Trouble Reaching Condo owners:
We often receive inquiries from Renters seeking our help in contacting owners. We have heard reports from people indicating that owners aren't responding to their repeated phone calls or email messages. The most common reason is that the owner's themselves are on vacation! Dealing with condo owners will not always be as easy as contacting a rental firm; generally their staff is smaller. On the other hand, condo owners rent 10%-30% off the market rate, as a rule.

We can assist you in attempting to contact a specific condo owner. However, chances are if their email and phone numbers are correct, our results will be the same as yours. Sometimes condo owners just don't use due diligence returning every call they receive. With this in mind, we feel the best strategy is to skip over condo owners who are not prompt in responding and deal with rentals looked after by folks who are considerate enough to answer your questions quickly. You'll probably have a better vacation if you do.

Deposits and Due Dates:
The biggest cause of renter dissatisfaction and condo owner complaints involves reservation deposits. Owners say that renters fail to send in their second deposits in a timely manner, so they lose a rental and are forced to retain the monies. Renters say they sent in a large sum of cash to hold a stay only to find that it was refunded and their reservation canceled.

It is our belief that all these deposit-type disagreements can be avoided if Rental Agreements are written clearly, with defined dates and instructions AND renters are diligent in adhering to the schedules. If such agreements, which are in actuality simple contracts, spell out all the details and contingencies, there will be little room for misunderstanding when conditions are not followed.

Refunds Due to Weather:
General speaking there are no refunds for inclement weather. Weather is one of those things that you take your chances on. The only possible exception is if the resort is put under a mandatory evacuation order. Experience has shown most owners will refund for those days, however, you should check your rental contract to be sure that exception is in the contract.

My Web Page and the Owners are Different:
We sometimes run into a situation where a renter and a condo owner are both on the web, looking at the same property's webpage and seeing two different sets of data at the same time. The reason is the browser cache. In the interest of increased surfing speeds, browsers have a default setting that saves previously viewed pages to the hard drive. Increased speed, then, can lead to outdated data. This affects Myrtle Beach Resort Showcase primarily when an owner does updates, e.g., newly booked dates or rate changes. Changes made by the owner are posted immediately. The viewer looks at the web page only to find it unchanged. It's been changed at the host server, but remains unchanged on your hard drive. By hitting the reload or refresh button on your browser, the updated page will be instantly downloaded. The same situation could arise with a renter viewing a page that they've bookmarked, which is subsequently updated by the owner. Different info can be showing to two people at the same time. The answer to this problem? Again, simply click the reload/refresh button.

How Do I Know the Rentals are Legitimate?
Truthfully, there is no guarantee. Just as anyone can take out an ad in a magazine or newspaper and advertise a fictitious property, the same can occur on the Internet. We do not personally check out ownership of the properties prior to their advertising on the Myrtle Beach Resort Showcase Website. While the Resort is a large vacation resort, the owners watch over the property closely, and to date we have not had a single instance of overt fraud.

One more caveat: if a rental rate seems too good to be true, be prepared! In general, market forces are at work in the vacation rental world, as in any other competitive arena. A markedly below average rate can correlate to below average quality. This is not to say there is anything wrong with less expensive properties; many represent great value, and boast long lists of returning guests. It is simply that some renters have higher expectations than they should. Beware of hidden charges that are not readily apparent with low rates.