Archive for the ‘Vacation Rentals’ Category

More info on Montserrat villa

Posted on June 8th, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

A while ago, I wrote a blog post about the Caribbean island of Montserrat, where I spent a great vacation with my sisters and our husbands. I’ve just found out that our rental villa, Surf Sighed, has its own website. It’s a lovely, affordable tropical rental with a pretty pool deck and great views. If […]

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The inside scoop on beach rentals

Posted on April 22nd, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

Joyce Copeland‘s love affair with vacation rentals started about a decade ago, when she was planning a vacation for her extended family and spotted a newspaper ad for short-term rentals in Lake Tahoe. “I was astounded by how little money we’d have to spend, and we could bring the dogs,” she says. Joyce often travels […]

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Win a villa stay in Montserrat

Posted on April 3rd, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

The Caribbean island of Montserrat is one of my very favourite places to travel like a local. It’s hard to do anything else; the island has only two hotels and they’re only 18 rooms each, so even at a hotel you pretty much feel like you’re staying with family. Private villas are the main form […]

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25% off Paris apartments

Posted on February 2nd, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

Welcome2France.com, which specializes in luxury apartment rentals in Paris, has just announced last-minute discounts of up to 25% on some of its properties. Most of the deals are valid February 1-15 and March 1-15, but there are a few available in late March. Many owners require a minimum stay of five days or a week. […]

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Try London from the suburban side

Posted on January 29th, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

Think of London and what pops to mind? Big Ben, the West End, Piccadilly Circus? That’s how many tourists experience it, but most Londoners themselves live in rather more ordinary surroundings. And, if Monty Python is to be believed, few are more ordinary than the suburban Sussex town of Esher. (In one Python episode, Eric […]

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Under-the-radar vacation rentals

Posted on January 17th, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

Interested in renting a house or apartment for your next vacation, but nervous about dealing with total strangers in a rent-by-owner arrangement or a big agency? Don’t despair. According to a new PhoCusWright study of the vacation rental market, there are 1.26 million homes available for short-term rental in the U.S. alone and–here’s the interesting […]

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Roomorama.com evolves

Posted on January 12th, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

Roomorama.com, a peer-to-peer site for arranging short-term room and apartment rentals, is expanding. The site, founded last fall, matches travellers with renters in several North American cities. Its new incarnation–dubbed, not surprisingly, Roomorama 2.0–adds a new calendar, new pricing options and a jazzier design, among other tweaks. The latest upgrade also expands the service to […]

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Vacation rentals more appealing in tough economy

Posted on January 7th, 2009 by Laura Byrne Paquet

On both sides of the pond, vacation rental companies are reporting a spike in business from value-conscious travellers. In particular, people seem to be looking for self-catering digs close to home. Boston-based FlipKey says that vacation rentals in ski resorts that draw largely from a local area–such as Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, whose clients […]

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Top five perks of vacation rentals

Posted on December 8th, 2008 by Laura Byrne Paquet

Buenos Aires apartment

I’ve been raving about the benefits of vacation rentals for years to anyone who will listen. So what’s so great about staying in a house or apartment instead of a hotel room? Here are my top five reasons to go local. You can discover new neighbourhoods. In many cities, hotels are clustered downtown or in […]

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Canadian family loses $4K in vacation home scam

Posted on November 26th, 2008 by Laura Byrne Paquet

As regular readers of this blog know, I’m a huge fan of vacation home and apartment rentals. I’ve rented properties on three continents and, fortunately, have never been the victim of a scam. But fraudsters are out there, as shown by this recent CBC story about a Gatineau, Quebec, family who lost $4,000 while trying […]

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