Vacation Rental Tips During Florida Hurricane Season

Sept. 20, 2008 - PRLog -- Florida is called America’s Vacation State for good reason. With the largest beach coast-line of any state in the US (1350 mi., almost twice that of California, at 850 mi.), theme-park town Orlando, party-town Miami, the beautiful Keys and the hundreds of Cruise ships that take off from its waters, Florida has everything a vacationer could want. Well, it has one more thing that vacationers may not necessarily want – Hurricanes!

As Kenny Doucette, founder of the leading Florida Vacation Rental website http://www.vacationrentalhotspots.com says, “Want a hurricane-free town in Florida? Sorry, there are none! The entire state is at risk but, in particular, the South - Florida Keys and Miami, and the Panhandle - Destin, Panama City Beach, and Pensacola are most affected”. But late summer and Fall are also one of the best times to visit Florida and rent vacation rentals. Why? The summer prices and the crowds are usually gone but the weather is still nice enough, of course, provided there are no hurricanes.

Kenny has some great tips for you as you embark on your dream vacation. First, before you make your reservation, check http://www.weather.gov, the national weather information site to see if there are any warnings for your vacation spot. You will be surprised how early they predict hurricanes and storms. Next, make sure that the vacation rental that you plan on getting has a ‘natural disaster policy’ that includes hurricanes and storms. Read this section carefully. Make sure that you are eligible for a full refund in case you cancel your reservation due to a storm or hurricane. Make sure that there is no fineprint that requires you to actually visit the rental in order to be eligible for the refund. Thirdly, during your vacation, watch out for the local weather and listen to any radio warnings or evacuation plans. If you must leave your vacation rental mid-way during your vacation, make sure you keep all receipts and proof of your partial stay to get any reimbursements that you might be eligible for.

These tips should hopefully help you enjoy a vacation at Florida this Fall despite hurricane warnings. As long as the holds up reasonably well, this could actually be a wonderful time to visit Florida for a bargain.