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We did the same with a vacation rental in Hawaii this year. The properties in the neighborhood are owned by individual investors as vacation rentals, but they ultimately contract with a handful of full-service vacation rental agencies. Seeking out the agencies’ websites was worth a 25% discount over renting the same property on AirBnB.

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Exact same setup here though I realize I didn't quite state it directly, the cottages are owned by individuals but all rented out through the agencies.

We got a much steeper discount, I'm assuming because we were solidly in shoulder season (a couple weeks after kids return to school in North Carolina, and during hurricane season), which the vacation rental company accounts for in their seasonal pricing, but VRBO didn't seem to. At this beach in particular, it is a summer vacation for families and you get a steep drop in prices if you don't have to schedule around school holidays, but VRBO didn't price that in in the same way that the local companies do.

Yes, for those without children to schedule around, vacationing just before or after other people’s children’s school vacations is the primary trick.

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