Family Reunions

I understand the stress of family reunions. We have one each year. When we first started it out, we would invite everyone to where we were locally. They would usually have to bring tents and things to stay in, it was often hot, and overcrowded inside our small home. I am sure you have ran into the same thing. This is not a problem if you have a bunch of people who enjoy camping, but not all of my family is as fond of the outdoors as I am.

We decided a few years ago that we would rent a local vacation home. It had enough rooms in it that everyone had a place to stay. The vacation rental home was setup in a way that was almost ideal for it as well. It was such a large home that it had two living areas and a large playroom. It was great to be able to stretch your legs out in the air conditioning while the kids are running off doing other things and you do not have to worry too much about it.

My entire family really did seem to enjoy it. In fact, they enjoyed it so much that we have decided to rent the same vacation rental home two more times for each annual family reunion. And even though the family reunion has grown to between 30 – 40 people at times, the house still seems to hold all of us just fine. Splitting the cost with the family members made it extremely affordable.

Colorado Has Awesome White Water Rafting

Back in the old high school days, there were four or five friends that I had where we just hung out all the time. We spent a good portion of our time getting outdoors and doing a lot of fun stuff. In fact, after each school year from about the 8th grade on, we would go somewhere to camp. It started out just being near my parent’s pond where we would setup a tent and fish for catfish all night. Our junior year in high school though we got out of town and headed to lake that was within a 100 miles from the house. However, on our senior trip, we decided to head out to Colorado for a great adventure of camping, fishing, and hiking. It was a blast.

Last year we decided that we should make a return visit. We have been out of school for a several years, most of us are married now, and it would be a good excuse to get out of the house. After spending a lot of time in vacation rental homes as I really do love traveling, I recommended it to the guys. They loved the idea! We are getting a little bit too old to be sleeping on the ground these days. Plus, I have spoiled myself!

We spent a week out about 100 miles southwest of Denver in a vacation rental home. Once we got there, we had a pleasant surprise waiting on us. The house had the outdoors feel to it, it had all the amenities anyone would ever want. We spent a lot of time just relaxing around and in the pool. We decided to head back to the old white water rafting place that we had went to several years beforehand which went underneath the Royal Gorge. It was beautiful and a lot of fun! It was just as I had remembered it and will be an experience I will never forget.

Drive the Price Down by Negotiating!

When you rent a motel room, generally the person behind the counter does not have the ability to negotiate the price. Nor do you really feel like trying to get a few dollars knocked off after a long road trip. It could be late at night and it is simply more of a nuisance than beneficial since you are likely dealing with large corporations.

The great thing about vacation rental homes is that they are almost always privately owned. The owners may have lived there and have a desire to move back one day. They might have just decided to keep it because it is paid for and they would like to visit from time to time. However, when people own something privately they have the ability to really make a decision on what price they are going to charge. Obviously, paying for electricity and water bills is something they are concerned with so you will definitely not be getting it for free. However, almost all of them will work with you on the price.

What I tend to do is go find two vacation rental homes that I really do legitimately like. I will then make them compete for my business. I will call the first one, ask for a price. I will then call the second one and ask them the same question. If the second one is higher, I start my negotiation right then. I tell them upfront and honestly that I am looking at another vacation rental home to rent, and they are “x” amount of dollars cheaper. Tell them that you would like see if they could beat that price so that it is more affordable. In almost all cases they will come down on their price for you. Do this a few times to get the lowest price possible. It may be a nuisance for them as well, but if they want your business, they will work with you.

Just keep in mind, that all prices are negotiable anywhere that you go. But these privately owned vacation rental homes really give you the opportunity to negotiate directly with the owners who want your business!