Top 50 reasons to stay in a vacation rental over a hotel

Choosing accommodations is a critical aspect of planning any trip. Your vacation shouldn't end when you head off the beach or cruise off the ski slope back to a crowded resort hotel. Learn how comfortable and enjoyable your stay can be by looking into a vacation rental for your next trip. What is the difference? Resort hotels are large and usually company-owned, while vacation rentals are typically individual-owned houses, apartments, or condos. Rentals are competitively priced and their offerings are as diverse as the vacation you're planning.

Vacation rentals are growing in popularity and quickly becoming a favored alternative to traditional hotel accommodations. Here are our Top 50 reasons to stay in a vacation rental:

1. Bring the beach, lake, or ski slope to your front door with the perfect rental location.
2. Find a home layout that meets your needs. Multiple rooms or an open living space can provide your family with the level of privacy each member wants.
3. Make use of amenities you won't find in hotel rooms, such as fireplaces and private hot tubs.
4. Make use of a full kitchen with a dishwasher to save time cleaning dishes, an oven with pots and pans included, and a grill for great food.
5. Fresh air is just a step outside your front door.
6. Sleep easy on cleaner sheets.
7. Save: In general, vacation rentals tend to be less expensive than hotels.
8. Vacation Rentals don't have $2 soda machines and you won't travel down two floors for a bucket of ice.
9. Hotels are designed for brief stays - a vacation home is a place to live in comfortably.
10. Find the residence that is right for you: apartments, cabins, condominiums, houses, townhouses, villas, and more.
11. Opt out of the "continental breakfast" for the more relaxing breakfast in your bathrobe.
12. Don't feel as though you are a tourist or a guest on your getaway.
13. Immerse yourself in the culture and living style of your location.
14. Park your car right outside your door.
15. You don't want a cookie-cutter vacation, so don't stay in a cookie-cutter hotel.
16. Lounge on real furniture.
17. Many rentals are recurring, so you may have the summer beach house without the responsibilities of owning and maintaining a second home.
18. Your vacation shouldn't be dependent upon others' good behavior: Never worry about the rambunctious family across the hall or the college kids on spring break in the next room over.
19. Invite your family and friends to stay over without feeling cramped.
20. Enjoy the comfort of a home-away-from-home feel.
21. Support a unique "mom and pop" business rather than a corporate chain.
22. Find a pet-friendly homeowner and save money by not leaving the family dog at a kennel.
23. Rent a home with a spacious yard for pets.
24. Enjoy home-cooked meals while you're on vacation.
25. Save on not dining out each night.
26. You will appreciate more space for everyone in the family.
27. Vacation homes typically have a private entrance to the premises.
28. Never come home with dirty laundry.
29. No one is in your home when you are not, so you don't have to worry about personal belongings and valuables.
30. Find the area that best suits you: urban, suburban, rural, or even on the water.
31. Enjoy a lawn to play catch on or take a dip in your private pool.
32. With a vacation home, you typically get more square footage for the money.
33. When you've paid for your residence you don't keep paying - no tips for the bellhop and maid services.
34. Relax with the greater privacy that vacation homes offer from neighbors.
35. Get genuine recommendations from the owners you rent from, rather than a well-placed brochure in a hotel lobby.
36. Don't agonize over a rigorous checkout schedule; enjoy more flexible check-in and checkout times.
37. Be as quiet or as loud as you please.
38. Save money on food.
39. Brew fresh coffee in real coffee makers.
40. Stock a full size refrigerator with snacks and all of the makings of a great meal.
41. Real shampoo and soap.
42. Multiple bathrooms mean less waiting and preparation time to get where you want to go.
43. Adjoining rooms cost extra at a hotel.
44. Vacation rentals can be anywhere you want to be, while a hotel is likely to sit on a strip with other hotels.
45. Vacation rental locations offer a great way to find new local favorites.
46. Vacation rentals let you entertain without bothering your neighbors.
47. At hotel rooms, you are constantly reminded that you're a guest.
48. Hotel rooms often leave you and your traveling companions cramped.
49. Hotel rooms for traveling business people aren't designed "kid-friendly." You can find a house that is.
50. The numbers don't lie. Vacation rentals have become an emerging lifestyle industry on the rise: a $10 billion business as of 2006.

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