Thursday, December 30, 2010

Common Mistakes Vacation Renters Make Shopping For Homes In Vegas

We frequently post stories in our Blog about how some companies in Las Vegas present themselves fraudulently and even advertise homes they don't have. The funny part is, every time we do it, the companies adjust their websites and advertising so it isn't obvious we're talking about them. In one such case, the company touting all the bogus awards removed all traces from their website as soon  as they saw the post. Hilarious!

The truth is that good reputations are hard won and not easy to come by. It has taken Las Vegas Retreats years of hard work to get where we are and earn our excellent reputation. Still it's easy for the creeps to lie and pretend to be something they are not. They steal our content, our ideas, and try to look as good as Las Vegas Retreats. But of course, they fail every time. Miserably.

In the last seven years since we opened Las Vegas Retreats, we have seen no less than 8 major competitors come and go. Every time they tout their experience and honestly, while at the same time advertising their P.O. Box as their office or suite, operating without so much as a business license, and ruining the industry for the honest companies.

But the thing we worry about the most is the customers. The people who are coming to Las Vegas from all over the world, have spent weeks in planning, bought airline tickets and reserved rental cars, only to find out when they get here that their vacation rental choice was a really bad one. Maybe the home is foreclosed, occupied by someone else, had "recent water damage" so they got a substitute home that was nothing like what they reserved.

This ridiculousness happens every day in Vegas. All because someone didn't check the company they rented from. Nobody thinks it will happen to them. Everyone imagines that all will be well. But vacation homes are not hotels and vacation rental websites are easy to build. It is possible to create an entire website that looks real by stealing content from other websites. Even the homes!


So be careful! Take a few minutes when you're shopping around. Look beyond just the price! Ask who these people are? Are they licensed? What is their BBB rating? Where is their office? These simple questions can save a mountain of grief.

As always, we welcome your comments. Happy travels!

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