If you are tied of having to choose from standard hotel chains on your vacations, or just want to try something different, vacation rentals can be a good option for those willing to make their own beds and cook their own food while on vacation. Of course, there are some downsides to consider as well.

Depending on where you stay, vacation rentals can actually be more expensive then some hotels and do not include cleaning service. The location may not be ideal, because in many cases hotels are right on the beach while vacation homes are slightly inland. And if you don't like what you see on arrival, there is no quick fix for the situation. However, doing ample research in advance is the best way to avoid these problems. You should be choosy and book your rental with a reputable site that offers a substantial inventory. Reading guest reviews is also very helpful.

Now vacation home rentals have been officially revamped. Now vacation home owners can list their vacation home rentals under 83 sites of the RMVH network setup. RMVH stands for Rent My Vacation Home. Viewers can see all listings of all vacation home rentals all at once as soon as they have been listed.
This network exists in every state in USA and the sites are state specific. To search for vacation home rentals in a particular state, one just has to type RMVH, the name of the state and .com. this is a good way to ride the wave in the current state of the economy. Since most people cannot sell their homes, vacation home rentals seems a good idea. According to the Wall Street Journal, "US home prices fell again to a new recession low; this is what the latest S&P/Case-Shiller price index says."
These websites have 70,000 customers and 5,000 hits.

Travel site TripAdvisor has named Kihei and Lahaina, Maui, to its Top Vacation Rental Hot Spot list for 2011. This list is based on search data and input from site editors. Travelers can save big on vacation rentals over other types of accommodation.

Kihei and Lahaina were both in the top 10, along with Kissimmee and Destin, FL, Big Bear Lake and Palm Springs, CA, Gatlinburg, TN, Outer Banks, NC, Hilton Head, SC, and Cape Cod, Mass. In compiling the list, site editors look at the number of vacation rentals listed in each location as well as the potential savings a family could realize on a weeklong trip. Despite President Obama's preference for vacation rentals in Kailua, Oahu, it did not make the top 10 in TripAdvisor's list as it only has 94 vacation rentals.