Vacation rentals

If you are looking for something in Tuscany take a look at http://www.tuscanyrentdirect.com/ - same kind of thing as VRBO - you rent directly from the owner, but they are based in Chianti and focus on the Tuscan market.

We own property that we rent through VRBO. Ask lots of questions and look to see if any reviews are posted on the VRBO site. Also check out their calendar.

We are renting from an owner on VRBO in Florence next year and they have reviews on their site and have been very quick to respond to all of my questions--a very good sign.

Kim

I rented from Jean-Pierre Barasz (VRBO) in (Paris) Montmartre last spring. He has two studio apartments. He couldn't have been nicer or more professional. His English is excellent and the rate on the apartment was very reasonable. It seems that each owner-landlord sets up his own business. I signed a contract and got lots of printed material regarding use of the apartment and my responsibilities, including how to handle garbage. He even lent me his laptop computer to use. I had the use of a phone that allowed free calls to anywhere. I would expect similar professionalism on VRBO; I think if they got complaints, VRBO would kick owners off the site.

We have rented twice in Italy and in the United States. So far, all my dealings with owners have been great and the properties have met or exceeded our expectations.

We rented an apartment in Florence for 5 nights this past July using VRBO. They were very quick in answering our questions and we had an excellent experience. We love renting apartments vs. staying in hotels!

Thanks for the input. I will feel more confident renting this way.

Seems vrbo gets very good review. We rented an apartment in Forence and one in Venice. Had no problems.

We've used them for Hawaii, Paris and Prague with great success. They work so well for a family or longer stays. My friend used them for Paris but didn't do his homework so it was a nice place but not central enough.