Myrtle Beach Message Board

I just saw a unit like the one I am getting at Sand Dunes, 3BR/2BA for about 600 less. They say the price includes 11% tax and cleaning. It's the lowest price I've seen. This year they are almost available for the week I need, except I need Mon to Sun and the unit is only open Sat to Fri, so I'd waste Sunday night and lose Friday night.

I'm thinking about checking it out for next year. I am thinking of emailing the owner and asking if I can see it this time when we are down. What are the pros and cons of VRBO?

I'm afraid to pay my money in advance to a stranger. Do you get maid service each day? Clean towels? What if the washer breaks, or the a/c breaks, or the toilet or tub are clogged? Does the hotel staff help, or are you on the hook to the owner who might be hundreds of miles away?

My price that is $600 more includes buffet breakfast for 6 for 6 days. That's $9 each plus tax per day, so 36 breakfasts is worth about $360. If I deduct that from my total (after taxes and fees) I'd still save $250 w/ VRBO, and I might not even use all the breakfasts. BUT I like having my bed made, floor vacuumed, tub cleaned and fresh towels daily. I'm on vacation! So, do most VRBO units have maid service?

If we were golfers and not beach people the maid would be less important, but with all that sand.....

I stayed at the Sand Dunes through a VRBO owner. It was worth it. I left a good review on their VRBO page. If you are like me I may not do the breakfast 50% of the time. No daily services are provided.

I'm going this Friday to Sands Ocean Club through VRBO. Looks like a nice place and heck of a lot cheaper. We've rented through condo owners before at Sands and it was always the same room and real nice. Got the keys already and the signed contract. Hopefully it all works out well. Will let you know when we return.

Gianluca, definitely let me/us know. I did get a good deal directly, that is I didn't pay the normal rates. I used one of their specials and she threw in buffet breakfast for all 6 of us (4 teens age 16-19 and 2 adults). I'm hoping the hungry boys utilize it! Ocean Dunes is right next door to Sand Dunes isn't it? Did you get a big unit, or an efficiency?

My main hangup would be lack of maid service. Do you get that with your deal?

Have fun! I hope the weather is good for you and the rest of the summer. I've noticed lots of rain down there the past month or two on the radar. Last time we went it was dry, but it was a thousand degrees and barely any breeze.

We used to book condos and suites directly through the hotel and then we heard about VRBO and we have rented with them ever since.
Pros-usually dealing directly with the owner.Generally lower prices.Having a person to hold accountable if anything goes wrong.That personal touch.
Cons-Knock on wood,none so far.

We've had nothing but great experiences with VRBO.Good luck.

Ron

Did you get a big unit, or an efficiency?

2 bedroom, 2br and full kitchen for $1100 which includes taxes and cleaning fee.



My main hangup would be lack of maid service. Do you get that with your deal?

I'm paying for some kind cleaning service but not sure - not really worried either as it's only 4 of us and we won't make too much mess as we are only in the room to sleep. They do provide towels and bed linens as well just don't know how often it gets cleaned. Pretty sure it doesn't until the end.

We live in Myrtle Beach so we don't use VRBO to rent here. However, we do use VRBO constantly to secure locations in Florida. We both work over the internet so occasionally we'll break up the monotony of being in our house 24 hours a day and we'll take our jobs on the road. We visit Orlando generally every other month because we have a granddaughter there. I use VRBO each time to wander through the extensive inventory of homes in the Disney area.

There are several advantages to VRBO.

1. You can negotiate a great price. This is particularly true for us because we can be very flexible about when we travel, how long we stay, when we arrive, etc. More importantly, with a soft economy there seems to be an overabundance of inventory. I don't know if this is true in Myrtle Beach but it is definitely true in that Disney area of Kissimmee, Clermont, and the northern Osceola/Orange County rent-o-plex.

I think this discussion came up before on the message board and a few people raised concerns about the negotiating piece. If you're an owner, obviously you'd like full price for your rental. If you're a renter, clearly you'd like a great deal. Welcome to America. If you have a spectacular unit in a high-demand area during peak demand season, you can pretty much name your price. If you have a unit that is similar to many others in a mediocre area during a low demand season, you'll have to decide between digging in with your price with the chance it goes vacant or negotiating a deal.

I personally have no problem at least ASKING an owner if they're firm on their price and even offering a lower price right out of the gate. I've never had an uncivilized exchange with anyone. The owners have mostly all been down this road before. I've also negotiated some great deals, oftentimes seeing the posted price for a particular unit and season dropping from $1400 to $900. There are too many variables to say with any certainty whether or not you can offer a lowball price to someone and how low you can go. You really have to use your head. If it's July in Myrtle Beach and you're trying to get into a high-end location that's in high demand, you won't get far with a negotiated price. However, if it's last minute at the end of August and a unit hasn't been rented for the week you're targeting two weeks hence, then offering a substantially reduced rate can't hurt. The worst that can happen is that the owner will counter with a discounted offer that may not be as low as you'd like. Accept it or move on -- either way no one is harmed.

2. Though you deal directly with an owner, most have management companies that are available around the clock to deal with any issues that arise while you're there. Most often the management companies are on site the same day if anything comes up.

3. The VRBO site is quite good, with most pages displaying copious pictures and descriptions of the properties. You can email the owner and generally expect to get a response within 24 hours, and in many cases, within an hour. If you can't decipher the quality or content of the property by virtue of the photographs or descriptions, you can clarify any questions directly with the owner.

4. Yes, you are sending money to a stranger and that's always a risk, but we've been doing this for three years and in the 12 or so occasions we've rented using VRBO, we've never had a problem. To the contrary, it's been a great experience for us and we've cultivated many great relationships with owners. If you find a property you really like, you can generally set up long term renting rates with them because they DO appreciate repeat business.

5. The amount of properties on VRBO is endless, particularly for resort locations like Myrtle Beach. I'm not sure it quite compares to Orlando, but it's still massive in terms of the quantity of properties to view on the site. If you're like me, you can spend hours winnowing your list down to the top 10 properties you'd like to investigate and be sure that you'll end up with something that will be a terrific vacation spot.

I don't have any connection to VRBO other than as a consumer but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, particularly if you're flexible. There are other great sites and resources to rent in Myrtle Beach as well, but as someone who has had great success with VRBO, I would highly recommend this as a way to go.

By the way, we just returned from a week at Daytona Beach, FL and rented a condo in a high rise on the beach (16th floor). I rented it on VRBO from a gentleman who had posted prices of $1300 for July and got it for $900 for the week. This was the view from the balcony and an interior shot:

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 7/original
http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 7/original
http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 4/original

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 8/original

By the way, in a death match between Daytona Beach and Myrtle Beach? Daytona Beach lay in bloody, mangled pieces on the floor. More on that later. :-)

--Leo

i appologize if this is a tad off talent.... however... GIANT THANK YOU LEO FOR SHARING THOSE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL PICTURES!!!!!! have read in a few threads that you pictures are always really pretty but those took my breath away.... thank you again for sharing them....


take care

Chris

am curious if you have a pic of yourself without the hat to see the braided head someone posted you have... lol... take care

Leo,

My sentiments exactly. It is always like we get a bonus when we get to view your photos. As always they are spectacular. Thank you for sharing.

Judy/Pigeon Forge

I think if you do a search here for VRBO, you will find many who use it. I don't recall many, if any, that had a downside to their decision.