Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Vacation Rentals... but were afraid to ask!

We could all tell tales of horrid hotel stays — everything from being jolted from sleep by slamming doors to rushing downstairs in the morning to a stale continental breakfast... or worse. If you're tired of hotel hassles, renting a vacation property might be the answer. It provides all the comforts of home along with great value, but renting a vacation property is different than reserving a hotel room.

I had a lot of questions about rentals, so last year I posed those questions to an industry insider and got some great answers. Now you can find out everything you've always wanted to know about vacation rentals, but were afraid to ask in a crash course I'm calling Vacation Rentals 101.

Vacation Ownership 101 explains yet another vacation alternative — timeshares and vacation clubs.

Related articles:

• My good friend, Theresa Johnston, About.com's Orlando Guide, details Orlando Vacation Homes as an alternative to Orlando area hotel lodging and as a vacation property owner.
• About.com's Theme Parks Guide and my friend, Arthur Levine, offers a detailed and very interesting review of Central Florida Mouse Houses (rental homes near Disney World).