In early February HomeAway, one of the leading marketing firms of vacation rentals, kicked off a large advertising campaign promoting vacation rentals versus hotels.  It started with the first vacation rental Super Bowl ad, which sparked further mentions of it throughout the internet.

The first quarter of 2010 was up 7% in reservations from the first quarter of 2009.  There number of future bookings is also well up from 2009.  The two states experiencing the greatest growth are Hawaii and Colorado.  The two states that experienced the least amount of growth were Arizona and Massachusetts.

While the vacation rental industry did see an improvement, the hotel industry did not see as much of an improvement.  Although these are just statistics from the first quarter, the vacation rental industry is looking stable for 2010.

Most hotel rooms are exactly what the name implies, just one room with a bath. Most luxury condos offer two to three bedrooms with a full kitchen and baths. This can be an important feature for anyone wanting moments of privacy, be it a party of adults, parents with young children, or teens. The space that you find in a condo versus a hotel room is especially comforting. Most condos also come with a full size washer and dryer, which saves vacationers the hefty expense hotels charge for laundry.

A fully stocked kitchen is no comparison to the mini fridge that normally comes with a hotel room. All full size major appliances are provided, along with smaller ones such as coffee makers, blenders and toasters. Once you purchase the groceries for your vacation, you have the option of eating in instead of paying to dine out for every meal and snack. This will save a ton of money over the duration of your vacation. It also provides your party with an extreme convenience.

In the instance where you run short on clothing, you won’t have to purchase additional pieces when you stay at condos. If you packed too little, or if you accidentally stained your outfit, you can have them laundered in the convenience of your condo. No outrageous fees to send out your clothing through hotel services.

Staying at a vacation condo rental offers you the same hotel conveniences as you are typically located within the resort areas. Each property location typically has its own pool, some include a fitness center and barbecue pavilion.

Next time when you vacation please consider staying at a luxury condominium rather than a hotel.

The Waikoloa Beach Resort is the largest resort and offers a wide variety of vacation rentals.  The most luxurious complex is Kolea, which offers two and three bedroom vacation rentals.  These vacation rentals are located on the beach, A’Bay.  The Kolea Beach Club is located just steps from the beach and accessible by all of the villas at Kolea.  Halii Kai is the newest addition and offers the best views in the resort.  The Halii Kai Ocean Club is located on a bluff and features a multi layer resort style pool as well as a restaurant.

The Mauna Lani Resort has always been known as the most luxurious resort and is beginning to expand to offer more amenities.  The Mauna Lani Terrace has always been the cornerstone of the Mauna Lani Resort.  These vacation rentals are located on the beach.  The three rentals that Waikoloa Vacation Rentals manages are fully upgraded and offer amazing views.

With the economy struggling and tourism down, you can enjoy amazing rates on vacation rentals at these locations.  Enjoy up to 50% off of some of the rentals!

Kolea offers two and three bedroom villas ranging from mountain to beachfront views.  All of the villas have essentially the same finishes with just a difference in size and views.  The smaller two bedroom villas at the back are roughly 1300 square feet while the beachfront three bedroom penthouses are close to 2000 square feet.

Kolea 8C is the most popular three bedroom beachfront penthouse.  With wall mounted LCDs throughout and a gourmet kitchen you are sure to enjoy yourself inside.  As you step out on the spacious lanai with expansive ocean, beach, and mountain views you will not be dissatisfied with your choice to stay at Kolea 8C.

For the first few months they will will focusing on Hawaii vacation rentals and Florida vacation rentals.  With the owners of the site currently owning a vacation rental in both Hawaii and Florida, they know those two markets really well.

Over the course of the last two years with tourism down, vacation rental rates have dropped almost 20% at Wailea condos and Oahu condos.  Due to this hotels, along with other vacation rentals, have become more competitive driving down rates and making the vacationer the only winner of the situation.

1)  Staying in Vacation Rentals- More and more people are staying in vacation rentals.  This trend has increased almost 20% over the course of the last two years.  Also due to the real estate market struggling renters are able to get better rates.

2)  Group Travel- By staying in vacation rentals, it allows multiple families to travel together and stay in the same accommodation.  This cuts back on having to reserve multiple hotel rooms.

3)  “Closer to Home Vacations”-  In 2008 a lot of people stayed close to home for vacations.  This cut back on airline costs, rental car costs, and also it allowed for a shorter vacation.  In 2009 we have started to see this trend diminish.  Due to what happened in 2008, airlines are offering great rates to get people traveling again.

In the real estate market, we have obviously seen a drop in sales.  One thing that has increased is interest in timeshares along with multiple ownership properties.  The trend regarding timeshares could be due to the economy and vacationers getting something for free if they attend.  That is not certain though.

We rented a condo through Waikoloa Vacation Rentals.  They were very helpful and gave us a great rate.  We had done our looking around prior to them and noticed that the Waikoloa Beach Resort has numerous condo complexes.  With the economy down the rates were competitive.  We decided to stay at Kolea at Waikoloa Beach.  We chose this complex because it is the only complex in the Waikoloa Beach Resort with direct beach access.  The interiors also seem to be more spacious and luxurious than the other complexes in the Waikoloa Beach Resort.

If you ever decide to go to Hawaii I would recommend contacting Waikoloa Vacation Rental Management to help you set up your vacation.