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Lodging can make or break a vacation. A top-notch hotel or rental property will leave you refreshed and primed to explore your chosen getaway — but lackluster accommodations could turn that dream trip into a nightmare.
That’s where our AARP Smart Guide to Vacation Lodging comes into play. This jam-packed resource covers the ins and outs of savvy vacation accommodations, including how to decipher trustworthy reviews, choose safe hotels, snag the best deals and find a cozy home away from home — even if just for one night. Ready to hit the road? Here’s everything to know before you book your next trip.
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LODGING 101
1. When to choose a hotel vs. vacation rental
Deciding between a hotel and vacation rental depends on the goal of your trip. “If you want to walk and see things, you should get a hotel in the heart of the area,” says Carolyn Sandgren Kempf, travel adviser and president of Elite Travel Inc. Hotels offer perks like concierges to coordinate excursions and a bellhop to store luggage while you sightsee before or after checkout. That said, you can still find vacation-rental apartments along a city’s main drag, and they’re ideal when you’re traveling with multiple parties, such as extended family.
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Before you book a rental — particularly in a big city — read up on the legalities. In some cities (such as New York), short-term vacation rentals are technically illegal (unless you’re solely renting a private room within the host’s home). In that case, you’re better off in a hotel to avoid last-minute cancellations or rental-home closures. For trips to get away from it all, be it a mountain or beach vacation, a rental property may be your best bet for privacy, remoteness and nature access.
2. Find pet-friendly accommodations
It’s tough to leave your four-legged friends at home — and increasingly, you don’t have to. These days, pets-welcome accommodations abound. You can filter your vacation rental or search for pet-friendly properties on sites like Airbnb, Vacasa and VRBO. Make sure to study the fine print, such as pet fees and restrictions on size, breed, species and number of pets. Additionally, a growing number of hotels, both independent and chains, now offer Fido- or Fifi-friendly accommodations. You can filter via hotel booking sites such as Booking.com, Trivago.com and Hotels.com. Read up on the pet stipulations for hotels before booking as well. When in doubt, it’s best to call for specifics.
3. How to decode reviews
With countless reviews and review sites, it’s difficult to know who to believe. For that, our experts have some guidance: Don’t believe just one rogue review. Instead, “look for trends,” says Sandgren Kempf. “If [separate reviewers] say something six different times, you can feel pretty confident you’re going to experience that as well.” Additionally, Connor Griffiths, CEO of Lifty Life Vacation Rentals, suggests keeping your eyes open for a few red flags specific to property rentals. “If the most recent reviews are from a year or more ago, it may indicate that the property has not been well maintained or that the owner is not actively managing it,” he says, also noting that “overly positive or negative [reviews] may be fake or biased.” A few more tips to check if that review is safe: Look up the reviewer to see what other reviews they’ve written, see what the middle reviews are saying and see whether the business or owner has responded to the worst reviews. If it’s genuine and pragmatic, that’s a good sign.
4. Book directly to save money
The travel industry is full of booking sites for vacation lodging, but sometimes, the best way to save money is to avoid third-party sites and book directly with the hotel or the vacation rental owner, says Griffiths. When you book through vacation rental sites like Airbnb or VRBO, you’re typically charged roughly 15 percent in service fees that you wouldn’t be charged if you booked directly with the property owner, he says. If the property has a specific name, you can search for that exact name plus the city name on Google; the home may have a designated website. Or, “try Googling ‘vacation rental management [City]’ in the market you want to travel to,” says Griffiths. “This will help you identify local managers you could book directly with.” The same goes for hotels. Sometimes you can snag a deal with a hotel booking site, but it’s best to look at the hotel website or call the hotel in case they offer savings for direct booking.
5. Consider lodging alternatives
Hotels and vacation rentals are popular accommodation options, but you can also get creative with where and how you sleep. Try housesitting, where you get a free stay in exchange for caring for someone’s home, plants and potentially pets; this option is available via vetted services such as Trusted Housesitters, Nomador and MindMyHouse. Camping is another great option for getting up close with nature. That said, if you prefer the comforts of a bed and plumbing, you can always get your dose of the outdoors via glamping, says Emily Pennington, travel journalist and author of the book Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks. “Glamping can be great for couples where one traveler isn’t so into roughing it, but the other wants to have a campfire under the stars,” she says.
6. Provide your own caffeine
There are certain items you can typically expect in hotel rooms, but for other vacation rentals, unless they include it in the description, it’s best to bring the necessities yourself. If you need coffee, some hotels provide coffee in the lobby, you may find a nearby coffee shop or bring your own to-go coffee press or bottled/canned coffee drink. The hotel room coffee maker is likely teeming with germs, and although a superficial wipedown can make it look clean, you never know what others have used it for before you.
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