Your “Budget”

I find it surprising for a number of reasons. First of all, our villas are surprisingly economical. Compared to hotel accommodations, and other types of vacation rentals and short-term rentals throughout the United States, and in particular Florida, they represent an outstanding value. Yes, I know there are lots of

How TV Streaming Works and Solving Streaming Problems

How TV Streaming Works and Solving Streaming Problems

About TV Streaming Like everything in the digital age, TV Streaming is more complex than old-style cable TV (which was complicated enough!). To assist you, here is a guide to how the systems work, and what may be necessary to do if things aren’t working right. For a general guide

Part 3: A Breezy Oak Villas Vacation Home May NOT be for You IF…

Part 3: A Breezy Oak Villas Vacation Home May NOT be for You IF…

Part 3 – You’re too rigid to relax! • You expect to be out in the country, with no one around you for at least a few miles. That is not what or where our properties are. They’re in a subdivision of 240 homes. All the services you need are

Feeding a family at the theme parks on a budget

Feeding a family at the theme parks on a budget

In another post, I explained that the greatest way to save money on a Florida Disney Vacation was to keep food costs down. Here’s how we did it when our kids were young and money was tight! The money you save on food alone can be enough to cover the

Part 2: A Breezy Oak Villas Vacation Home May NOT be for You IF…

Part 2: A Breezy Oak Villas Vacation Home May NOT be for You IF…

Part 2 – You don’t want to play along! • You refuse to read any pre-arrival information, or explanations about the TV or alarm systems, or anything else. Some guests just hate to read, and they don’t… which is perfectly fine, as long as they don’t stay with us. We

Why Rental Rates are so Cheap in Orlando, and why YOU should care

Why Rental Rates are so Cheap in Orlando, and why YOU should care

This is Part II of a two-part series. Part I discusses Setting a Budget for an Orlando Vacation Rental. Here in Part II we discuss Orlando’s cheap rental rates, how they affect your budget, and why you should care. A great friend of mine in the Orlando Vacation Rental business

Part 1: A Breezy Oak Villas Vacation Home May NOT be for You IF…

Part 1: A Breezy Oak Villas Vacation Home May NOT be for You IF…

Part 1 – We can’t meet your standards! • You’re looking for absolute top-end luxury. In truth, there are far nicer (and much more expensive) vacation homes to stay in nearby. Our homes are targeted at those who want a better than average experience at a price that keeps them

Why you might want to revise your “budget”

Why you might want to revise your “budget”

Every once in a while, I will get a guest reply back to me in response to a quote that I have provided, saying that our rates are more than their budget. This always leaves me wondering… “How did you set your budget?” This is Part I of a two-part

The Biggest Cause of Guest Disappointment

The Biggest Cause of Guest Disappointment

Want to know what the Biggest Contributor to guest disappointment when they arrive at a villa is? It will sound really obvious when I explain it, but it is practically guaranteed that most guests will never think of this. It’s just not on their mind at the start of their vacation!

Navigating the kitchen

Navigating the kitchen

Our kitchen is a good size, and reasonably stocked (especially for vacation rental standards) so you may not find pots, pans and utensils in the places where you expect them, only because the layout is different from what you are used to. Don’t panic. Everything has been laid out and

Fiddling with Electronics

Fiddling with Electronics

Just like with things in the kitchen, expect things to not work the same way, or be in the same place, that you have them at home. This may be true of simple things, like the thermostat, or complex things like the TV and WiFi systems. You may need to

Trash

Trash

You are responsible for the day-to-day care of the home, and this includes putting the trash out for pick up on Monday evenings. There may be trash in the container from a previous guest or the cleaners, just as you are likely to leave some when you depart. Don’t worry

Cleaning the BBQ

Cleaning the BBQ

If you have rented the BBQ, please keep the following in mind. If you use a BBQ at home, then hopefully you know that the best time (and the time most likely for it to actually happen) to clean a BBQ is right before you use it, not after. The

Supplies: “What NO toilet paper?”

Supplies: “What NO toilet paper?”

For TEN extra bonus points: This is one of the most common sources of unmet expectations for guests. In the Orlando area, vacation rental guests are expected to purchase supplies for their day-to-day needs along with their groceries. This is a big part of what self-catering means. Unlike a hotel,

Dishes and Utensils

Dishes and Utensils

Do you know how most vacation rentals ensure their dishes get regularly cleaned? They don’t provide enough of them! They force the guests to do dishes after every meal or else there will be nothing available for them to use next time. We take a different approach. Our kitchens are

Care in the Kitchen

Care in the Kitchen

Some things you just assume everyone would understand about cooking, but experience has shown that isn’t the case. These are a few of our expectations! Please NEVER use metal utensils in teflon cookware, EVER. NEVER cut in a Teflon pan! We supply plastic and silicon cooking utensils for use in

Self-Catering

Self-Catering

Like almost all vacation rental homes, our home is ‘self-catering’. This means that you must take care of your own day-to-day needs while staying at the home, as staff are not available to cater to your needs. This means specifically that you are responsible for providing your own food, along

Villa Cleaning

Villa Cleaning

The villa should be suitably clean and ready for your arrival. If not, please let me know immediately so that I can get it tended to, but please also keep in mind that our cleaners have only three to four hours in between guests to get the house ready. That

It’s a vacation villa, not your home!

It’s a vacation villa, not your home!

After distorted expectations, or forgetting that the villa won’t look just like it did in its online pictures, here’s the next most common mistake a few odd guests make. They forget where they are! A vacation rental villa is not their home. Nor is it the equivalent of it. It

Expectations are everything

Expectations are everything

Have you ever seen a movie after just about everyone you know has repeatedly told you how great it is? And it turns out to not be so great? And have you ever seen a different movie where people told you it wasn’t very good, but you enjoyed it much

People tend to find what they look for!

People tend to find what they look for!

When it comes to how you’re feeling when you arrive at the villa, this next point is very important! When you arrive at your villa, hoping and expecting everything to be just perfect… if you find something wrong… even if you just think you’ve found something wrong… you’ll tend to

A Vacation Rental is still a House!

A Vacation Rental is still a House!

When staying in a vacation rental, remember that you’re renting someone’s home. It’s not a hotel. Nor a commercial building. It doesn’t have cleaning and maintenance going on every month, every week, every day, around the clock. It is someone’s home that comes with all of the quirks and challenges

Every guest should be able to leave a 5-Star review

Every guest should be able to leave a 5-Star review

Every guest should be able to leave a 5-Star review. Here’s why: A 5-Star review for a vacation rental property is not an indication of the quality of the property. It has nothing to do with 4-Star or 5-Star Hotel System you may have heard of. Rather, it is an

Must I clean when I leave?

Must I clean when I leave?

It has become fashionable in recent years to complain about having to ‘clean up’ when leaving a vacation rental. The typical comment is “I’ve paid a cleaning fee as part of my rental, why do I have to clean the place before I leave?” First of all, you don’t. But you

Museums & Learning Centers

Museums & Learning Centers

1) Orlando Museum of Art 2) Kenndy Space Center 3) Madame Tussauds 4) The Orlando Science Center 5) Ripley’s Believe it Or Not! 6) Wonder Works 7) Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

Animal Encounters

Animal Encounters

Opportunities abound for Animal Encounters in Orlando! Whether at a theme park, zoo, or simply out and exploring, you’re sure to find and discover many amazing animals! 1) Dining at Animal Kingdom Lodge 2) Sea Life Orlando 3) Manatees 4) Gatorland 5) Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens 6) Driving

Outdoor Activities

Outdoor Activities

Outdoor activities abound in Orlando, FL. From recreational, to athletic, to relaxing, to exploring, there’s something for everyone in Central Florida! 1) The Winter Park Boat Tour 2) Lake Nona Sculpture Garden 3) Lorna Done Park 4) Miniature Golf 5) Orlando Tree Trek Adventure 6) Leu Gardens 7) Swan Boats

Water Parks

If you’re a Water Park fan (and who isn’t?) Orlando has a number of the greatest water parks in the world for you to enjoy. Check out any of the following for a great activity on a hot day! 1) Blizzard Beach 2) Typhoon Lagoon 3) Volcano Bay 4) Aquatica

Entertainment Districts

Entertainment Districts

If you want an interesting or fun place to explore, Orlando has plenty. Check out the following Entertainment Districts for lot of Dining, Shopping and Entertainment possibilities! 1) Disney Springs 2) Disney’s Boardwalk 3) Old Town 4) Pointe Orlando 5) International Drive 6) Universal CityWalk 7) Celebration, Florida 8) Winter

Comprehensive Guide to What to See and Do in Orlando, Florida

Comprehensive Guide to What to See and Do in Orlando, Florida

Let’s face it… There’s so much to see and do in Orlando, you just may be gripped by FOMO when deciding what to do. That’s the Fear Of Missing Out for those not in the know. Well, to ensure that you don’t miss out on anything, we present the Breezy