Get a Great Deal on a Santa Fe Vacation Rental

The biggest tip for getting a great deal on your Santa Fe vacation rental is choosing when to visit the City Different. Which is not summer. Between families with school-age kids, back-to-back festivals on the Plaza, and the opera, Santa Fe is packed from June through August. Especially August!

The other high season is Christmas. Santa Fe is like a wonderland at Christmas with luminaries outlining every buildings, snow dusting adobe walls, and the scent of piñon wood filling the crisp mountain air. Vacation rentals go for a premium and often demand a two week minimum stay.

That doesn’t mean you can’t get a deal during those times, but you’ll need to be flexible on your dates, able to plan last minute, and willing to take what you can get.

Winter

A lot of people think since Santa Fe has a ski slope, winter must be high season. The opposite is actually true. The ski slope is a short drive out of town with no lodging, shops, or independent restaurants. So the slope caters more to locals than vacation skiers. This makes January through March the best time to get a great price on a vacation rental. If you’re a skier, all the better. Rather than pay high season rates at places like Breckenridge, come to Santa Fe and get the slopes plus all the fabulous shops and food at low season rates.

Not a skier and worried about the snowy weather?

Don’t be. Yes, it’s cold at night, and there’s a good bit of snow on the mountains, but downtown the streets are generally clear, and that strong New Mexico sun can make the days very pleasant. So come curl up before a kiva fireplace for a romantic winter getaway.

Now this is a fabulous time to visit Santa Fe. Fabulous! The weather is stunning and there’s plenty to do. Between the great outdoors, shopping, and site-seeing your days will be full and you won’t have to fight the crowds in the restaurants. In late September, early October, the mountain are a golden blaze of aspen trees. Spring is equally beautiful and an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. Like winter, you can frequently negotiate on vacation rental rates, just not quite as much.

As I mention in my hub, Skip the Hotel, Try a Santa Fe Vacation Rental, renting a casa or casita can save you money in a number of ways. Especially on your meals.

Start by reading my hub about the Neighborhoods in Downtown Santa Fe so you’ll know where you want to rent. After that, your best bet is to go through a property manager. Hands down, the best one in Santa Fe is Casas de Santa Fe. They actually have a waiting list of homeowners wanting to hire them, so they can be picky about which properties they represent. Their homes are well appointed and beautifully maintained. Your easiest and safest bet is to just go to their website and start searching.

A second option is to search sites where homeowners can place their own listing. A common misconception, however, is that you’ll get a better deal by negotiating directly with the homeowner. If you’re renting a place in Santa Fe, chances are you’ll be dealing with a property manager even if you found the listing on one of these sites. It’s still not a bad place to search for listings, since you aren’t limited to just one property management company.

Again, here’s where a good property manager comes in handy. They know which of their homeowners are most motivated to strike a deal. Keep in mind, though, that part of their job is to screen out tenants who might not treat the place with care. It’s a sad fact of life that really hard “Bargain Hunter” nearly always fall into that category. There’s a difference between wanting to negotiate a nice price, and wanting everything for nothing.

• Do let the manager know your price range, and see what they have to offer.
• Don’t be afraid to ask if the price is negotiable.
• Do be flexible with your schedule.

• The most surprising don’t? Don’t assume that bargains are only on the “dog” properties. In today’s economy, the opposite is often true. Smaller, less expensive places are renting like crazy, while the more luxurious homes in the pricier neighborhoods are struggling.

• The best do? Do invite family or friends to share the trip and split the cost of the rental. You’ll get a whole home for less than the cost of two or three nice hotel rooms downtown.

• My Insider’s Tip: The longer you stay, the better deal you’ll get. Especially if you’re staying as long as a month, because the property manager’s commission will go down. If you’re talking about a whole month in winter, many homeowners will be very motivated to negotiate.

...be sure to read my hub on How to Pack for your Santa Fe Vacation. Then have a great time in the City Different!