Vacation rentals 101: What to know about vacation rental agencies vs. booking platforms

Ed Perkins, FamilyVacationist.com
·6 min read

Families and vacation homes are, in many ways, made for each other – often with more space, privacy, flexibility and facilities than a conventional hotel room or suite.

But when it's time to reserve, it's important to understand the difference between the many available booking options.

Should you opt for a vacation rental agency or a booking platform for vacation rentals?

Though they're often grouped together, vacation rental companies and vacation rental booking platforms work differently and provide different levels of assistance and coverage if something goes wrong.

FamilyVacationist.com has rounded up what travelers need to know as they're booking trips to stay in a vacation rental:

How does a vacation rental agency work?

A managed vacation home rental agency is a principal in your rental contract.

Your booking contract is with the vacation rental agency, not the owner of the property. You pay the booking agency, not the owner, and the agency is responsible for addressing any problems you encounter before, during or after the rental. Any financial dispute that arises is with the agency; you don't have to worry about locating and dealing with an absentee owner – an especially important distinction when you’re renting a vacation home in a foreign location.

The organization's staff is familiar with all the properties it rents. In most cases, staff have personally inspected each property. Typical managed vacation home rental agencies include local conventional travel agencies, property managers, resort operators and agencies with arrangements with local sources in each destination.

In general, renting through a managed vacation home booking agency is less risky than renting through a booking platform. That's especially important when you're basing a big-dollar decision on limited online descriptions and pictures. With a managed vacation rental agency, the risk of encountering a dismal dump a mile from the beach is tiny. And if you do encounter a problem, you know how to reach a responsible party to fix a problem or get a refund – through a credit card chargeback, if necessary.

Managed vacation home rental agencies also tend to focus on the more expensive vacation rentals – larger vacation homes and "villas" in prime locations rather than cottages or cabin rentals. If you're looking for budget deals, you may not find much. Managed agencies also generally offer only a limited number of choices in any destination.

Airbnb, Vrbo and more: About vacation rental booking platforms

Booking platforms like Vrbo, FlipKey, Airbnb and hundreds of regional companies operate like bulletin boards. They post available rentals and facilitate arrangements, but they are not principals in the rental transactions. They're pass-throughs, like eBay or Craigslist, only specialized in vacation rentals.

Owners of individual properties list their offerings and pay the platform a fee. The platform posts and indexes the property details and links to the owner with whom you complete the transaction. Typically, the only source of information you have available about a rental property is what the platform posts, which is what the property owner creates and submits; nobody with the platform has actually seen or can vouch for the property.

Your rental contract is with the property owner; the platform is no more than an intermediary through which the transaction passes. If you encounter a problem, you need to contact the property owner or representative, and if you're due a refund, you have to arrange it with the owner. Some owners do not accept credit cards, instead asking for cash transfer.

For those reasons, booking through a platform can be somewhat riskier than booking through a managed vacation rental agency. But most big platforms have adopted various methods to minimize misrepresentation and fraud, and they're arranged to accept credit cards on many bookings for added consumer protection. All in all, the risks of dealing through a platform are small.

Vacation rental agency listings

Although a few agencies offer rentals in popular destinations around the world, most specialize in smaller regions. Agencies concentrating on the U.S. focus on major visitor centers; those outside the U.S. focus on major tourist destinations, especially London; Paris; Provence, France; and Tuscany, Italy.

FamilyVacationist.com compiled a long list of managed agencies, but it's by no means complete. You can also locate other possibilities by searching a city or area name plus vacation rentals.

Worldwide listings

U.S. listings

Multi-country European vacation rental agencies

France listings

  • At Home in France: Vacation rentals in France, including Paris, Provence, the Alps, the Loire Valley, and other regions

  • Dordogne Rental: Chateaux, manor houses and farmhouses for short-term rent in the Dordogne region in the southwest of France

  • France for Rent: Paris apartment rentals

  • France Homestyle: Vacation rentals in France (plus additional vacation rentals in Italy)

  • Kestrel Travel: Concierge-service villas on the French Riviera and in Provence

  • South France Holiday Rentals: Small selection of holiday rentals in the south of France

Italy listings

  • Homebase Abroad: Vacation villas in Italian locations, including Tuscany, the Dolomites, Lake Como, Venice and Rome

  • Resorts in Italy: Vacation rentals in cities and towns around Italy

  • Salogi Villas & Farmhouses: Vacation rentals in Italy, primarily focused on vacation homes in Tuscany but also elsewhere in Italy

  • To Tuscany: Family villas, villas with pools and luxury villas in Tuscany

  • Tuscany Now & More: Serviced villas with pools in Tuscany

UK listings

Spain listings

Mexico and Caribbean listings

Island vacation rental agencies

More from FamilyVacationist:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Handout: Airbnb, Vrbo, more vs. vacation rental agencies: What to know

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