How to book a vacation apartment online?
maryland asked:
I am in England and I need to book an apartment for vacation in New York, through Craig’s list. Has anyone done this before? What is the best - and safest- way to do it?
Regina
I am in England and I need to book an apartment for vacation in New York, through Craig’s list. Has anyone done this before? What is the best - and safest- way to do it?
Regina
Tags: Craig, England, Vacation Apartment
August 14th, 2008 at 2:06 am
Craigslist is pretty safe. There are also agencies specialized in sublets, you may have to google them. Always check the renter’s website and contact information. Pay using PayPal.
August 16th, 2008 at 2:15 am
While the majority of users on Craigslist are legitimate, there’s nothing there to protect you if you happen to run into one of the scams. I would like to offer you an alternative, if you don’t mind. Consider renting through one of the listings on the HomeAway network of vacation rental sites, which includes, VRBO.com, VacationRentals.com, Holiday-Rentals.co.uk as well as several others.
Not only can you find upwards of 91 apartments available for Manhattan and 23 apartments in Midtown-Manhattan (see below for the links), but you can register your vacation with HomeAway’s Rent with Confidence Guarantee ( ). This program provides you with protection (and peace of mind) by guaranteeing up to $5,000 of a your payment in the event the listing is determined not to be legitimate in accordance with HomeAway’s policy.
Now, so that I’m being completely up front and honest with you, I should disclose that I work for HomeAway (if you couldn’t determine that from my screen name), so I am a bit biased. But this program really does what it says, and frankly, I’ve heard one too many horror stories about online scams to trust anything without a guarantee.
Feel free to peruse the Internet for other vacation rentals sites, but don’t consider Craigslist as your only option. If you can, make sure you get as much of a guarantee as possible before committing.
Have a fun and safe trip to the Big Apple!