As a regular user of PickPackGo, I thought I’d share some of my tips about how to use our site to book a vacation rental. With so many features, we make finding, comparing and booking a vacation rental easier than any other site. Join me as I find our next family vacation rental home.

Our plan is to head to the Orlando Disney area to enjoy some springtime fun with our little one. In addition to our destination, the most important piece of information I enter into my search on PickPackGo is my travel dates. When I enter “Disney” and Travel Starts date “March 10″ and Travel End date “March 17,” I see 718 results. Lots of options, but fewer than the 1,427 that would have appeared if I hadn’t put in my travel dates and only entered “Disney.”

With travel date information, our search engine immediately sorts out all of the homes that are already booked for those dates. We do this because nothing is more frustrating than searching and finding the perfect place only to discover it’s already been booked. With my dates entered, the service only displays homes available for my travel dates.

I have 718 choices, so I want to refine my search a bit further. There are several cities in and around Disney, including Kissimmee, Davenport, Haines City, Clermont and Orlando. Kissimmee is right next door to Disney World, so I think I’ll check out the homes there. By using the “Refine Search” feature at the right hand side of the screen, I can narrow down to just homes in Kissimmee. I’ve still got 283 great choices.

Since I’m going to be traveling with my family and some friends, we’ll need at least 3 bedrooms to accommodate all the adults and kids. I continue to refine my search and now I’m down to 107 homes.

Like all families, we’re on a budget, so I want to see what I can find for around $800 for the week. With fees and taxes, it will be a bit more, but we’ll still be within our budget for the trip. Even with my very specific search, I’m lucky enough to have 39 different Disney Orlando vacation rental homes to consider.

If I had even more specific criteria, I could continue to refine my search based on the number of bathrooms a home has, as well as specific amenities like a pool, hot tub, and internet access.

Using the detailed property listings, I can see a lot of great photos, read a full description, check out the homes’ locations on Google Maps, as well as see the full rates and fees. Then I can save my favorites.

Without even inquiring to a property manager, I’ve easily managed to find the perfect home for my next family trip and I can book it now. I just enter my credit card information…and I get a confirmation from PickPackGo and I’m done.

Now I can cross at least one thing off my “to do” list this holiday season—and at the same time beat the January 2 vacation booking rush.

We’re here to help, so don’t hesitate to contact us about booking your next trip!