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Paris pass rentals can be tricky to navigate, but the payoff is huge. Whether you are on a budget traveler who can't afford the double-whammy cost of hotels and restaurants, or a luxury traveler who wants seclusion and over-the-top grandeur, you’ll get more space and privacy for your money by booking a rental property.

Convenience is probably the biggest advantage of a Paris pass rental, you can come and go as you please and do what you like, when you like. An apartment rental is one of the most comfortable lodging options that can be availed for enjoying your vacation.

Besides more space and privacy, pass rentals offer you a wide range of amenities without attacking your wallet. It’s you and your family enjoying a Paris pied-a-terre, your favorite snack from the refrigerator when you want it. You can impress family and friends with your culinary talent when restaurants and dining out becomes mundane, not to mention less nutritious and way more costly!

Fatal Mistake #1 Reserving last minute
Paris is the #1 visited destination in the world. It is innocuous to adopt that premium pass apartments are booked months and sometimes even a year in advance during peak season. The saying, “The primeval bird gets the worm” is especially applicable here.

The longer you postpone your pass rental booking, the tighter the selection and higher the risk of losing prime pass rental apartments since there are a limited number of top notch pass apartments in select Paris neighborhoods.

The highly coveted 2 bed/2 bath or 3 bedroom/ 2 bath in St. Germain des Pres or Le Marais are booked way in advance especially during peak season June, Easter, September, October, Christmas and New Ys week. It not uncommon to book, a year or six months in advance to secure these favorable dates. Actually it is strongly recommended to book as far in ahead as possible.

Those who start their quest two to three months prior to their arrival are considered last minute bookings which are traditionally difficult and it is extraordinarily time consuming to find a suitable pass apartment. Do not depend on cancellations and postponements which are rare since owners do not look kindly at refunding deposits or rental monies applied. The only way to insure the pass rental apartment of your dreams is to book far advance.

Fatal Mistake #2 Know your deal breakers
One of the saint ways to ensure that you select the Paris pass rental that is saint for you is by analyzing and vocalizing your pass apartment wants and needs. A clear cut intent about the type of pass apartment, amenities, and any special stipulation is crucial to securing the correct pass apartment for your lifestyle.

You will want to closely analyze your pass style, videlicet who you are traveling with or what the purpose of your pass is. Who you are traveling with will most likely play a large role in choosing a Paris pass rental. The size of your traveling celebration will not only determine how huge of a rental you need, it might also have an impact on the type of rental apartment you choose.

For instance, families on vacations together might be superior suited in a townhouse or a private house, instead of a pass apartment. What you want to get out of your pass is another one of the many factors that you will want to take into consideration.

For instance, if you are booking a romantic getaway or a honeymoon, you might want to select a pass apartment with a romantic ambiance. Appearances have been known to create romance. You can easily tell if a Paris pass rental is elegant and luxurious in nature by closely analyzing pictures.

What you will need to do, while staying in a pass rental, is also important to consider. For instance, if you are taking an extended vacation, you might need to do laundry or you might wish to take in your Paris pass apartment, to reduce expenses. Since you are on pass and should enjoy yourself, you will want to take the simplest approach possible.

For example, if you need to do laundry, make sure that your pass rental comes equipped with a washer and dryer. To reduce the amount of time spent cleaning up, think about pass rentals featuring a dishwasher.

While it is important that you focus on your pass rental needs, it is also key that you spotlight items on your wish list. For instance, do you want to have a Paris pass rental that features a swimming pool in the apartment (yes, they do exist), a sauna, telegram television, or world wide web access?

If so, it is important that you request these desires and refrain from securing your reservation until you have weighed your deal breakers.

It is also important that you analyze your wants in terms of location. Would you like to roll out of bed and be sandwiched by numerous bistros and cafes or would you like a quiet residential street,

In keeping with location, it is also important to analyze what you want to do, while on your Paris vacation. This can help you select the Paris pass rental that is most convenient. For instance, if you are planning on travel everywhere than you want to be in an arrondissement that is close to all the attractions that interest you.

On the other hand, if you know that you will be utilizing the metro, map out the metro stops of the places that you want a visit and reserve an apartment that has a metro line with simple access to those locations.

If you are sensitive to noise, ask about the surrounding buildings. Is the pass apartment next door or on top of bustling bar or restaurant? Is there a lot of street traffic on your block? This is the saint

Unfortunately pass apartment features that you deem essential might be irrelevant to the apartment, do not adopt anything. Paris has a different standard of luxury, a different attitude towards life and most importantly a completely different culture.

Parisians do not even think about air conditioning. Most Americans can't live without air conditioning.

Do you have allergies? If so, think twice about booking an apartment centuries old. Are you willing and healthy to trek up stairs or is an elevator essential? Are you claustrophobic than maybe a typical Parisian elevator is not for you.

The traditional elevators take a bit of getting use it is important to know this beforehand. Do not anticipate your booking agent or apartment owner to share these minute apartment details. It is your obligation to be an educated consumer and make sure that the pass rental will suit your lifestyle.

Should the bedrooms be located on opposite sides of the apartment or next to apiece other? Do you need airfield transfers? Is a stocked refrigerator essential? How often do you want maid service?

When you rent a pass apartment, you are on your own. Is your French strong enough to secure restaurant reservations and book day trips? Do you want to spend a couple of hours figuring out where the nearest market and metro is or would you like a bit of hand holding?

A professional concierge willing to offer his Parisian expertise might be saint for you. It does not injured to inquire with your bureau or apartment owners. Not all agencies offer these additional services but it does not injured to ask prior to booking your apartment. You maybe healthy to find an all in one bureau that will cater to all your needs.

Fatal Mistake #3 Email is good but speaking to a human is better
First-time visitors have tiny intent of the scale of the Paris area and the quest for a pass apartment can be more than a tiny daunting. It is prefabricated even more confusing by the vast choice of pass rentals acquirable and the demand of clear details on the location and apartment.

We know that this has resulted in some guests turning this into a job instead of an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the city and pick the brains of the agencies and owners. Look for agents and owners that will gladly answer all of your questions. Let them know that you have visited Paris since 1982 and pick their brains or what to anticipate in the different neighborhoods.

The pictures on the web sites usually present the pass apartment very well but how current are the photos? Many of the pass rentals will have heavy wear since they are professional pass apartments welcoming guests on a non-stop basis. While speaking with the owner or bureau does not guarantee quality, yet it does give you the opportunity to ask if the pictures on the site truly represent the condition of the pass rental today.

I know there are many guests who never talk to anyone and solely rely on email correspondence when booking their pass rental. Successful pass apartment hunting has one primary tool, the telephone. When you are investing in an experience such as renting a pass apartment, it is recommended to start your dialogue with an email but make an attempt to get to know the apartment owner or bureau that you are dealing with.

You can email agents and apartment owners, but you can not easily determine whether you like the mortal you aredealing with via typed messages. Gauge the responses of the agent or apartment owner, and trust your gut. If you feel like you are being pressured, you are. And if you don’t like the mortal you’re speaking to, chances are you’re not going to like the pass apartments he/she represent. Trust your intuition.

If you don’t get a good feeling, chances are the entire process will be thorny. If the customer service via phone and email is lacking, do you really think it is going to get exceedingly superior when you arrive in Paris? Is it superior to have a solid mid-range pass apartment with an attentive and thorough agent or apartment owner or a mythologic pass apartment with an apartment owner or agent with an attitude? Only you can make that call, but know beforehand, how you are willing to play.

It’s strongly recommended to build a friendly rapport with your bureau or apartment owner. You might need last minute assistance or a special favor and it’s always easier to deal with someone that you like and likes you.

Cheap travel means you get to go more often, go on longer trips or just save some of your money for other things. Fortunately, it doesn’t mean low-quality travel. If you find a way to get a cheaper plane ticket, for example, you might be flying on the same plane as with the more costly tickets.

Of course sometimes you can save money by traveling differently, and that’s okay too. Why pay an extra $40 for a hotel if you like the intent of staying in a hostel with visitors from around the world? Why rent a automobile in countries where good bus and train systems make for cheaper and more interesting trips?

Essentially you can travel cheap in two ways. First, you can find cheaper ways to get the same thing. The other, perhaps more powerful way, is to modify your expectations and plans to create a more interesting trip that is also inexpensive. The tips that follow will help you do both.

1. See if you can book two flights cheaper than one.

My wife and I are thinking about going to Ecuador this year (2007). Checking for our approximate dates, I found that it would cost $950 apiece round trip from Colorado Springs, or $1,900 total. Then I checked from Colorado Springs to Miami. It would be $215 round trip. From Miami to Guayaquil, Ecuador costs $350 round trip. That makes it just $565 to Ecuador, or $1,130 total – a savings of $770.

Of course, if you are going to do this, you have to find flights that have enough time in-between them. You probably won’t get e refund if you miss the second flight because of a delay on the first. In our case, we have friends near Miami, so we’ll just hold the flights to be a day or two apart, and go visiting. Even after the cost of renting a automobile for a couple days we’ll still be hundreds of dollars ahead.

2. Live in a new place for a while.

One way to make a pass less rushed, cheaper, and in many ways more interesting, is to stop going from hotel to hotel. Why not stay in a place, and even rent a condo or apartment? We did this a few years back in Tucson, Arizona. It was nice to escape winter for a couple months, and it was fun to explore and get to know a new city. Often you can save hundreds of dollars this way, versus paying by the night for hotel rooms.

3. Be an opportunistic traveler.

This is the most valuable of these cheap travel tips. There are so many things to do out there and so many places to see, so why get stuck on just the ones you have already thought of? With a tiny luck, you might find a more interesting place to go for half the price. With tiny shopping, you might find a bed and breakfast in whatever country you visit, and pay less for a more interesting experience.

First look for all the doable alternatives that are less expensive. This isn’t about doing something you don’t want to do. But among those cheaper choices there might be a perfect trip for you. Why not find out? To begin with, do any of your friends live in interesting places? Visiting friends is a great way to save on travel costs and have a load of fun (with the right friends).

Here’s a good example of being an opportunist. We were in the mountain resort town of Banos, Ecuador, and asked about the cost of taxi ride to some waterfall. It was $15. It was apparently a favourite attraction with tourists. We kept that in mind as we wandered around. Then we saw a chiva (an open-sided bus with seating on the roof) go by playing music. We asked about that.

The chiva took us on a tour of the city (I rode on the roof), then up into the mountains for a view of the city from above. Then we watched the volcano Tungurahua erupt and spit out a bit of lava. They served us hot rum drinks (included in the price), and there were fire-juggling entertainers. Passengers had to near the chiva to get it started for the trip back to town. The cost of all this? $3 each. Cheap travel does not mean uninteresting travel.