Finding a home/condo without all the fees!

[Klayfish]

Geez, OK. Great. May I suggest you never stay in a hotel? They're even better at "hiding" fees.

 

[robinb]

Geez, OK. Great. May I suggest you never stay in a hotel? They're even better at "hiding" fees.

... and I feel the same about hotels that bait and switch with "resort fees".

 

[Rich M]

I just booked a 3.5 star condo on Priceline. I got a 3 bedroom villa for $95 a night. The resort fee is $12.50. Maybe try Priceline to see what you can get.

 

[pigletto]

I just booked a 3.5 star condo on Priceline. I got a 3 bedroom villa for $95 a night. The resort fee is $12.50. Maybe try Priceline to see what you can get.

What property did you end up getting the 3 bedroom at ?

 

[Rich M]

Star Island Resort and Club

What property did you end up getting the 3 bedroom at ?

 

[Carolina Beth]

This is a good one, sorry if someone already mentioned it:

https://www.windsorhillsfloridarentals.com/

Homeaway and VRBO have definitely increased their fees within the last year. I absolutely loved working with the owner of the above properties, and would highly recommend. They have both 2 and 3 bedroom condos. You can also see their information and reviews on the big websites, but if you book you'd want to do it directly to save some money. Good luck, always a big decision!

 

[disneysteve]

As for the damage fee, I have paid a deposit in the past that was returned when I didn't "wreck the house". I would vastly prefer that over having to pay for whatever insurance the owner/company decides on to the tune of an additional $11 per night.

Same here. We've never been hit with a fee, only a refundable deposit that we got back within 2 weeks. I think I'd pass on any rental that was going to charge me for damage I didn't do, which is essentially what they're doing with that fee.

The best way to avoid, or at least negotiate, other fees is to book directly with the owner. Do a search for "name of resort rentals" and find a site for the development you are interested in. For example, we frequently stay in Windsor Palms and I rent through http://www.windsor-palms-florida.net/. I communicate directly with the owner and have often gotten a better deal than what was listed.

 

[jsmla]

Extra fees and upsells are the wave of the future I'm afraid. My highly educated niece works for the MGM group in Vegas and her only job in " Strategic Initiatives" is to come up with and implement those sort of things. She's the one responsible for the fact that you now pay for parking at the casinos there.

 

[HeatherC]

SkyAuction can also have some pretty good deals. Just read the fine print carefully because some resorts will add a nightly resort fee, etc.. But we have had great luck getting a week for under $500 depending on time of year, destination, etc..

 

[disneysteve]

SkyAuction can also have some pretty good deals.

We've used SkyAuction numerous times to rent a unit at Orbit One Vacation Villas. That runs under $60/night even with the resort fee. It's a steal at that price. I don't know why anybody would stay in some cheap motel on 192 when you can have a spacious 2-bedroom timeshare unit for the same price or less.