HomeAway.com is a vacation rentals website that features listings for homes for rent, cottages for rent, guesthouses, cabins and condos. The rental properties on HomeAway.com are listed by property managers and homeowners, who are responsible for their individual listings. Travelers can search the database to find a vacation rental that meets their needs.http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/homeaway-faqs/how-do-the-sites-work

The HomeAway.com website lets users search for a destination and directly contact rental property owners. After choosing a rental, the traveler can then pay the requested security deposit, which is usually between 10% and 50% down. The renter will then receive a rental agreement with details regarding a payment schedule, policies related to pets and information on how to cancel the agreement.http://www.homeaway.com/info/travelers

HomeAway.com offers travelers a "Carefree Rental Guarantee" where for a fee, the renter will be protected for up to $10,000 in the case that the property owner misrepresented the rental, double-booked the property, unfairly withholds a security deposit, or in case the home is foreclosed.http://guarantee.homeaway.com/

HomeAway, Inc was established in February of 2005 by Brian Sharples and Carl Shepherd. Sharples, who often rented properties with his family, was inspired to create HomeAway.com after discovering that traditional online travel agencies focus on hotels and did not specifically cater to those who were traveling with their families and information on private rental properties was few and far between. The website also provides an opportunity for homeowners to earn extra money by offering up their properties for rent.http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-12-03-recession-proof-companies_N.htm HomeAway now features nearly 200,000 rental properties in several countries. http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/homeaway-faqs/why-was-ha-founded The actual HomeAway.com website launched in June of 2006. The site incorporates listings from all over the world in cooperation with CyberRentals.com, A1Vacations.com, GreatRentals.com, TripHomes.com and international websites.http://www.homeaway.com/index.cfm/tgt/ha_newsroom_homeawayfaq

One of the features of HomeAway.com is the ability to read and leave your own reviews of a rental property. The property owners can then respond to the renter's feedback by leaving an "Owner's Response." Each listing has a 'reviews' section. When leaving a review, a renter can rate their overall experience with between one and five stars, five being the best experience.http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p206765#propertyReviews

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