Don't be fooled! Fact and Fiction in the Vacation Rental world

Today is April Fool's Day and with all the practical jokes and hokey e-mails going out about good deals and things too good to be true, I thought I'd offer some practical advice.

As professional vacation rental managers, it is our job to match the house the guest and make sure that you choose a property that meets or exceeds your expectations. I remember vacationing with my family as a young girl and everyone had butterflies in their stomach as we got closer wondering what the house would look like--after all, we only saw an out of focus thumbnail shot, read fluffed up copy and had the assurances from someone hundreds of miles away on the phone that the house is booking quickly and we better get our deposit in soon.

Today's information has come a long way. On line calendars with real time availability let you see the real picture. A word of caution--the advent of online calendars has given travelers the freedom to wait until the last minute to choose a spot. Perhaps you'd be surprised to know that 50% of our reservations come after Memorial Day--so just because a home has a lot of weeks left doesn't mean it isn't a great house or that you can wheel and deal a great price--that's just sad theatre!

ESVR has invested heavily in our website to be sure that what you see is what you get. We do not allow out of date photo shoots and virtual tours, and while our photographs are professional, they are a real representation of the property, not a staged photo session to make the property look like an HGTV special, only to find it more like "this old house" when you get there.

We include floor plans so you can see the layout of the home. Perhaps our spacious is your chicken coop, or knowing that bedroom is a pass through will 'ahem' cramp your style. We want you to see the layout, then you can fight over the bedrooms BEFORE you get there.

We also have mapping and will provide addresses upon request so you can view the home via Google Earth. Our waterfront homes really are on the water, not across the street, over the dune and only from the second floor balcony.

If you don't want to take our word for it, we put all guest comments on our site. Some people have called us to say, "Are you crazy, why did let the guest comment about the house smelling musty go on the site"? Our answer to that is we want you to see the whole picture--maybe the house is old, some find that charming, others won't. Perhaps the owner remedied this by replacing the carpet--we want you to know what we do to solve the problems. Are we perfect? Yes! (No, not really, but pretty close). When we make a mistake, we want you to see it, and also what we did about it. That is when we shine.

We hope you'll consider choosing an ESVR home and that any sick feelings as you pull up to your house are from the roadside crabcake stand and not the house you see!