Beach Rental vs. Hotel: Which is Right for Me?
When planning your next beach vacation, one of the first considerations to take into account is the roof over your head. Lodging can make or break your trip, so ensuring you choose right should be a top priority. To that end, there are two choices most travelers will consider: rentals or hotels. With the short-term rental market growing to 17% in recent years, more options have hit the market for travelers to consider.
A beach rental can be an excellent choice over a hotel for a variety of reasons, but it may not be right for everyone. Learning about the ins and outs of beach rentals compared to hotels can help you make the best lodging choice for your next vacation.
What is a Beach Rental?
With vacation rentals fast-becoming a go-to lodging option over hotels, covering what they are is all the more important. As opposed to a hotel, a vacation rental home is a property such as a house, condo, villa, apartment, or even luxury tent, that a traveler can rent on a short-term basis. In most cases, they are a second domicile for the owner, but not their primary residence.
Depending on the rental, there may be full service such as cleaning and food provided, but others may just be the lodging itself. For beach rentals that are homes, guests typically have access to the entire interior and exterior, including the kitchen, which makes it an appealing option. Additionally, popular locations such as a Cocoa Beach vacation rental often have homes that are mere steps from the gorgeous beach in the area.
Beach rentals can be found in a variety of ways, with sites like Booking.com and Airbnb being some of the preferred methods.
Pros of Beach Rentals
As with other types of lodging, there are a number of benefits to renting a vacation home as opposed to staying in a hotel:
By renting an entire house, you get access to additional spaces such as the kitchen, living room, backyard, and more.
- Closer relationship to the owner of the place, meaning problems could be resolved quicker
- You can check reviews ahead of time to see what people think of the property
- You get to live among the locals as opposed to staying on a resort
Cons of Beach Rentals
While all of the above pros make renting a vacation home an excellent decision, there are some drawbacks to consider:
- You’re responsible for cleaning up after yourself in most cases
- There may be hidden fees that are not listed right away
- There is no consistent expectation for what the quality of stay might be
How Does a Beach Rental Differ from a Hotel?
With all of the above pros and cons, deciding whether a rental is better than a hotel can be challenging. A beach rental differs from hotels in four primary ways:
Price
In general, beach rentals offer competitive rates, but they may be a little higher than a hotel. By staying with a group, however, the overall cost can be reduced to cheaper than a hotel. This is due to the fact that you get added space and amenities that you may not normally have in a basic hotel. Do also consider the fact, however, that some beach rentals may also already include a cleaning fee which can balance out the cost justification.
Time of Stay
If you are staying in a location for just one night, a beach rental might not be the best choice. You likely won’t be able to make use of the kitchen or other amenities that a rental provides if you are just stopping into town. However, if you are staying for a week, or even just a couple of days, it can make a beach rental worth it.
Privacy
One major benefit of a rental home for vacation is that you get extra privacy that a hotel doesn’t give. Without neighbors in a room directly next door, guests can afford to be slightly louder and not worry about annoying neighbors. Just be sure not to take advantage of the ability to be noisy.
Location
Finally, location can be a big difference between these two. Many beach rentals are steps away from the water, but other vacation rentals may be miles from the nearest attraction. Hotels, on the other hand, are typically near the main attraction.
Plan your next vacation today
Picking the best place to stay for your next vacation will be difficult if you don’t know where to start. A beach rental is an excellent choice for any vacationer over a hotel if you are looking for additional privacy and a more local feel for your trip. Work this lodging into the budget of your next vacation to transform your stay.
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