As more and more people become aware of the affordable vacations that are possible when booking a luxury vacation rental, vacation rentals have become increasingly popular. As a result, more and more vacation home owners have decided to add their vacation homes to the rental market.
However, many tenants fail to read the lease they are required to sign and make the mistake of signing a surprisingly one-sided lease that absolves the landlord or rental agency of any responsibility. The tenant waives all recourse rights if the property is inaccessible, when there is a power outage, or when vital appliances are not working. Obviously, any of these calamities could ruin a vacation, and renters shouldn’t have to buy expensive travel insurance to protect themselves.
Some rental agreements put pressure on the renter to purchase damage insurance in case something breaks during their stay. Of course, all rental agreements state that the tenant is responsible for any damage they have caused to the property during their stay. However, we have been in business for 16 years and have never had to charge a guest’s credit card for damage. That’s because we know that some things, like furniture, are prone to breaking from time to time. However, we always give the guest the benefit of the doubt and do not hold them responsible for any damage that is not intentional or malicious.
The guest is in an extremely vulnerable position if the landlord or rental agency cannot keep their end of the bargain, because these contracts often require that the full amount of the rent be paid at least 31 days in advance. Thus, the owners are in the unfair position of trying to recover their money after having waived their rights in the vacation rental contract.
A more reasonable contract would require 50% of the rent in advance and the rest on arrival, as well as a willingness to give a full refund if the property is not habitable at the time the guest has booked. Also, a good owner will be willing to hold that deposit and allow the guest to rebook if there is a family emergency that prevents guests from arriving at the reserved time.
If the deal is too one-sided, you should look elsewhere when booking a vacation rental.
Below are some important things to keep in mind when reading your vacation rental contract.
1) The contract pushes you to buy travel insurance. If you are renting from a reputable owner or rental agency, you should not have to pay the extra cost of travel insurance which will add 7% or more to your cost.
2) The contact pushes you to buy yet another insurance, accidental damage insurance, by requiring a large deposit if you don’t buy their insurance, or by holding you strictly responsible for any damage that isn’t even your fault. As stated above, we never find it necessary to charge a guest’s credit card for damage because we feel that anything broken was unintentional. If it was intentional, the insurance policy would not cover it in any case.
3) The contract absolves the owner or rental agency from the responsibility of keeping the property in habitable and accessible condition with all appliances working. You should at all costs avoid any property if the management refuses to take any responsibility for not having the vacation you have paid for.
As a final note, you should remember that the way the vacation rental agreement is written is a good indication of how you will be treated when you arrive at your destination. If you sign a unilateral agreement, you should not expect to be treated fairly if something goes wrong. It has been our experience that sometimes things go wrong. What separates good vacation rentals from bad is a good maintenance staff and management’s dedication to solving problems as soon as they occur.
