Once upon a time not so far ago, two men, one apartment, and a bunch of air mattresses changed the way we travel forever. Airbnb sprung from humble beginnings, and today, it is often the first place people look when planning a vacation anywhere in the world, but for many, the company has lost its magic, and leaving travelers to look for other ways to find their vacation accommodations. We at RentTheKeys understand your dilemma, and although we can’t help you with your overseas journeys, we can offer this guide to the top reasons you should move away from Airbnb and begin booking directly, especially when your Florida vacation brings you to our beautiful coastlines and the many wonderful properties that we offer along the keys for Florida Keys Direct Booking.
Are Those Fees Really Necessary?
As if the cost of travel is not high enough, the popular vacation websites, Airbnb included, are starting to charge additional fees for all manner of things. They charge for the cleaning company that swoops in after you leave while also charging for guests who don’t pick up after themselves. There can be fees for parking and the expected fees for pets, but the ones that we seriously can’t understand come from the Airbnb website itself, their Airbnb Service Fees. Adding hundreds of dollar to your vacation costs, they never really describe what these service fees are, making it a smart idea to book directly from RentTheKeys and skip unnecessary fees. With RentTheKeys what you see is what you get, and other than pet fees, which are meant to protect owners from any damages sweet fur babies can cause, travelers can use the money they save by ordering dessert at the restaurant, buying more souvenirs on their shopping trips, and maybe even adding an extra day to their vacation timetable.
Same Home, Lower Rental Costs
Airbnb doesn’t just charge service fees to renters; they also charge owners fees every time they rent out their homes, so it just makes more sense to offer a lower per day cost if you rent direct. At the end of the day, our goal is to keep our owners from having any empty beds, so of course we are going to take advantage of the visibility of an Airbnb listing, but if we can rent you the same property from our own website, we will charge you less, making everyone happy—well, everyone except Airbnb, of course! When you add in the savings you can enjoy by not paying unnecessary fees and however much you save by cooking a few meals in our fully equipped kitchens, the math is clear. Rent direct from RentTheKeys and pay less.
More Ways to Save
The savings keep adding up when you book direct, and for once in your life it may make more sense to procrastinate. When it comes time to reserve your vacation home, it can be difficult to narrow your choice to just one home, and if you put it off, you may get a discount. As we have said before, our goal is to keep those beds full, and if there is an open week, we may just charge a lower fee for anyone who steps up at the last minute. Some money is better than none at all, and even though we are doing this for our owners, we can’t lie; it makes us happy to do a little something extra for our favorite people of all, the guests who have been so loyal to RentTheKeys over the years. Airbnb has its good points, but we can pretty much guarantee they are not going to reward you with discounts, making this yet another wonderful reason to visit the RentTheKeys website when it is time to rent your Florida vacation escape.
The Choices Are Better With Florida Keys Direct Booking
When you are discerning about your home sweet vacation home choices, your best bet is to go directly to our site, especially as we don’t release all our homes on Airbnb. We like to keep the best spaces for the ones who make the extra effort to seek us out, and sharing the secrets of vacation dream homes come true is definitely something we love more than anything. Your Florida getaway deserves the best properties, and the homes and condos found on our website will outshine those found anywhere else, especially the ones you may see on Airbnb. If you are reading this after you have already rented a RentTheKeys retreat off the Airbnb website, however, never fear. Every property we offer provides luxury, comfort, and style, we just save the best ones for our website.
Personally Yours
In its early days, Airbnb was all about that personal touch, but today, they have gone corporate, and personal is a word they seemed to have forgotten. Fortunately, you are reading about all the reasons booking direct is better, and yes, when you book off our site directly, you can be sure that a real live human will be on the other end of the phone call, the email, or even the text you may have sent. Need a pack and play for your tiniest traveler? Have a question about the amenities in your sanctuary? Wondering if it would be possible to substitute a king bed for the two twin beds in the second bedroom? Just shoot us a text, email, or phone call and we can answer all your questions, make the substitutions, and even let you know about the highchairs we offer for the babies, allowing you to pack even less for your cross-country trip to the Sunshine State.
RentTheKeys Is Here for You
We work really hard to ensure that every minute of your Florida Keys vacation goes smoothly, but even we can’t control weather or weird things that sometimes arise. Storms may end with a branch in a window, leaving the door open at the wrong time could entice a bird to fly inside, or maybe you just have a question about rush hour traffic; whatever your issue, booking directly through RentTheKeys ensures that you will also have direct contact with our ever so helpful staff, even if that storm and branch takes place in the wee hours of the morning. Airbnb can’t always say that, especially as their offices are on the opposite end of the coast, and normal business hours run from 8 to 5 Pacific Time, either two or three hours ahead of Florida.
Our Favorite Part of the Job
Because we live, love, and work right here in the Florida Keys, we know this area better than someone who hails from San Francisco would. We know that the sunsets are worth celebrating and that every Sunday on Siesta Key a weekly Drum Circle does just that. We know that the Crab Cake Benedict at Sage Biscuit Café in downtown Bradenton will haunt your dreams in the best of ways. And we love the fact that the vibe on Anna Maria Island is vintage Florida, taking visitors back to a time when families would spend summers on its beaches, letting the white sand beaches be their playground while learning the tricks to keeping the sandwiches they placed in coolers stay dry. (Thank you, Ziplock bags!) Our favorite part of our job is introducing all that is wonderful about the areas in which we offer properties to travelers from all over the world and providing concierge services in the hopes that our guests will fall as deeply in love with the Florida Keys as we are. Can you get that kind of service from a distant corporation?
Small Businesses Need Your Help
After the recent worldwide pandemic, it was the everyday people and the small businesses that ended up suffering the most and much of America made a vow to support small businesses, something that we have done as well. We hire locals for housekeeping, maintenance, and we even direct our customers to small businesses that offer products they will love. Additionally, RentTheKeys is a small business, homegrown on the beaches of the Florida Keys and spreading the love for Florida one traveler at a time. When you book direct, you are helping Arts programs to stay in the schools, you are helping mom & pop businesses to succeed, and you are helping prop our country back up, while also saving money and enjoying the best vacation in recent memory. Does it get any better than that? We don’t think so.
You Knew It When You Saw It
Finding vacation accommodations that fit your family perfectly is a very personal thing and the needs of travelers vary from person to person and family to family. So, when you were scrolling through hundreds of listings and found that perfect space, the one that jumped from the computer screen into your heart, it was a moment of celebration and joy upon discovering that yes, you could afford it, and yes, it was available during the week you were planning on spending in the Keys. You never before clicked ‘Book Now’ so fast, and the days, weeks, and months leading up to your getaway seemed to drag by as the anticipation built.
Can you imagine how it would feel after all that build-up to pull up in front of a home that looked similar but different? And to go inside to find that some of the amenities you read about didn’t exist and the views you were promised turned out to not be the ones you fell in love with in the listing? Booking direct from RentTheKeys assures you that nightmare will not come true, but we can’t promise that will be the same if you book from the major vacation rental websites, so why take the chance?
Flexibility Is Important
One thing today’s travelers have learned is that although punctuality is vital in real life, the airlines have yet to realize its importance, and as companies are experiencing staff shortages, aging computer systems are failing, and overbooking is becoming more common, the times of flights arriving and departing are mere suggestions, not rules. In the bad old days of travel, hotels would often give your rooms away if you didn’t arrive at the agreed upon time, but fortunately, we are mostly past that habit, especially when booking directly with RentTheKeys. If you are going to be late, you don’t even have to give us a call, because our self-check-in (and self-check-out) allows guests to come and go as they please. And if you are arriving earlier than you thought? Go ahead and give us that call and discover that in some cases your accommodations will be ready for an early check in, enabling you to begin your Florida adventures that much earlier than planned.
Southern Hospitality Is a Thing
We were born taking care of others, raised by mothers who treated all the neighbor kids like her own, and any guest that stepped over her doorstep was instantly considered a family member that needed feeding. Food, laughter, and people are our earliest memories, and we work hard to ensure that our work family, the guests who depend on us for shelter during their time away from reality, feel treasured, loved, and welcomed. It isn’t a job to us, it’s a calling, and although Airbnb may have started out that way, today it is all business.
Book Direct and Come Home to RentTheKeys
Isn’t it nice knowing that of all the things you may need to worry about during your upcoming Florida vacation, your accommodations are not on that list? Booking directly with RentTheKeys ensures that the comfortable part of your escape to the Keys will go smoothly. Reserve your favorite today!
