Central Florida attracts approximately fifty million tourists each year, drawn to the Disney World and other theme parks, yet most of them don’t take advantage of one of the best bargains available there – Florida short term rentals. They don’t know that for the price of a single hotel room they can rent a complete single family home or condo, on a day to day or week to week basis just as if it were a hotel or motel, and experience a far more relaxing vacation.

Because the Orlando area is a popular tourist destination many buyers not resident in Florida purchased second homes in the area to use for their own vacations but also to offer an alternative to motel or hotel rooms. Increasingly, short term rental properties are becoming the accommodation of choice especially for families.

You have been planning and anticipating your vacation for weeks or maybe even months so you want everything to be perfect including the accommodation. So how do you avoid disappointment if the home you’ve booked doesn’t live up to your expectations?

The simple answer is to be just as rigorous in researching a Florida short term rental as you would any hotel or motel. And to apply just the same sort of thought process as you would with a hotel/motel. So plan your Florida short term rental, particularly those close to Disney World, Sea World and Universal, around the following guidance:

* It is very easy to think that price doesn’t matter when it comes to choosing a short term rental property for your vacation package. But if you wouldn’t book into a motel offering rooms for $25 per night then you should certainly stay away from the lowest priced rental home. The cheaper a home is there is more chance that it is poorly maintained, lacking facilities and likely to be of poor quality.

* 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!

* To find the location of the property you are renting, ask the owner or booking company for the address then check it out on Google. If they won’t give you the full address ask for the zip code. Don’t rely on descriptions that state that the home is only “5 minutes from Disney World” because most of the rental homes are two to ten miles away from Disney. Travel times to the parks will obviously vary depending on time of day, season and traffic conditions.

* 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.

* Most hotel rooms have a guest book to help you find the services you need and the facilities the hotel has to offer. But there is always some service or need these books don’t cover. In a hotel you can ask at the front desk but in a rental home you have to find the solutions for yourself. To find the nearest shopping mall or restaurant you can look on the internet and for anything else ask the management company.

To ensure your vacation isn’t spoiled by unsatisfactory accommodation make sure you thoroughly research all aspects of Florida short term rentals. By doing your homework it will take you one step closer to having a great vacation.