Great 'Cheap Holiday Rentals' Hunt. How to grab fab self-catering properties for less

schd

To DanT99

Why is it that "horror stories" are always 2nd or third hand, and never actually happen to the person writing them? Of course there are bad experiences, and I can relate many personal ones where they have been with tour operators and ABTA bonded-with no redress!

I would certainly be a little cautious in booking without finding the property on a proper rental web site, because this gives you some degree of security, though I have never personally known a case where somebody has rented in this way and lost their money. Generally, these properties are of a very high standard, much better than your average tour operator, and cherished by the owners. They also need repeat business and recommendations, thus take great pride in offering excellent accommodation.

You can also get exactly what you want, where you want, and more importantly go when you want to; you don't have to arrive in the middle of the night, then wait for another 200 tourists to collect their bags from baggage handling, sqeeze into an inadequate coach and travel halfway round the country dropping people off before getting to your half built Algerian ruin, with no water in the taps and lizards in the bidet!

Just check it out carefully- I have 10 years experience booking direct, and if you have concerns, contact the company advertising the property

Travel_Fan

If you don't mind booking direct from the holiday home owner (yes there are risks involved, but thousands of people do this without any problems) it's worth checking out holidaycrunch.com. Rental owners can promote their latest offers on the site (via Twitter), so you get some good deals appearing.

Able_2

For Time-Share Apartments, cottages and houses in fabulous resorts all over the UK and abroad - at all times of the year - use the following website: rent-accom.com - full details available and you can book online.

PastyPee

Stephenbw wrote: »

I rarely stay in hotels on holiday, much preferring the additional space and flexibility you get with a rental, And of course it is usually much cheaper


Villarenters for a last minute to Spain. This site also has the advantage that many of the properties can be booked direct online. I booked a 2 bedroom property for £250 for 2 weeks in March on a Thursday, then booked my flight (£70) and flew out on Saturday morning

Villarenters is good for the security of being able to book with a credit card through a site owned by Associated Newspapers, but getting the best deal from an owner directly.

I always use Villarenters and Gumtree and after reading this thread thought I'd have a look on eBay, and there are quite a few surprises on there for last minute stays.

Barbara_Gw

As the owner of a new 2-bedroom villa in Kapparis, Cyprus, this is my first summer of doing holiday rentals so I'm no expert. But could I say to people by all means haggle but please be reasonable. In common with most other owners I know, I'm only out to earn a bit to cover my costs and I've set my prices around what the other owners charge accordingly. It is disheartening when people expect me to let them use my holiday home I've spent a lot of love and money on at a fraction of my asking price, and then take offence when I say no sorry.

tommartin59

You get the best value in holiday rentals if you are willing to wait until aprox 4 weeks before you travel. Then you have to be flexible on where you want to stay. If you then go to one of the big web sites like the following

holidayhomeland - a very good site
homelidays - good for European properties
ownersdirect - good selection of properties

and search for properties which have free weeks when you want to stay. Send several emails to the properties that interest you and clearly commuincate that you are talking to many people. Be very pleaseant and polite but try and play people off against each other. It always works for me. And i have been doing it for the last 9 years. I always get a minimum of 30% off but most of the time i get a 50% discount.

holidayhero

Self-catering holiday homes are an ideal way for families to get a cheaper holiday. We recently had a break in Brighton and during the summer months hotel prices are sky-high and when you have two kids it's starts to get expensive. We used Brighton Holiday Homes their prices were per week so their per night/per person rates saved us nearly £200. Also it offered much more flexibility and it was cheaper to use the kitchen to cook.