It just got easier to plan a summer getaway to Florida.Allegiant Airlines recently announced the return of fifteen nonstop flights to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, in Florida’s Emerald Coast, as part of seasonal summer service. Travelers will be able to visit the popular vacation destination from Des Moines, Knoxville, Tulsa, and other cities the airline confirmed toTravel + Leisure. “We are excited to bring back these seasonal routes for passengers to enjoy some of our network’s most popular destinations just in time for summer vacations,” Allegiant’s Chief Revenue Officer Drew Wells said in a statement to T+L.
How to avoid vacation rental scams this summer
06.05.2024 - 14:15 / thepointsguy.com
As Irina Strembitsky and her mom planned a winter getaway last fall, they never imagined they'd become victims of a vacation rental scam. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened, and Strembitsky says it ruined their much-anticipated trip.
Using Airbnb, the two booked a cute condo in a full-service oceanfront building in Boynton Beach, Florida. However, on the day they showed up with suitcases in hand, ready to settle in, the owner texted them with bad news: The property was unavailable. The previous guests were refusing to leave. But no worries, he told them, he had a similar vacation rental for them.
Given no other options, the mother-daughter pair followed him there.
The replacement vacation rental turned out to be neither nearby nor similar. Strembitsky says the second property was a tiny, unkempt stand-alone house with no pool, no gym and no beach. Worse, it was 12 miles from their desired location where their friends were staying. As a result, the short, warm-weather respite was wrecked by what Strembitsky believes was a vacation rental scam from the start.
Unfortunately, Strembitsky's experience is not an isolated incident.
Vacation rental scams are on the rise, and if you're not careful, you could easily fall prey to one, too. The array of schemes you might encounter during your property hunt is vast.
Here's how to recognize red flags and avoid the most common vacation rental scams on your next trip.
All major vacation rental listing sites have systems in place to protect their users from scams.
If you're using Vrbo, you'll have the Book with Confidence Guarantee. Airbnb offers its guests AirCover. Both of these promises protect guests who book and pay for their vacation rental through the respective listing platform, but these safety nets will only protect you if you stay within the confines of the platform from start to finish.
If the guest agrees to book outside of these platforms, the guest may be exposed to unexpected calamities, such as:
A hallmark red flag of a vacation rental scam is a host who attempts to lure you off that protected platform with the promise of a discount or deal.
Airbnb and Vrbo hosts are not permitted to ask potential customers to circumvent the system and contact them off-site. If a host asks you to book the vacation rental directly, you are likely headed into a danger zone.
At the very least, you're dealing with a person willing to break the rules of the listing site — rules they agreed to. And more often than not, there is a scammer on the other end of this type of request, and one who doesn't even have a property to rent to you. Their only goal is to grab your cash and disappear.
If you allow a "host" to lure you away from the vacation rental listing site to
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