Tips for vacation rentals

• In most homes and rental apartments, linens are not supplied. This includes sheets, bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths, kitchen towels and beach towels and in some cases blankets. You can either bring your own or ask the Rental Company or owner to request linen service. The charge is usually minimal. The linen service will both deliver and pick up.

• Unless a visitor before you left some of these items, you can expect to need cleaning products, paper towels, tissue, toilet paper, soap, and possibly even hangers or an iron.

• Ask the Renter to give you the phone number for the house or apartment before you arrive. Very often, the number is not printed on the phones.

• Most rentals have long distance blocked for outgoing calls. So you will want to bring along a long distance card or your cell phone.

• Tell the Renter to make sure the windows are cleaned both inside and out for your arrival. The salt builds up on windows very quickly on the beach and the Renters (trying to save money) do not always clean the windows after each rental. It’s a shame to pay the price for a beautiful view and not be able to appreciate it. Make sure you add this to the contract you sign and before you pay.

• If you are going to stay in a condominium or apartment, make sure to ask if it is a gated community. If so, tell the Renter they must give you the necessary cards or clickers for the gate at the time you pick up your keys. Otherwise, you will not be able to pull your car into the condominium’s parking area. Unloading your car from the street is not a fun experience and I’ve seen many visitors who had to do that. Also make sure to ask them how to open the gate to your building from your apartment. Usually this can be done by having your visitors press certain buttons at the gate which will call your apartment – and then when you answer the phone, you can press certain buttons to open the gate.

• If you plan to bring a pet, do not expect you can get away with it in a condominium that does not accept pets. Most condos have custodians on the grounds who watch for people who are breaking the rules regarding pets, pool use, parking, etc.

• If something is wrong in the house or apartment, don’t be shy about contacting the Renter. You have rights as a renter to expect that all the large and small appliances, air conditioners, showers, faucets, locks, etc. are in good working order. If the house or apartment is carpeted, you should expect a vacuum cleaner be on the premises. They should also provide things like toilet brushes, brooms and dustpans or dust mops where appropriate. If the Renter is a real estate company, they may try to brush you off, but be very firm with them. Tell them you will notify the owner about their poor service if they do not treat you fairly.