So, you have finally made up your mind, you and your family are going to take that long anticipated dream vacation in Hawaii. You have decided that you want to go the vacation rental route for several reasons; privateness, comfortableness, location and cost effectiveness. Next, you likely “Googled” Oahu vacation rentals and are confronted with the daunting task of selecting among thousands of web sites. Where to begin? Here’s two tips that will assist you make the right choice so you can enjoy your stay in Hawaii to its fullest.

HAWAII, VACATION, TRAVEL, OAHU, HAWAII VACATION RENTAL

The first tips is to use a reservation service. There are numerous reasons for this. First, a single property vacation rental listing by owner will severely limit you to the dates that you can take your vacation. Vacation rental properties in Hawaii run closely 90% occupancy, so unless you know your travel dates six months to a year out the odds are high that their property won’t be available for the travel dates you had in mind. Second, the owner is only interested with reservation their own property so they’ll extol the virtues of their vacation rental and not mention any of the faults.

The second tips, make the right selection of reservation service. Make certain they are locally owned and operated. For example, let’s say you want to whale watch but also want to vacation on Oahu. Your reservation service should be able to tell you that you need to stay on the windward side of the island if you want to see the whales. Another tip-off of services to avoid are those that do automated, credit card reservations. Stay away from these services as this implies they aren’t interested in talking to you, they just want your money. Be careful of sites that have more than 100 properties, there aren’t that many decent selections on Oahu, or any of the other Hawaiian islands, on the market. The more a service surpasses 100 properties, the bigger the odds you’ll end up in an overpriced, undesirable vacation rental.

Here’s another great tips. If a reservation service states that they have hotels or condominiums available in Kailua, or will have them soon, pick out another service. Since, by zoning law, Kailua doesn’t allow hotels or condominiums, you should realize that once more, this is a service that wants your money, not your piece of mind. Always ask the reservation service individual you are talking to where they are located. Someone based in New York or San Francisco won’t have a clue about how to give you the best property for the vacation experience you have in mind.

With the standard vacation rental property terms being no refunds after you’ve paid your deposit, you absolutely want to make sure you make the right selection. A good reservation service will ask you questions about what you wish to do and see on your vacation and will actually try and talk you out of a property you had in mind if they don’t think it appropriate to what you had in mind. This is not an attempt to upsell you, it’s more a matter of matching your vacation desires and needs with the perfect choice of vacation rental venue to maximize the value and enjoyment of your vacation.

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