Some Vacation Rentals Benefit From High Gas Prices

My point exactly about the 'staycations'!  See an article published today about the vacation rental market in Ontario, Canada.

Rising gas prices heighten interest in Ontario cottage rentals

Many Ontario families may remember the summer of 2008 as the time their vacation habits changed.

With overseas travel and long distance car trips sidelined by soaring gas prices and airline fuel surcharges, some families have opted to economize their holiday budget by traveling shorter distances from home and staying at one destination in Ontario instead of driving cross-country or heading south to the States.

Evidence of this trend is showing up strongly in Muskoka, historically one of Ontario's most popular vacation areas, where bookings for rentals started arriving at local cottage rental companies in December and just kept coming.

Sheila Givens, owner of Cottages on the Web in Huntsville, says her business is up about 20 percent over last year and shows no sign of slowing down.

"The cottage rental business is definitely better this year," says Givens, who has seen the demand for private cottage rentals grow since buying the online business in 1997. "We've had a lot of people calling to come up here, and calling earlier than in previous years. One benefit of renting a cottage has always been variety - you are not stuck with one cottage, lake or town every year. Your vacation is part travel and part cottaging because you can explore a new area. But this year, renting a cottage in Muskoka or in other parts of the province means you can be at the lake in a few hours and use less than a tank of gas to get there."

Givens notes cottage rentals also keep family vacation expenses low because renters can choose to stay near towns and attractions, meaning fuel consumption is kept to a minimum.

Ralf
www.liverez.com