Online Vacation Planning

Bolster online vacation planning with personal recommendations.

There's nothing quite as enticing as what follows "You HAVE to try...."

A personal recommendation -- making one, or taking one -- is one of the warmest ways to connect with another person. It can also be one of your most valuable vacation planning resources!

The advice of travelers who share your preferences for hole-in-the-wall restaurants where the locals line up for and off-the-beaten-path pleasures can literally transform your experience of a place.

And vacation rental owners and local rental property managers can be fantastic sources of personal recommendations.

Here are some very practical reasons to trust them.

1. They have their feet on the ground where you want to go.

They live in -- and love every corner of -- the place you're planning to spend a week.

Guidebook and magazine writers mostly focus on hotels. They breeze through quickly and many times their reviews reflect it.

2. Your good experience is their bottom line.

Unlike hip hotels in European cities courting once-in-a-lifetime guests, vacation rental homeowners and local rental property managers depend on repeat business.

Most owners and rental property managers will screen you over the phone to ensure the home you're booking is a good fit.

If you're not happy when you arrive, some rental property managers will move you to a home you like better.

3. They're there to help throughout your stay.

Most times you will meet the owner or rental property manager in person.

At the very least, you'll be greeted with a personally compiled guest book brimming with recommendations, menus and advice about things to see and do during your stay.

And you're invited to call for more recommendations if you need them.

If you scroll to the end of every review of a vacation rental on Beach Vacation Rental Scout, you'll find a short, very personal list of the Owner's Favorites.

For example:

At The Bay's Edge, Bodega Bay, CA

Spud Point Crab Company looks like just another small local cafe. But it has the best clam chowder you've ever tasted! The owners operate the fishing boat that stocks it, so you can't find fresher seafood.

The Laughing Buddha Beach House, Shell Beach, CA

Take the Chumash Bluffs Trail to a stunning panoramic ocean view not in any guidebook! There are two ways up. The wider, low road is a gradual climb. The narrow trail goes straight up -- a heart rate-zinger.

More than information, a genuine personal recommendation makes you feel like you've already found a friend.

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