How to find an affordable Disney area vacation rental in Kissimmee, Davenport, Clermont, and Orlando

A vacation rental home is a great lodging choice for a family or group on a budget. There are many Disney Area subdivisions such as Windsor Hills Resort, Windsor Palms Resort, Bella Vida, Watersong Resort, just to name a few that rival the top brand name hotels in the area. Many times the nightly rate is equal to or even less than one would spend at a luxury hotel for just a small room.


There are over 80 subdivisions to choose from for a Disney area vacation home. If you want the best of the best in vacation home rental accommodations then a newer resort like Windsor Hills Resort would be our recommendation.

There are mainly three ways to book a Disney area vacation home rental. How you book is what determines the overall cost. You can reserve the very same vacation rental home for a nightly rate that ranges $79 per night to as much as $300 per night. The very same home!

1. Book Directly with the Owner

Many Disney area vacation home guests opt for booking direct with the owner by using popular sites like homeaway, rentalo, and vrbo. This often affords a much lower rate as there is no middle man and can often be a great experience. However, ask questions! Lot's of questions. Get up to date photos and information, and research public record on the internet. Why? Homes that are not professionally managed and booked (although rare) may not even exist. If they do exist they may be in foreclosure, poorly maintained, or have no power or electric when you arrive. Most owners are not local and if they do not have a local management company you may not be able to reach someone should this occur. You will have no way to immediately recoup your money and will have to find and pay for another accommodation while you work out the issue. As is the popular saying, "you get what you pay for." It may be best to pay a little but not alot more for a safe and pleasant experience.

2. Book Directly with A Property Management Company

There are many sites and management companies on the web that specialize in Disney and Orlando area vacation home rental accommodations. They offer beautiful accommodations but often times at a high nightly rate. You will have a local company to assist should you need them throughout your stay but you should not have to give up your "first born" in order to get this assistance. Management companies make their money on fees and commissions. This is accomplished through markups and fees. Although most of the time justifiable there are management companies that will impose higher than necessary markups for your holiday home at your expense. Do some research before contacting a management company. Check different communities and gather a few homes that interest you. Research the going rate in all three categories before phoning the management company. This way you'll be armed with info before falling victim to excessive rates. Never show that you are desperate for an accommodation even if it is last minute. By showing confidence in your research and expressing what you want to pay, you'll be surprised at what you can get! Remember, almost every rate is negotiable. If they wont work with you move on. There are too many fantastic vacation home accommodations in the Disney area to spend too much time haggling with one company or owner.

3. Booking Blind

Every type of booking option has its advantages and disadvantages. A blind booking offers super low wholesale rates such as what you would expect to find on the major online engines like priceline, orbitz, and hotelbeds. Often times the rates are so low that they are less than or equal to what you would pay for just one room at the Holiday Inn! The downside...although you are guaranteed the class of accommodation you book; 4 star, 3 star, etc. (and sometimes even a specific community) you will not know the exact home that you will receive until check in. This is very similar to booking into a hotel. You never know which room you will get until you get there. You will only know the type of accommodation. If you are comfortable with knowing that you will have a 4 star accommodation only 15 minutes from Disney then this is the way to go! It will save you a ton of money on your stay. Most of the time the taxes and fees are even included in this low rate. Another drawback to this type of Disney area vacation home rental booking is that in order to secure this low rate the entire balance must be paid for in advance. You are not able to pay a deposit to reserve the home and make payments thereafter. The rates are created in the same fashion as airline rates. They go up and down with supply and demand and can change minute to minute. If you are planning and not ready to commit this option would not be the recommended choice.

Monetarily here is a general breakdown of what rates look like for the above options for the following travel dates:

3/5/2010 - 3/12/2010 for Windsor Hills Resort 6 Bedroom / 4 Bath

***These rates are just examples of what you may find and are not an indication of every home in any particular subdivision.***

1. Book with the Owner Directly

Base Rental Rate: $1575 wk
Clean Fee: $115
Taxes: $204.75
Total: $1894.75
Specific Home, No Guarantees, May or May not have local contact

2. Book with Management Company

Base Rental Rate: $2373 wk
Clean Fee: $111
Taxes: $333.97
Processing Fee: $ 85.00
Total: $2902.97
Specific Home, 24 Hour Emergency Local Contact

3. Blind Booking

Base Rental Rate: $1374.10 wk
Clean Fee: Included
Taxes: Included
Processing Fee: None
Total $1374.10
Guaranteed Accommodation Class, 24 Hour Local Guest Service Contact, Usually Backed by a Well Known Reputable Supplier or Travel Agency.

If you want a knowledgeable agent to assist you as vacation home shopping can be a bit overwhelming call us! http://www.holidayvillaz.com/ offers all three of these options and can help you to secure a vacation home rental in the Disney area through owners, management companies, and large suppliers. Because we place a large number of bookings you will be able to leverage our buying power and secure wonderful low rates. If you just want to call us for info on the Disney area or the vacation home rental market in general we are certainly happy to oblige!

In any case, in order to guarantee a memorable vacation do plenty of research, and go with whoever best answers to your specific needs. Ask a lot of questions and if you have found a lower rate from another source be prepared to show it so that your agent or owner can have the opportunity to match it or do better! Happy house hunting!