Top 6 Tips on How to Book a Panama City Beach Condo
Trying to find the perfect Panama City Beach Condo can be difficult – It’s like a jungle out there!
First of all, knowing where to start looking, and then understanding EXACTLY how much it’s going to cost you can be difficult.
We realize how overwhelming it can be, so we put together this short guide on how to book your Panama City Beach Condo…
1. Look Out For Hidden Fees
Ask about unexpected hidden fees
While this isn’t necessarily true of all Panama City Beach Condos, it’s important to be aware that a typical criticism is that they come with unexpected hidden fees and charges when you arrive (i.e. too late!) You should always check fine print, or even better, pick up the phone and speak with someone – explicitly ask about any fees you should expect. Late check-in fees? Booking Fee? Convenience charge? Late Check-Out fee? Housekeeping Charge? Etc. This leads nicely into the next point…
2. Expect Great Customer Service
Customer Service is a great way to gauge a Condo
The quality of the customer service you get is a great way to gauge the quality of your vacation. This is often your first point of contact with a condo, and you’ll want to speak with somebody friendly, polite, and knowledgeable about Panama City Beach.
If you start off with poor customer service, it’s probably a good indication that your condo won’t be much better. It will probably be pretty clear if you’re speaking with someone in a call center who’s never even been to Panama City Beach… If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck…
3. Say Goodbye to the Middle-Man
Middle Man = Higher Costs
We can’t think of any situation where a middle-man is a good thing – especially when you’re renting a condo. All they do is add an extra layer of cost, that gets passed on to you by the condo owner. There’s very little chance they are as knowledgeable about the condo itself, or Panama City Beach as the owners themselves would be.
Worse yet, they are probably responsible for renting units is lots of different condos all along Panama City Beach, and they will try to rent you anything so long as they fill their sales quota, and you rent through them.
4. Daily Housekeeping
Expect more from your Panama City Beach Condo
It’s very uncommon for any Panama City Beach Condo rental to include daily housekeeping. The general rule is, if you make a mess, it’s up to you to clean it up… Which isn’t really unfair, but when you’re on vacation, and you have a handful of kids running around – the last thing you want to do with your valuable vacation time is clean and tidy…
So finding a Condo that offers daily housekeeping included in the price of the rental has to be a good thing, right?
5. 24/7 Guest Services and Maintenance?
Better safe than sorry…
We’re knocking on wood – but hopefully nothing goes wrong during your vacation. It’s probably never going to happen… BUT – If you’re unlucky enough to be the exception to the rule, it’s nice to have the peace of mind that everything will be taken care of, and your vacation isn’t ruined.
Typically, condos in Panama City Beach are only staffed during office hours – so if anything goes wrong after 5pm you’re on your own 🙁 There are some condos out there with 24/7 Guest Service AND Maintenance just in case you need it…
6. Entertainment & Amenities?
More Condos in Panama City Beach should have FUN things to do!
Condos are fantastic because they offer you privacy, peace and quiet, private bedrooms, and many are well equipped. However, you came to Panama City Beach for a vacation, NOT a second home. So shouldn’t there be some fun stuff to do? Like indoor and outdoor pools? Lazy River Ride? Mini Golf? Waterslides? Family activities and games like beachside bingo, craft hour, scavenger hunts, and water balloon toss?
Most Panama City Beach Condos don’t seem to think so – you pay for your unit, and that’s exactly what you get…
We think vacations are supposed to be more fun than that – and our Panama City Beach Condos come with ALMOST all of the above – The exception is, we cut out the hidden fees, and the middle-man. That’s not what a Panama City Beach vacation is all about!
