- I've learned to spot red flags while booking a lot of vacation rentals online during my travels.
- Diving deep into reviews provides the opportunity to learn from previous guests.
- I'm skeptical of listings with photos that use wide-angle lenses to make spaces look bigger.
I've been traveling full-time for the past two years.
In that time, I've stayed in more than 40 unique rental units for a total of more than 380 nights across 16 countries. (The other nights were spent on cruises, hotels, or at friends' houses.)
A never-ending vacation may sound relaxing but it means I'm always looking for my next accommodation and hoping it's good.
I've stayed in gorgeous farmhouse lofts, high-rise city apartments, and desert hideaways — but I've also booked a few duds along the way.
Here are five questions I use to spot red flags when booking lodging, no matter which website or app I use.
Do the photos reflect reality?
My wide-angle shot made this plunge pool look larger — and some listings use this same trick.
Tammy Barr
I love high-quality photos, but I try not to let them cloud my judgement. Great staging doesn't always equal a comfortable stay.
Plus, a good photographer can make a home seem more spacious than it really is, especially if they use the right lens.
When looking at listing photos, I analyze whether the furniture looks comically elongated, like a reflection from a funhouse mirror. It could be a sign the photo was taken with a wide-angle lens that's making the space look bigger.
I'm also apprehensive to book a place if I can't decipher its layout by looking at the photos.
How high is the overall rating?
I look for high ratings whether I'm staying in a farmhouse or a villa.
Tammy Barr
I use overall ratings to quickly weed out rentals. In my experience, staying somewhere with less than four-and-a-half stars can be risky — especially if I'm booking a month-long stay.
If enough guests are providing ratings less than five stars, there's likely something amiss. (Airbnb can even remove hosts who have an average of less than four-and-a-half stars.)
Reviews can also yield other red flags. I find crowdsourced feedback sheds light on important items like cleanliness, rental location, and outside noise.
It can also be risky to book a place that doesn't have any reviews yet. Instead, I save unreviewed listings I like and check them until others have stayed and left feedback.
If you want to book a place with no reviews, I recommend at least looking into the host. Do they have other properties with tons of positive reviews? That might be a good sign.
Are all the reviews old?
I think it can be a red flag if the only reviews up are more than two years old.
Tammy Barr
It can be difficult to trust the accuracy of a rental listing if the latest review is over two years old.
After all, I've read horror stories about trusting travelers staying in rentals that they didn't realize had been vacant and uncared for for months.
If a nice-looking rental only has old reviews I'll sometimes just save it and check on it until someone writes about a more recent stay.
How has the host responded to feedback?
I always check to see how hosts responded to previous feedback from guests.
Tammy Barr
There is no greater red flag than when a host berates a previous guest for leaving feedback.
How an owner responds to reviews is one of the most important items I look for. If they disrespect or talk down to guests I'm staying clear of their property.
Are the listed amenities available?
If there's a rooftop pool I want to know if I can use it during my stay.
R9_RoNaLdO/Getty Images
I use search filters to find lodging with my desired amenities, but before booking, I perform a keyword search of the reviews for those specific features.
For houses with a jacuzzi or pool, I look to see if recent guests have mentioned any issues with it. There's nothing worse than showing up to swim, only to find out the pool has been drained for repairs.
For Wi-Fi, I check to see if anyone has complained about unreliable service. Whatever experience others have had, I might expect the same issues during my stay.
Additionally, I share in my introduction message to the host that I'm looking forward to the specific amenity. That way, they know I'm serious about that item and expect it to be available and in working order.