Travel recommendation and advise from my 20+ years traveling around the world.
Although most vacation rentals apparently go as planned, many travelers are worried about risks. Basically, you have two choices:
While you get a better price the savings is not really worth it because, since your deal is with the property owner only, you would have little recourse if the rental turns out to be disappointing.
You’ll enjoy the greatest confidence by renting through a “curated” online agency that handles only rentals its representatives have actually visited and verified, but you’ll pay more. My favorite for travel in Italy is Sleep In Italy
No travel is without risk of some kind—to save the most money, stay home. Don’t obsess about waiting for the very best possible deal—and possibly missing out—as long as you can lock in a really good deal and start enjoying your trip.
