Lately, whenever I travel, I try to choose house that is available to rent rather than a hotel. Hotels are fine, but I’ve heard the horror stories about dirty hotel sheets and rude staff. When staying in a rented house for a vacation, I know the space is going to be feel more homey. It is a space in which actual people live for most of the year. It’s convenient to have a full kitchen at my disposal, and the privacy of a house is far superior to a hotel in my opinion. The drawback, however, is that unlike hotels, which are strictly regulated and have employees available for assistance, someone’s house has more risks. A recurring problem I’ve dealt with has been inaccurate property descriptions. I don’t want to stay someplace which lacks a decent furnace or air conditioner. I make sure that the listing includes a modern heating and cooling system. But homeowners are not always honest. For a trip last Summer, I wanted to rent a house near the ocean, and chose what I thought would be the perfect spot. There was air conditioning, a modern-looking kitchen, and a laundry room for our use. That’s how the house was featured. I booked our stay. We showed up, and got the key from the owner. I performed a quick, initial inspection only to realize that there was no A/C installed. I managed to catch the owner before he left. He pretended he didn’t know what I was talking about. I contacted the rental agency and explained the falsely described property and the lack of air conditioning. It took a few hours, but eventually my family was switched to a new rental nearby. It wasn’t as close to the ocean, but we had an air conditioner.