1.Location. Beachfront houses, hillside, ski resort and lakefront homes all have appeal. So does everything from town living ?like a local? to rustic isolation. Your rental must be beautiful and soothing, but it also needs to be safe ? from manmade and natural disasters. The location also needs to be popular, but not too popular.

2.Cleanliness. What level of cleanliness do you expect from a hotel? Do you want a dust free room, clean sheets on the bed, an immaculate bathroom, and freshly vacuumed floors? Many vacation rentals hire professionally run cleaning services to clean their properties between stays. You may be required to wash dirty pans, run the dishwasher and dispose of all trash before leaving.

3.Amenities. Vacation rental properties present a great substitute for the conventional nightly hotel or resort. Kitchens and even laundry facilities, extra bedrooms and bathrooms, swimming pools and hot tubs are just some of the amenities vacation rental properties provide.

4.Proximity to Restaurants and Sights. Make sure the vacation home is located within 10 minutes of major attractions, the closer the better.

5.Linens and Maid Service. Your vacation rental should have residential quality bedding ? mattresses, linens and pillows. Superior bed and bath linens are benchmarks of quality. Does the rental have maid service? The last thing you want to do while on vacation is making the beds or cleaning house.

Hotels in the Unites States often enjoy the benefits of brand recognition, familiar reservation procedures and on-site personnel for problem resolution. For some guests, however, the benefits of vacation rentals overshadow the possible negatives, with many rentals offering more space, more amenities, convenient locations and greater privacy than a hotel.

It's quite simple to find vacation rentals in just about any area of the world if you know where to look and how to employ help. The Internet is one of the best resources when looking for vacation rentals. Booking your vacation rental direct from the owner can save you money since there isn't a management company acting as a middleman. Realtors are also great sources for finding vacation rentals.

Renting local apartments or homes by the week or month ? also known as a self-catered vacation ? is catching on big time in Europe, especially in places like Italy and France. If you eat some of your meals in, self-catering can save you money, and it allows you to travel around your location more fully than you might if you were stuck in hotels. Europe is also a hot spot for educational travel ? a great idea for adults and kids alike!