space prevents you from feeling cooped up in a small room. When I travel with my wife and kids, we often rent a vacation home just so my wife and I can find a nice and quiet place away from our loud kids and yet we can keep an eye on them. Also, as the kids are growing up now, they prefer having their own rooms.
- Togetherness
- A lot of the times, you travel in a group to be able to spend time to connect with each other. Hotel rooms are designed to create a sense of separation between the guests. In a vacation rental home, since you are sharing the kitchen or living room, there are more opportunities to spend time together even though they are larger.
- Privacy
- With hotels, the rooms are next to each other and almost always have a shared wall, common hallways, amenities etc. With vacation rentals too you can book condos close to each other in a condo complex and it will feel the same. However, you do also have the choice to book houses that are separated from others. This would give you more privacy and the feeling of exclusivity.
- If the vacation rental has a pool or hot tub it won’t be as grand as that of a hotel. However, you will have more privacy there too.
- In-home Amenities
- You feel like cooking a family meal for the picky eaters or for avoiding having to go out after a long day, or just to save on meals? You can do that in the kitchen. You travelled light and need fresh clothes? Just use the laundry. These conveniences are available in more vacation rentals than hotel rooms.
- If you want to travel with your pet, you will also find more vacation rentals than hotels that allow them.
- Variety and Novelty
- This is often one of the most underrated benefits of a vacation rental! In most of the popular vacation destinations you will find a large variety of rental properties. You will find houses on the beach, secluded within the hills, or on a farm. You can find cabins, A-frames, tree houses and more. You can find tiny homes to mansions. Airbnb design changes in 2022 highlighter these unique features with categories like OMG!
- Have you ever driven past amazing homes during your vacation and asked yourself “I wonder how it must be living here”. I know I have. Now I can just find one that I found most interesting and rent it. I have also found that vacation rentals give a more authentic and local experience.
Hotels
- Consistency
- If you stay at Wynn, Marriott and many other hotel chains, you will find the same experience no matter where you travel in the world. With vacation rentals you need to heavily rely on photos and reviews, and it is still possible that when you are there. How many times have you looked forward to using the hot tub and it turned out to be broken. You don’t have to worry about any of that when you get into a hotel.
- Hotel Staff
- This is something we take for granted in a hotel, but we miss it when we stay at a vacation rental. Daily room cleaning in a hotel is something you will never find in a vacation rental. Even with something as simple as check-in, you don’t even think about it when you book a hotel, but there is a little nervousness with vacation rentals. If you have problems with your hotel room or need extra towels, you can just call the concierge and they will help you immediately. Vacation rental hosts try to make up for this, but it’s a hit or miss experience. Look for a tip in the summary below.
- In-hotel Amenities
- The pools and gyms in most hotels, especially in vacation destinations, are grand. Swim-up bars and pools with slides are luxury amenities that vacation rentals just can’t compete with. Visiting the restaurants and roof top bars are other amenities that people look forward to in hotels.
At the end of the day, you have to consider what is important to you. I believe that if you are traveling in a large group, the pros of vacation rentals stack up high against the hotels. When I am on a business trip, I need the consistency and almost always choose hotels. For all other situations, you will have to weigh in the advantages and disadvantages of both options.
I would add though that many people don’t even consider vacation rentals and they are missing out on some great experiences. One of the main concerns people have with vacation rentals is cleanliness, service if something is working etc. But if you look at reviews and on the popular platforms look up the host status, you can get a pretty good idea if this will be a problem or not. For instance, on Airbnb look for the rentals with Superhosts and then you will get excellent service.
Finally, if you are looking for an oceanfront experience, please consider our beach house on the Big Island, Hawaii. We have the superhost status with several 5-star ratings along with all the sought after amenities to make your stay comfortable and memorable.