What You Need to Know About Renting a Vacation Home

A few years ago, I wrote an article recommending that travelers rent an apartment to better experience local living while on vacation. Since then, the short-term term rental industry has exploded in popular tourist destinations, thanks to online services like AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway and similar online services. As a result, I will never rent a whole home again. After reading about the effect this industry has had on many cities, I hope you will feel the same way.

AirBnB started out as a guy who rented an air mattress in his apartment to tourists visiting San Francisco to make enough money to cover the bills. The company still insists the majority of its hosts are people who rent out part of their home. The reality is that most of the properties are whole homes that are not occupied by the owners, and many of the owners have a large number of houses and apartments listed on this site and others.

Know the Risks

Privately owned properties can be more affordable to rent than a hotel, but that’s often because they are not paying taxes like hotels do. They are also not subject to safety inspections like hotels, so you never know what condition the home is in until you actually show up. If the place does not meet your expectations, it’s usually too late to find another one, and you are definitely not going to get a refund. If there is a fire or other catastrophe, the owners are probably not insured to operate as a hotel, so your belongings would not be covered if they were destroyed. If you aren’t concerned, consider the home in New Orleans without smoke alarms and bars on the windows where a fire started and the guests barely made it out alive. 

If you stay in a hotel, the staff is always available to provide directions, daily maid service, room service, recommendations for places to eat and tour and other important information about the area. You will usually have nothing more than a combination to a lockbox when you arrive at a whole home rental. Nobody will tell you which areas are safe to walk in and what you can do to avoid crime, which is a concern in any city.

Housing Crisis

In addition to the negative aspects that travelers face when renting a whole home, the housing market in many popular destinations like Paris, New York, San Francisco, Barcelona and New Orleans have been devastated as property owners have evicted tenants in favor of the higher prices they can charge to short-term renters. Low income service workers, artists and entertainers who used to live and work in tourist areas have been forced out of the area and must take long bus rides or pay high parking rates when driving to work. 

The dream of owning a home in these areas is now out of reach for most, and many homeowners are being forced to sell because they can no longer afford the property taxes. The popular French Quarter in New Orleans, which used to have about 6,000 residents, now has about 1,000 and has lost much of its neighborhood feel as the area has become a large center for illegal hotels.

Neighborhood Impact

With fewer full-time residents in the neighborhood, crime tends to increase as there are fewer neighbors to look out for each other and take note of who doesn’t belong. The problem is exacerbated by tourists who attract criminals by carrying large amounts of cash and flashing valuables like cameras and cell phones. With their carefree on-vacation attitude, often fueled by alcohol, they are easy prey.

As a resident of an area frequented by tourists, I have first-hand experience with the negative impact of whole-home rentals. Each weekend brings a new set of strangers to the units next to and beneath mine. While the building does have a locked security door, it can’t prevent strangers from entering when my neighbors give them a key. Some of the people are nice, but many are not, and a number have been downright frightening. On several occasions I have looked out the window and discovered strangers peering in, so I have been forced to put up a sign asking people to respect my privacy. When people are around, I have to close the shutters, so I feel like I am living in a cave. I have been awakened on several nights at 4 or 5 in the morning by drunken guests stumbling up the stairs and screaming like maniacs. Other times I have come through the gate and been followed by people who could be guests or criminals. When I’ve asked them where they were staying, I have been met with anything from rudeness to downright belligerence as if I am the one who doesn’t belong. People have left cigarettes and half-empty drinks on my window sill and the table beneath my window, thrown trash in the courtyard and basically treated the place like it’s a hotel with 24/7 maid service. One night a guest was beating his girlfriend in the unit beneath me, and another time, a guy dropped a bottle off the balcony just seconds after I passed beneath it. If these situations had taken place at a hotel or a home with an on-site owner, they would have been addressed immediately; however, with nobody on the premises, my only option is to track down the owners, but it’s become pointless because the guests will be gone in a day or so and a new bunch will be in there a few days later.  

Cities Cracking Down

Many city governments are waking up to the reality of the negative impact that short-term whole-home rentals are having and are starting to take action. Since the practice is already illegal in most areas, cities like New York and Paris are setting high fines for violators. They are also requiring platforms like AirBnB to collect taxes, which puts properties closer to the price range of hotels.

Where to Stay

If you are still looking into a short-term property rental for your next trip, please consider the impact your choice will have on the city you will be visiting. By renting a room in someone’s home, you can be helping him or her to continue to live there. By staying in a whole home, you could be the reason why someone lost his home.      

Live Like a Native on Vacation: Rent an Apartment

In a recent episode of Househunters International, a woman was hunting for a Paris flat that she and her husband could rent to tourists after using it for a long-term business stay. If you were wondering who would ever rent a property in another country and why, I will be glad to tell you.

View of pedestrian street and
Place Masséna from Ajoupa
apartment in Nice, France. 

I have rented four apartments in Paris when my stays lasted a week or more. For the same standard of living in hotels, I would have spent a lot more. My apartments offered amenities that a hotel did not, most notably a kitchen, which was a huge convenience at breakfast time or when I was too tired to eat out or just trying to save some money. It also gave me the opportunity to enjoy one of my favorite aspects of French life: wandering through the markets in search of fresh vegetables, cheese, baguettes and other goodies for meals. I didn’t even miss the maid service.

How to Find a Flat

You’re probably wondering where to find a list of apartments and how to avoid getting ripped off. I found my on the following websites:

• HomeAway is a reputable site recommended by several travel magazines. Renters can search the site based on all sorts or criteria, even whether the property has Internet access. If you register, you can create a list of favorites, and the site records which properties you have contacted. Best of all, the site provides protection against Internet fraud.
• HomeAway has some sister sites, including vrbo.com and Homelidays.com. While most of the properties are the same, it’s worth looking on them because you can sometimes find some additional ones.
• New York Habitat offers properties in New York, Paris, London and the South of France. Unlike HomeAway, which is not involved in agreements between renters and property owners, New York Habitat is a leasing service, so you will deal with an English-speaking agent who can provide a list of apartments based on your criteria or simply facilitate a rental agreement for an apartment you find on the website. This company also handles long-term rentals.

How to Choose the Perfect Property

A reliable website will provide an ample amount of information about the property as well as plenty of pictures. Following are some of the most important factors to consider when making your choice:

• Location: If you’re staying in a city, you don’t need to pay high rates to be in the tourist area. As long as you are close to public transportation, and it looks like a decent neighborhood, you should be fine. Beware that some listings show the center of town on the map rather than the property’s actual address. Be sure to verify the address and look it up on Google maps. You can also research the neighborhood on tripadvisor.com or other travel forums.
• Language spoken by the owner: If you are not using an agent, check the listing for languages spoken by the owner. Many of them speak English, but you could run into problems if you don’t speak the local language and the owner doesn't speak English. If the owner speaks English, the contract could still be in his native language. In that case, use Google or a free translation website to translate to English.
• Floor: Since many old buildings in Europe do not have elevators, I learned the hard way that you should always ask which floor the apartment is located on if the listing doesn't mention an elevator or indicates that it’s unsuitable for the elderly or infirm. Dragging a heavy suitcase to the fifth floor is one thing I will never do again. Also, what Europeans call the first floor, we call the second, so add one to the number you’re given.
• Floor area: Space is limited in other countries, especially in the cities, so it’s important to check photos and floor area to make sure you’ll have enough space.
• Beds: This is an important issue, especially if you are traveling with other people or a person who is not your significant other. If you’re looking at a studio, the bed may be a sofa bed. Again, check the photos closely.
• Noise level: If you’re staying in the city, it’s convenient to be close to a lot of commercial activity, but it could also make for some sleepless nights. Find out if the double glazed windows (double vitrage in French). It could make or break your trip. I always bring ear plugs just in case. 
• Air conditioning: While most American buildings are air-conditioned, this is not the case in other countries. Check the average temperatures for your destination and decide whether this amenity is necessary.
• Payment form: Most rentals require a deposit of 25 to 50 percent. Before signing a contract, make sure you can pay in the form requested, typically PayPal or a bank wire. Some apartments accept credit cards. Note that some banks don’t offer wire services. If they do, they usually charge a fee of $30 to $45 and a currency conversion fee of one to three percent of the amount wired. Owners may charge an additional fee for PayPal or credit cards.
• Security deposit. Most owners require a security deposit when you sign the lease. The amount will be mentioned in the listing. Be sure to find out how you will recover the deposit at the end of the trip. Typically the owner will give you cash when you leave. You’ll probably return to the United States after renting the apartment, and if you’re splitting the deposit among several people, it shouldn't be a big deal to spend the foreign currency on cab fare to the airport and last-minute souvenirs or to save it for a future trip. However, if you are footing the bill on your own, you’ll have to decide if it’s worth it to hang on to the cash or lose a bit of it when trading it for greenbacks.  Note that owners sometimes send a check to the renter a week after the rental, which is not convenient for foreigners.
• Additional fees: Is there a cleaning fee? Are utilities included? Are sheets and towels included?

A Few Tips on Contacting the Owner

• The best places go quickly, so find a place well in advance, especially if you are going during peak travel times, like summer, Christmas and local holidays.
• Contact several owners because some places may have been recently booked for your preferred time although the schedule says they’re available. Also, some owners don’t respond if they are busy, or if  they have booked the property.
• Don’t book with the first owner who responds if you’re not absolutely sure you want the property. It sometimes takes a few days for owners to respond. Allow at least a week for a response on a property you really want.

Another Option: Apart’hotels

If dealing with the foreign language, security deposit and payment to a stranger is too much for you, but you still want the apartment experience, try an apart’hotel, which is basically a hotel room with a kitchenette. Apart’hotels don’t offer the local charm of most privately owned apartments, but they usually accept credit card deposits, they don’t require a security deposit and there is usually someone on staff who speaks English. In addition, you can stay at most of them for a few days.

To find an apart’hotel, just do a Google search for apartment hotel in whatever city you want to visit.  If you are visiting Nice, I can recommend two:

• StudiosFloreal: located next to the tram by the main train station in the middle of the main shopping area of Jean Médecin. It’s a very lively area, but double-glazed windows block the noise. 
• Ajoupa Baie des Anglais: in an ideal location on a pedestrian street just off the beautiful Place Méssina. It’s very clean and reasonably priced, so book early because rooms go quickly.

Renting an apartment isn't for everyone. If you want to live like a native, though, it’s the best way to go. 

Where would you like to immerse yourself?