Long Rentals

[Albert the Frog]

I Love Florida-been a number of times now and going back in August. My question though is that if my wife and I wanted to go for 2 months or so how much would a villa cost both peak and off peak-what kind of discount could I get for a 'guaranteed' straight 2 months?? Anybody know?

[bjpointon]

This really depends on what area of Florida you wish to stay in, what your priorities are ie how many bedrooms etc., etc., you would really need to do a search of Villas through this site as all Villas are individually priced by Owners. You will see from each individual Ref No for that Villa what the cost will be for the time of year you require, you will then need to put out an enquiry to the Owner and await their reply.

[Snapper]

It's probably going to vary enormously from owner to owner Bob.

To give you my example, the villa books more or less solid on peak dates, so I wouldn't discount those. If I did I'm effectively subsidising your holiday. I like to think that most of us here are nice people; but not quite that nice! [msnwink][msnsmile2][msnsmile2]

Off peak has a bit more leeway, however finding two months 'off-peak' might be more of a challenge than you'd first think. January/February are the obvious candidates but you have the peak weeks from Christmas lingering in at the start and Valentines in Feb, which are always busy weeks. March onwards starts to get busy through to the end of August. September/October might be an option but you hit the UK half-term in October (peak weeks again in our calendar) and also Halloween at the end. November has Thanksgiving and then December is the run-in to Christmas and New Years.

Depending on how flexible you are might well influence how flexible the owner can be; however I'd say that while there is likely some mileage in asking, don't expect miracles.

It's worth asking, but I'd say not to expect miracles.

[Albert the Frog]

Cheers folks-I'll firm up the dates and then contact a few owners.

[ShirleyD]

Some owners may give a small discount off season, but it doesn't make sense for discounts at peak times they can easily rent their villas for full rates. I would enquire using the links above once you have decided on your dates and what facilities you require. Living can be great value in Florida, have a great time [msnsmile2]

[GrahamC]

I would follow the links, and suggest the two months you want. You should get a selection of villas to chose from.

[steph_goodrum]

Most owners like us start their baseline prices on costs incurred in running the villa, which are not affected by the seasons as much as you would think. As an example the costs of heating the pool in the winter can be about the same cost as the airconditioning in the summer and most other charges remain fairly constant so the only real factor that changes between having 4 short term 2 week rentals and a longer term 2 month rental may be the cleaning charges. I say may because some owners may have an agreement that they have a cleaner once a month or every 2 weeks as well as an end of stay clean.

As has been said the best thing is to decide when you want to go and then put out some enquiries and see what takes your fancy. At the end of the day if you find what you want which is a little more than you had anticipated it's worth considering cutting the stay to 6 weeks and stay in comfort than stretching the budget to the cheapest you can find for 8 weeks and spending half your time regretting it once you arrive.

[daxon]

And also worth bearing in mind is that January through to Easter is a very popular time for American 'Snowbirds' to visit - flying down south to escape the snow up north. They also tend to stay a month or two so a lot of villas will be booked up by them. The sooner you start to look, the better the chance you stand of finding a villa with extended availability.

[killian]

We've done similar long term rentals in the past and got some great offers, you do get what you pay for though so do plenty of research. Shop around this site and the internet and you'll get some deals. It may suit some owners to have a long term rental, particularly in the winter months.

I don't expect anyone to subsidise my holiday, however like everything else in life the customer is entitled to shop around for the best deal. Enjoy the trip[msnsmile]