We rent houses all the time. Sometimes almost a year out, sometimes only a couple of weeks out. My experience has been that you can always find something nice, even last minute. However, in general, we’ve found that as you move closer to the date the quality of the rentals left to book decrease and the cost to rent increases. However, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes you can luck into really great last minute deals.
If you’re willing to pay a little more and can be flexible about where you stay, you shouldn’t have any issues. It’s only when you are looking for very specific attributes that it becomes difficult last minute to book something nice.
In my experience:
6 months to a year out:
- You are looking for huge savings. You want the nicest least expensive place available.
- You want certain extra amenities included.
- kayaks, boats, golf cart, bicycles, game consoles, game room, hot tub, computer and printer, etc.
- You will be amazed at some of the extras that come with some houses.
- I once came across one in the Orlando area that was on a lake, with a private sand beach, and use of two jet skis included.
- You have very specific rare attributes you are looking for in a house.
- A specific neighborhood or resort, a fenced yard (almost non existent in Orlando because they fence the pools instead), a very specific rare bed or bath configuration, etc.
- You have a specific rental house in mind.
- You have a pet and need a dog friendly rental, but are also looking for some of the other attributes listed above as well.
- You are booking over a holiday.
- Week of Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.
3 months out:
- You want a nice place at a good price and would like some extra amenities, but are not looking for specific ones.
At 3 months, there is still great availability for rentals overall, but you might have to compromise a bit if you have a number of specific extras or rare qualities you are looking for. You’ll probably find most of the attributes you want, but maybe not all of them.
The exception is pet friendly rentals do tend to be picked over. You can still find nice ones left. They just tend to be more expensive.
For instance, if I’m forced to book at 3 months with a pet, I can always find a place. I just end up paying a high price for it. The last 3 month out pet friendly house I got cost about $3000 for the week and wasn’t in the area I initially wanted to be in. If I’d booked 6 months to a year out, I could have gotten a place for half that or less. I usually end up seeing a number of nicer places with more amenities at half the cost that are no longer available when I book 3 months or under with a pet.
1 month to last minute:
- You want a nice place to stay but are open to anything.
- You aren’t really looking for something specific.
- You don’t care about added amenities.
- If the house comes with them, great. If not, it doesn’t matter.
- You’re willing to pay a little more if needed.
- You don’t care about the review count.
There is still plenty of availability left last minute, but usually the cheapest / best amenities / most reviewed places are gone. You have to be ok with staying in a less reviewed place or a new listing that has no reviews. The new listings with no reviews can be some of the best deals out there if you are willing to take a chance. They usually start them off way under the going rate to get people to try them out. If they go over well, the price is usually double or triple by the next year. We stayed in one 3 bedroom/ 2 bath condo at $60 a night. Last time I checked it, it was going for over $200 a night now that it has been established. The trick is to find someone with multiple properties and read the reviews on their other properties. If they are all good, you’re probably safe to try out the new place.
I just booked and stayed in a great 2 bedroom condo in Destin at only 2 weeks out. It was a little more than I originally wanted to pay, but not ridiculously so. Overall, it was actually a great deal. I had a very specific area I wanted to be in and a specific number of beds I needed, and I am also super picky about decor. I was able to find a place last minute that met all my requirements. You just have to have patience and be willing to really look. I started looking at about 3 weeks out, and it took me a few days to find the right place, but it was worth the search.