Ramblings

…“Send your camel to bed…”  If you adore out-of-the-ordinary accommodations as much as I do, take the Concierge tour of luxury tents and tree houses in exotic places such as Kenya, Mongolia, Tunisia and Dubai. Oh, and Santa Barbara, California, too.

Because it’s my job to point out sweet spots in Northern California that somehow miss the big lists, I’m adding Safari West in Sonoma County.   I reviewed my stay in the game keeper’s cabin for Renting Paradise: Sonoma County.

But check out the luxury tents (plush beds, polished floor, private bathrooms with hot showers) scattered across the grounds of this sprawling wildlife conservation park. It’s not a zoo or a drive-through park. It’s a wildlife preserve where the whole family can experience some of nature's most beautiful animals in a natural habitat.

Feed the giraffes on the way to breakfast. Fall asleep to the cries of lemurs. Take an authentic safari tour of the “back 400” acres, where you’ll see hundreds more exotic breeds—gazelles, ostriches, zebras, water buffalos—roaming free. 

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 04:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Like fitness, renting a vacation home is a choice you make. One that has the potential to transform your vacation from a visit to a much deeper experience.  

One site that’s been getting a lot of buzz these days promotes a lifestyle concept I love called “slow travel”.

I've never understood the 14 cities in 10 days concept. The site’s founder and webmaster Pauline Kenny recommends renters apply a “Concentric Circles" plan to day-tripping. “Think of your touring area as a series of concentric circles around your base,” she says. The first circle includes everything within a 30-minute radius of your home. The second, an hour, and so on. “See what is close to you instead of dashing about on long day trips to see the ‘highlights’ or ‘must-sees,’" Kenny says.

Kenny has authored a dozen more really helpful articles to guide renters in choosing and booking vacation rentals, planning your trip and what to bring with you when you rent.    

Slow Travel is primarily focused on Europe -- where renting a villa or self-catering cottage has been a tradition for generations. But, hello? The concept applies just as well here in the U.S., even for weekend trips to places like San Francisco and Sonoma County.

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you research your next rental, be grateful if you stumble across a link to an owner's "blog". A well-done (key distinction!) blog can be a living, breathing connection to updates, photos, personally vetted activities and seasonal events ... all the stuff you crave before you go.   

Sure, many are mind dumps. But many more are truly interesting, informative and thought-provoking. Postings are typically short, containing live links to more detail. At the end of many (not all) postings, there are links for readers to add their two-cents on that particular topic. Participating is easy and relatively anonymous. Check out the blog created by the owners of At The Bay's Edge featured in Renting Paradise.

If you find an owner who's taken the time -- and care -- to create a web site and maintain and informative blog, I can guarantee you can put your rental worries to rest. The other great thing in this info-overload age? It's easy to subscribe (an unsubscribe) to blogs, via buttons such as "My Yahoo".

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The emphasis of the flood of “summer family getaway” articles seems to be the “where in the world” and the “what to do”. But what if you’re not the typical family?

1. Our extended family (Mom and Dad who are retired in Arizona, my brother from Denver, and me, my husband and our two dogs living outside of Sacramento) get together at a different rental home every other year. The set-up is perfect for just spending time together in a beautiful setting. So far we’ve spent weeks in the forest above Lake Tahoe, on the beach in Sonoma County and facing the gorgeous red rocks in Sedona, Arizona.

2. I loved them all, but I have to say the memory etched most deeply in my heart is of walking the beach each morning (we had private stairs from the house in Sonoma!) and watching our two suburban dogs discover a whole new world. Few pet-friendly hotels offer this freedom. 

3. My friend celebrated her fiftieth birthday by gathering her Mom, sisters and three of her closest friends for a long weekend in a rented a house with a pool. Some of the best times, she says, were spent preparing dinner in the kitchen! They gabbed over margaritas as each concocted her own specialty. 

4. I’ve read a number of profoundly touching entries written by guests who appreciated the privacy and quiet, natural surroundings of a particular vacation rental to heal after the death of a loved one. 

5. And how about living vicariously? Renting a vacation home in a city besieged by tourists -- like San Francisco -- lets you step out of that madness and blend into a neighborhood. I guarantee living in a Victorian cottage or Nob Hill flat will change everything about how you experience this great city. (If you’re contemplating a move or lifestyle change, this can be a great way to try it out.)

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I love "best" lists. Sure they're subjective, but how better to slice through the monster-mass of information out there and find (when it comes to trip-planning) the activities, sights, restaurants, et. al., most worthy of your limited time? Check out these three very cool best-lists focused on San Francisco. 

San Francisco City's Best 2007. This annual list is compiled by readers of AOL® CityGuide, a Web-based network highlighting local entertainment in more than 300 cities nationwide--including directions. Once a year, the site posts bests in dozens of categories--from blues clubs to romantic restaurants.

Consumers' votes ultimately determine which venues are chosen #1 in their categories. All City's Best® establishments are nominated based on recommendations from AOL CityGuide's local correspondents who live and work in the cities they cover, the editorial insights of the CityGuide programming team and user feedback.

Winners often represent those establishments with a commitment to quality, selection or service. Often, they have a reputation for value that has been upheld and polished over many years. However, sometimes, it's simply that people in a city naturally gravitate to a place because of its character, its uniqueness or its special contribution to local culture.

Best (& Worst) San Francisco Experiences. Published by the very opionated SFTravel.com, this guide to San Francisco Underground, this list attempts to separate the tourist traps from the truly fun and unique. Forget Fisherman's Wharf (dubbed "A Vicious Tourist Trap") and head instead for Marina Green and the Presidio. Check out the cable cars (the "funnest" way to get around), the Aquarium in Golden Gate Park and the 5 most beautiful beaches. This guide pulls no punches--but it's interesting, useful and right-on from the perspective of this former SF resident. 

Yvette's Joy of Life Guides.  "Joy of Life Guides" are Joie de Vivre Hospitality's staff-authored guides to the sights and sounds of San Francisco. Designed to highlight many hidden treasures off-the-beaten path in these guides. I like whimisical category names ("I Need My Java," Hidden Cafes and Breakfast Spots) and smart and original content ("Help!!! It's Raining! Having Fun Despite the Elements"). The San Francisco guide truly is a joy, appropriately named.

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you’ve had great experiences renting vacation homes—and especially if you’ve been swept into the welcoming (usually figurative) embrace of a particularly passionate owner—a funny thing might start happening. You might start imagining yourself doing the vacation rental thing yourself. And why not, ask Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner?

If you own or are thinking of buying a vacation rental property, the Glossbrenners will show you how to pay your mortgage and make money by renting it yourself. Their 300-page book/CD “seminar-in-a-box”— called How To Make Your Vacation Property Work For You! The Quick & Easy Guide to Advertising, Renting, Managing, and Making Money from your Second Home”— is based on what the couple learned from a decade renting a two-story Williamsburg-style cottage on their property in Bucks County, PA. Today their second home is routinely fully booked as much as six months in advance.

The book is engaging (the Glossbrenners are successful authors with over 60 books to their credit)  and full of practical wisdom, step-by-step instructions and clear examples that will guide you in maximizing the Internet to promote and rent your dream vacation or retirement home (finding the right listing sites, boosting your search engine ranking etc.)  

HERE'S WHAT I ESPECIALLY LOVE:  Guidelines for writing a property description! “Write from the Heart!” These smart-cookie marketers advocate infusing rental descriptions with “personality.” (Because, aren’t we all tired of the hype?)  They talk about “painting a picture” for rental prospects… going into detail about what you (the owner) personally love about the property such as distinctive architectural details or an interesting history … weaving in off-the-beaten-path secret places you’ve discovered. That’s music to a prospective vacation renter’s ears. AND they devote a whole section to “Enhancing Your Listing With Great Photos”. Hallelujah!

The Glossbrenners also include a CD containing a collection of personally-selected Windows programs to help you manage and market your vacation rental property—in what is becoming a highly competitive market niche—in your spare time.

Check out the 30-day Money-Back Guarantee. But also check out the Glossbrenners’ promise: “Regardless of your rental rate, and regardless of season, if you get just one extra booking as a result of what we have to teach you, this vacation rental owner’s training package will have paid for itself many times over. And it will continue to do so year after year from now on.”

Psssst:  You save $40 buying it direct from the Glossbrenners (instead of on Amazon). Check with your accountant: you may be able to write the whole thing off as a business expense.  

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You heard me. Electronic guidebooks have live links, more up-to-date information and they’re easy to carry along for on-the-spot reference. The latest entree in a smorgasbord of online trip planning resources.

I don’t know about you, but I make all my travel reservations online these days. Have for years, so I guess I was among the 63.8 million travelers using the Internet to make travel plans in 2004, according to “Travelers Use of the Internet” a study published by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). I bet that number is much higher today.

So it just makes sense that online travel/trip planning resources are becoming more diverse. Among the information hubs (such as Frommers), mammoth portals and booking sites (such as Travelocity), traveler review communities (such as TripAdvisor) travel-specific directories and the other usual suspects: e-guidebooks are carving a respectable niche.

An e-guidebook, or e-book, is an electronic document published in a digital format. Some e-books are PDF files (files that can be read by any computer operating system). Others are formatted to be read using electronic device (such as a Palm or other handheld computer). Amazon.com lists hundreds of e-books and e-docs (shorter, containing more timely information).

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm embarrassed. And deeply disappointed. Embarrassed because, when I finally read Frances Mayes' "A Year in World" after recommending it, it was nothing like what I expected. I'm disappointed because I was misled by Mayes' own comments in a newspaper review.

Here's what I said in my second post on this blog:

"She (Mayes, author of the wildly successful "Under the Tuscan Sun") and her husband choose to rent, of course, so they can really immerse themselves in the local culture... 

Mayes and her husband tried to stay in each country for at least a month. Renting made the difference, “because the minute you’re in your own place, you start relating to your surrounding in an entirely different way then if you‘re in a hotel,” said in a Sacramento Bee article last month."

Here's what actually happened. Nearly every time Mayes arrived at a rental, she was disappointed. Many times she didn't even bother to unpack, hightailing it to a nearby hotel no matter the lost rental fee. One time, she admitted to renting without viewing photographs. (Her fault.)

But there were other times when, she says, she was misled by owners or agents who had never viewed the place firsthand! "Who rents a vacation home on a highway?" she laments, after stepping into an otherwise grand country home in the Cotswolds. "Mental note," she writes, bound for a nearby hotel. "Agent must have physically visited property."

Amen to that, Ms. Mayes. It's just too bad that you (the Oprah of travel) may have indelibly imprinted your own bad experiences on impressionable travelers following in your footsteps. The key message here is do you homework! Firsthand, objective experience is absolutely crucial.

Exactly why I started my series of e-guidebooks called Renting Paradise. Blatant self-promotion aside, prospective renters need a resource for independent, unbiased, firsthand commentary.  Believe me, owners -- unless they have something to hide -- are all for it.

Slow Travel has an excellent TripAdvisor-like message board specifically focused on European vacation rentals. But there are precious few unbiased resources for prospective renters in the U.S., because renting vacation homes is just catching on here in America. Where they exist, use them! Where they don't, don't take anything for granted.

My advice:

1. Look for lots of photos

2. Read descriptions very carefully

3. Ask LOTS of questions before you reserve.          

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We dog-people are a special breed. So stuck on our four-legged friends that we want to take them on vacation with us -- leashes, dishes, slobbery toys and all. It tickles me that the number of web sites focused on finding "room at the inn" for dogs and their people is growing.   

In fact, I'm astounded that when I apologized in advance to one vacation rental owner with a particularly lovely home that we planned to vacation with bring THREE dogs, she scoffed "I've never had any trouble with pet-owners. It's kids I worry about."

ANYway: The latest dog-friendly I like is PetVR.com. It features more than 5,400 pet-friendly vacation rentals (homes, cabins, condos and B&Bs, by their definition).

I initially checked out the site when I was searching for a destination for our upcoming family vacation. I was looking for a dog-friendly beach on the California coast. Voila! PetVR provides a link to pet-friendly beaches by state And lo, there are plenty in California. However, I must admit they do not list the beach I finally picked in Morro Bay. And, er, I did ultimately select a home from another site.

But! That that in no way diminishes what PetVR has to offer. I appreciate the reach (selections encompass all 50 states and 24 other countries ... you'll find many more options than you will on some vacation rental site that hyave been around for years!). And I lap up the site's authentically goofy spirit. Their "Top Ten" lists include the "Ten Gassiest Dogs."  (Honestly? We have a little problem in that area with our Terrier-Corgi mix. I was afraid to check.)

Resources include a handy list of things you might not think to pack. In fact, the site is compiled for and by pet owners -- a singularly gregarious group. So click in whether you're traveling by car or internationally.

"More than 67% of pet owners travel with their pets," Dow Scoggins, president and creator of PetVR.com, said. "And, according to surveys, nearly 40% more would travel with their

pets if they found it easier to do so." (Okay, even a math-idiot like me knows that adds up to more than 100%. But, hey, I'm a dog-lover -- which means over-the-top already.)

And I'm not as over-the-top as it gets! My "kids" sleep in their own beds when they travel. But if your pet is more "discriminating" than mine, check out the Restful Paws Bed & Breakfast in Massachusetts (complete with indoor, bone-shaped dog pool) or The Paw House (where dog portraits and Doggie Mystery Weekends are available).

My advice? IF YOU LOVE YOUR PETS ENOUGH TO TAKE THEM ON VACATION?  YA GOT NOTHIN' TO  LOSE BY CHECKING OUT PETVR.COM. Go fetch!

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you're dipping a toe in the vacation rental waters for the first time, you may worry about sending 500 or more of your hard-earned bucks to "Joe-owner" as a deposit for a home you've selected solely on the basis of a brief description and a few photos on an Internet web site. 

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

“It could definitely ruin a vacation if a rental house was terribly unacceptable. How are we supposed to know which ones are which?”

That concerned post on a Yahoo group for vacation home owners followed another renter’s horror story: dirty sheets, bugs, flooding toilets. More often, the problem lies in different expectations. The place is not as upscale as you thought. The “ocean view” is the size of a postage stamp. The odd layout in one home we rented required my parents to walk through the bedroom my husband and I slept in to get downstairs!

You can complain. You can ask for your money back. But—poof!—there goes your vacation experience.

Vacation rentals are growing in number and popularity—and nobody could be happier about it than a vacation rental evangelist like me. But it amazes me there’s no star system, no apples-for-apples comparison, no “best of” guidebooks (ahem, aside from my own Renting Paradise series, that is).

Part of the problem is that the beauty of vacation rentals—that each one is so unique—can be a bear when it comes to establishing quality standards.

 “We get a lot calls from people asking, ‘How do I know I’ll be getting what I’ think I’m getting?’” says Bill May, executive director of Vacation Rental Owners Association.  Thanks to VROA, there’s finally a blip on the horizon: Blue Ribbon Inspections.

VROA’s process will involve an on-site physical inspection (which is so crucial!) and a series of questions as to the home's outfitting, construction, amenities, cleanliness and owner policies.

May says the inspection process will focus on disclosure and accuracy. Inspectors must clearly differentiate between cabins, homes, lodges and villas. Because each one is as unique as a thumbprint, “owners need to have a lot of information in their advertising and on their web sites.” That means detailed descriptions, quality photos, floor plans and even 360-degree panoramas. Even then it can get dicey. “At million-dollar rental homes on the Carolina coast, guests are expected to bring their own linens,” May says. Guests are welcome to provide feedback on homes they feel are undeserving of the designation. Which may, in turn, lead to adjudication between renters and owners.

Something to keep on eye on. But in the meantime, here’s a list of Renting Tips you can use to evaluate vacation rentals.

Posted by Joyce Hadley Copeland at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)