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Check out a vacation villa or rental condo, and see how much money you can save. Here are tips on how to rent a villa, where to go, and what to think about before booking.

Twenty percent of online travel shoppers booked a vacation rental in the past year. That's the percentage Endless Vacation Rentals calculated in a winter 2008 survey with PhoCusWright they did about travel trends. Sure, in hard times planning a vacation doesn't sound like a good idea. Still, going on a vacation doesn't have to cost you a lot of money. If you want a smart money-saver, investing in a vacation villa is better than staying at a hotel, especially if you compare beach vacation rentals to oceanfront resorts.

Villa, condo, casita, beach house, timeshare rental, vacation rental, they go by many names, but they all mean a space to rent for your family. What better way to enhance your vacation than by having a place of your own to enjoy it in? Fellow travelers seem to enjoy it: "89% of vacation rental guests indicated that they will rent again within three years" said PhoCusWright. And according to Homeaway Inc, by choosing a vacation rental instead of hotel, travelers can spend an average of 50% less per square foot on their accommodations.

So You Want to Rent a Vacation Villa?

According to the YPartnership / Yankelovich, Inc. 2009 Leisure Travel Monitor which studied the recent increase in family reunions, 2.45 million family reunion travelers who took an overnight trip of at least 75 miles from home in 2008 indicated that they had stayed in a vacation rental they rented or owned during the past year.

The Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA), whose professional members represent approximately 150,000 vacation rentals in the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico, has also seen an increase in reunion-goers who book stays at their properties. The VRMA has created a website, www.DiscoverVacationHomes.com to make it easier for travelers to find and book them.

If you never thought about renting a villa for a reunion, or really aren't sure how, it's not as hard as you might think. With the help of Mike Thiel of Hideaways International, here are some tips on how to rent a villa that will fit the needs of you and your family

The first thing you want to think about is where you want to go? Of course this will tie into how much money you have to spend. Research is your friend. Places with a tropical climate probably will be more expensive than others. For example, at www.wimco.com, a spacious ocean side, four-bedroom villa at St. Barts could cost as much as $40,000 a week.

Switching Continents Might Be the Answer

Decide if you want to stay local or go international. If you decide to go international, check out Hideaways International for their great travel deals (their villa offerings are pictured here). They list weekly deals at various locations in Thailand, South Africa, and France.  Get out our dictionary and check out some of Homeaway Inc's foreign vacation rental websites, such as Holiday-Rentals.co.uk and Ownersdirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; FeWo-direkt.de in Germany, and Abritel.fr in France.

Or, if you know what you're looking for, search the internet for a specific type of rental. For example, you can rent a cottage in the British Countryside with the Royal Oak Foundation, the American affiliate of the National Trust of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Become a member at their site and get to stay at an authentic British cottage, many of which, according to their spokesperson, "had previous lives as former sporting grandstands, water towers, and lighthouse cottages." The price can begin anywhere from $352 for one week during their low season.

Many of the international sites mentioned above will list beach vacation rentals on beautiful tropical islands.

Another perk of foreign travel is that international trips can also be very educational for you and your children, as you experience the culture around you.