This Expert-Approved Trick Can Help You Find Hidden Vacation Rentals and Save You Money

published Jun 29, 2021
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Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Travel is starting to pick up again, and so are competitive prices and availability of vacation rentals. If you don’t book way in advance, you might have slim pickings as to what is available in the destination that you’re looking to travel. But according to Megan Batoon, host of Netflix’s “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals,” you don’t have to settle. You just have to think outside the box — or in this case, perimeters.

When it comes to searching for vacation rentals, Batoon suggests expanding your physical horizons to find lesser seen and often more experiential accommodations. “[By] going outside and extending the perimeters location-wise of what you’re looking for, you’ll be able to find some gems that you wouldn’t have found if your radius was really dialed in,” Batoon told Apartment Therapy.

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

For example, say you’re searching for a cabin in a particular town or city. Batoon says that instead of being hyper-focused on how central it is location-wise, experiment with branching out a little further to see what vacation rental options pop up on your screen. By prioritizing the experience versus the location, you’ll most likely stumble across some real hidden gems that others missed because their searches were too strict.

Of course, it’s good to keep in mind that the further you are from the main city or town, the more you might have to figure out transportation. But through hosting the Netflix show, Batoon realized that the experience you share with travel companions is often more important than the location you choose.

“If you put the experience first, that you’ll find so many more places that you’d never dream of,” Batoon explained. “There are rentals all over the world that are affordable, but you wouldn’t see them if you were only searching the location on your bucket list.” 

So next time you look for a vacation rental, don’t restrict yourself to the city center. Expand your geographic search and see what you find — you might just have a trip to remember.