Many of us look forward to going on vacation and planning it so that it is an enjoyable and memorable experience. However, sometimes the planning part of booking a vacation home rental can bring headache, especially when you have to deal with travel agents who are inexperienced or don't seem to care about their customers...

Before I ever knew about using the internet to book a vacation home rental, I used a travel agent to assist me with my vacation accommodations. Most of my experiences were good, but there were a few incidences that made me want to pull out my hair! Here is just a sampling of the "adventures" I have experienced while dealing with a travel agent:

* Being booked for the wrong dates. Imagine the horror of arriving somewhere only to find out there are still people staying in the home you thought you rented for that day!
* Not getting the accommodations I specifically requested. One time I was traveling with friends and asked for a two-bedroom condo, but ended up with a one bedroom condo. I was the one who ended up sleeping on the couch! Not too bad, but a bed would have been better!

It was only a couple years ago that I started using the internet to book vacation home rentals. Well, thank goodness for the internet! Little did I know how quickly and easily I could book accommodations - and to think that I was paying a travel agent $100-$200 in commissions to do what I could do in less than 30 minutes! Ever since I started using the internet to book a vacation home rental, I've always received the accommodations I asked for - no mistakes on my part and no more worrying about whether or not a travel agent booked the correct dates!

Learn more about this author, Maria Palma.
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