What You Need To Know About Airbnb, VRBO And Other Vacation Rentals In Orlando

Short-term rentals are radically transforming the concept of travel around the world through innovative platforms that easily connect travelers with local property owners. While short-term rentals have been available for decades, the platforms have helped in dramatically increasing short-term rentals’ popularity by improving accessibility to various affordable accommodations options.
Today, the various short-term platforms like Airbnb in Orlando host millions of listings around the world, for everything from city apartments, beach houses, mountain cabins to non-traditional accommodations like spare bedrooms, or garage apartments. Short-term rentals afford travelers with unique experiences, but property owners, hosts, and operators act also as ambassadors to the community by sending foot traffic to local businesses and attractions. Studies have established that guests in short-term rentals stay longer and spend more than travelers staying in hotels and that their spending benefits the community instead of sticking only to the hotel areas.
Short-term rental platforms afford property owners with extra rental income that may be used to pay the mortgage, fund household improvements, pay for college, and save for retirement.

Looking for something super luxurious? There is a new category of vacation rentals. Villatel.com is the only company in the hospitality space that builds, designs and maintains vacation homes for families and groups. They own the properties in their collection of luxury rental homes.

The short-term rental industry is not without controversy. There is the ever-present question of whether to regulate it more strictly to preserve local culture and keep residents from being priced out, or allow the industry to thrive and reap the benefits of tourism.
Restrictions on short-term rentals continue to pop up across the country aimed at keeping its rapid growth in health checks. The laws vary from state to state and are mainly local.

In many cities, such as New York City, a property owner or host cannot rent out an entire apartment. He must be present in the property when guests are around. He can’t advertise an apartment and must accept only a maximum of 2 paying guests. The city government collects sales and use tax in addition to the hotel room occupancy tax.
Other cities require the property owner to register as a business and as a short-term rental. Many cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Boston require the property owner or host to obtain a license to operate as a short-term rental. Obtaining a license to operate means that the properties are subject to government supervision and inspection, which will be beneficial to the renters.

Airbnb brought short-term vacation rentals to the mainstream and has made home-sharing popular among travelers. Airbnb charges a percentage-based fee for each booking, with the host paying a 3% service fee. The fee is calculated from the booking subtotal, which does not include fees and taxes.
The guests pay a service fee ranging from 0% to 20 of the booking subtotal. Airbnb in Orlando pays the hosts 24 hours after the scheduled check-in time of the guests. If a guest stays for 28 or more nights, the payments for the reservation are released monthly.

Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) is a marketplace powered by HomeAway. VRBO Orlando Florida is focused on the classic rentals of entire homes that are built for vacations instead of business trips. Orlando VRBO does things a little differently from Orlando Airbnb. The host has two options to pay: an annual subscription of $499 which includes unlimited bookings or 5% commission per booking based on the total amount, including additional fees like cleaning.
Guests also pay a booking fee, which may vary for each booking with $499 as the maximum. A 3% fee is charged for using a credit card and another 2% for an international credit card.

The company is venturing into the vacation rental space although it is still a hotel booking site. Booking.com charges every host a fixed 15% fee for every booking. The pricing structure of this company is more guest-friendly.

Owned by TripAdvisor since 2008, Flipkey offers vacation homes across the world. It offers services similar to Airbnb. The hosts pay a 3% fee per booking, calculated on base rent plus any optional fees. Guests pay Flipkey an additional 8 to 16% fee per booking. Hosts need to lower their base prices to ensure that they are competitive in the market.

Hosts payouts are transferred after 24 hours after the check-in date.

Villatel is the only company in the hospitality market that is focused on building, designing, maintaining, and servicing vacation homes for families and groups. The company owns and manages many properties in their collection, which means they guarantee consistency of experience, reliability of service, and the highest standards of product quality across all their homes.
Villatel offers ultra-luxurious, spacious full homes that are designed to provide memorable vacations with many amenities such as private pools, and all the amenities of 5-star resort with water parks, golf courses, and more. Villatel offers high-end in-home amenities, including themed rooms, screening rooms, arcades, private pools and more. It offers limitless in-villa services and adds on such as private chefs, housekeeping, transportation, and in-home rentals.

When you’re planning your next vacation in the Orlando area, think of the benefits you will get by staying in a short-term vacation rental instead of a hotel.

A vacation home can give you lots more square feet and privacy in which to stash your luggage, stretch out, relax, and enjoy before you start exploring the area. By comparison, a hotel room offers shared bathrooms and little privacy.

Orlando vacation rentals are often more affordable than hotels. While you might be paying a little bit more for renting an entire house, you’ll still save a lot of money when you consider the floor area that you will be staying in and the convenience of a fully equipped home. This becomes more beneficial when you travel as a family or as a group. Each member of the family or group can have an individual room and often private bath as compared to bed-sharing when you stay in a hotel.

You have to conform to the rules and schedules when you stay in the hotel. You will eat breakfast as scheduled even if you have slept only an hour. When you rent a vacation home, you do what you want to do. If you want to sleep in and have your breakfast at 1:00 p.m., nobody will mind you.

Pets are usually not welcome in hotels although some do accommodate them. When pets are allowed, many hotels will assign you to a room in the less desirable part of the building. Rentals in Orlando lets you take along your beloved pets when you rent a vacation home. If your pet is used to sleeping with you in your bed, nobody will prevent you from doing so.

You deal directly with the owner of the house when you book a vacation rental. The owner will tell you exactly what you need to pay for and what your stay includes. You will not be surprised with additional charges such as internet, parking, bottled water, pool towels, and more.

Vacation rentals will let you enjoy all the comforts of home. You’ll have things that you normally expect to find in a house such as laundry facilities, full-sized appliances, dishes, games, and more. Whip up your own breakfast or snacks or even a full meal. The amenities will make your stay very comfortable and can match up to any 5-star hotel. These comforts differ from a hotel where your stay will be limited to your room and the common areas that you will be given access to.

Except for breakfast, you normally eat outside when you book a hotel room. There are no kitchen facilities where you can cook your meals, which means that you have to buy all your food from the outside. This can eat up much of your budget. You’ll save money by cooking your food in a vacation rental. This becomes even more beneficial when there is a member of the family who has restrictions on his diet or little ones who are picky eaters.

When you book a vacation house, you can avoid housekeeping staff coming in and out of your room at any time. The swimming pool or the exercise room will be for the exclusive use of your family or group, something that you don’t enjoy when you stay in a hotel.

There is much competition in rental properties and property owners will often offer specials to entice you. It is common for vacation homes to offer top of the line appliances and game consoles, gourmet kitchens, and more.

Hotels boast of their rooms with a view to attract guests. Vacation homes, on the other hand, boasts of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy a villa overlooking the ocean or the vineyards, or a historic castle in a medieval setting.
All these unique opportunities for a fun and relaxing Florida vacation can be yours at any time. Choose from hundreds of rentals as Airbnb Orlando and VRBO Orlando are just a few clicks away.