Have you heard about the latest trend in Orlando vacations – Florida short term rentals? A short term rental is a single family home or condo that’s made available on a daily, weekly or monthly basis (like a motel or hotel) for families and groups looking for a home away from home.

Orlando in particular is one area where absentee owners have purchased homes and adopted the short term rental approach as a way to recover some or all of their running costs. More and more families and groups are building this type of accommodation into their Orlando vacation package to make the most of their time away from home.

But can you have confidence that the short term rental property you see on the Internet will live up to expectations? The last thing you want is for all those weeks and months of anticipation to be wrecked because your accommodation is below standard. So how can you make sure you get what you’re looking for?

One way to minimize the risk of disappointment is to find out as much as you can about the property you are interested in renting. Few people would trust to chance that the hotel or motel room they have booked was okay without first doing some research on the motel/hotel. So when choosing your short term rental accommodation think about the following:

* Price: Book the lowest priced vacation home at your peril. Just like you probably stay clear of the $25 per night motel because you know that maintenance and facilities are unlikely to be the best, the same is true of low priced rental homes. Some owners who undercharge eventually go out of business and if you want to avoid the risk of arriving in Florida to find your dream home has been foreclosed on or is low-quality, remember that the lowest price is not always the cheapest.

* Quality: Hotels and motels are increasingly showing room photos and virtual tours of the room you’ll be renting so you can check the quality. Well, so are vacation home owners. Ask for pictures and an on-line tour and limit yourself to those owners and companies who commit to allocating your home at the time of booking. Obviously if you’re dealing directly with a home owner who only has one house, this problem is solved!

* “Five minutes from Disney” is often a phrase used in the description of Orlando vacation rentals. This may be true at three o’ clock in the morning in the off season but in reality the travel time will depend on traffic conditions. The majority of rental homes are between two and ten miles from Disney World. To find out the exact location of the property that you are interested in search for it on Google. If you cannot get the full address at least ask for the name of the community and the zip code.

* In a hotel if the air conditioning isn’t working or the TV breaks down you call down to the front desk and they usually have it repaired in a short time. What happens if these same things happen or the pool heating isn’t working in your rental home? How long will it take to fix it? If necessary is there alternative accommodation if the problem is more serious? These are questions you need to ask the owner or management company before confirming your booking.

* No matter whether you are staying in a five star hotel or the most expensive, luxurious rental property there are going to be things that the guest book doesn’t cover. In a hotel the front desk or the Concierge will usually be able to help with any questions not dealt with in the guest book. Staying in a short-term rental home you have to be far more self reliant. The Internet will help you locate restaurants and malls, while calling the Sheriff will deal with that midnight party in the pool next door. For anything else the management company should be able to help.

The overall message is that, just like when you book a hotel or motel, you’re taking some sort of risk on what you find when you arrive at your destination and Florida short term rentals are no different. But up-front research and an understanding of how things work should mean that you get exactly what you need for a great vacation.