Arizona Vacation Home Rentals Blog

Our guests’ safety and security is our number one priority. We also want our owners to feel comfortable with how we safeguard their investments and protect guests. While most short term renters treat our homes as they do their own, there is the occasional guest who violates our NO party, event or large group policy. A party can be devastating: neighbors are annoyed, the police are called and HOAs impose...

  Yes, we have bobcats in the greater Phoenix area. In fact, bobcats are common throughout Arizona and found in all contiguous states in the USA with possibly one or two exceptions.  In Arizona, and specifically the Sonoran Desert, they especially thrive in forested mountains, rocky canyons and dense brush areas. Sometimes referred to as wildcats, the development and occupation of their natural habitat has forced bobcats to adapt to...

Across the United States, local and state governments are exploring ways to micromanage the short term rental (STR) industry. The controls they seek come in the form of additional fees and taxes for STR properties, limiting the number of STRs in a given area or banning STRs altogether. Home Owner Associations (HOA) are also expressing their opinion of STRs by including covenants that prohibit STRs and harassing guests who stay...

A recent and popular trend with business travelers as well as families on the go is to stay in a vacation rental home instead of a hotel. If you haven’t explored renting a home in place of reserving a hotel room, keep reading…   Four Advantages to Vacation Rental Homes   1. Space and Well-being It’s about space (lots more) and convenience: You can spread out and make yourself at...

AVHR Winter Newsletter 2021 Second edition Welcome! This quarterly newsletter will give you the scoop on Arizona Vacation Home Rental’s newest homes and winter activities in the greater Phoenix area. In addition, look for the following: guest discounts weather overview travel tips what you need to know about pool heating links to help you find more information We encourage you to browse and find what you need to customize and plan the perfect...

The smallest bird you’ll observe zipping around or hovering within gardens and parks in the Sonoran Desert is the hummingbird. Southeastern Arizona hosts more than a dozen species of hummers as year round residents, seasonal visitors or accidental tourists during migration. Their wing speed of 80 beats or more per second is remarkable which, along with their flapping tail feathers, accounts for the buzzing noise you may hear as they flit...

Diamond Spirit Ranch celebrates the life of Diamond, a gentle, courageous and much loved horse. Of the many animals in the animal kingdom, few compare to the horse with its strength, grace and nobility. Horses often symbolize freedom, invite wild imaginations and manifest power of mind and spirit. Yet when we gaze across a pasture and watch horses grazing peacefully, our heart rate slows as we crave that sense of...

  Do not dismiss the desert as dusty and barren. The Sonoran Desert is lush with bold and barbed cacti, colorful and fiercely armed to protect the species as well as the water they hold in reserve. While there are many cacti to celebrate, this blog will identify and highlight the features of some of the more common cacti found in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Favorite destinations to see a variety of cacti are...

The greater Phoenix area which includes the East Valley is the shangri la for golfers with public and private courses at every turn. We’re also a paradise for the avid or casual hiker, biker* and horseback rider with miles and miles of trails extending in every direction.   The Biodiversity of the Desert You might envision only flat terrain because our home is a desert. The Sonoran Desert, however, is...

  My golfing experience is limited to miniature golf, called putt-putt by some. Yup, that’s it! You might think I shouldn’t write this blog but I’m writing it anyway because, despite my lack of golfing experience, here’s what I do know: Mesa is the shangri-la for golfers! With our almost perfect weather, blue skies and mountain vistas, Mesa ranks at the top of premiere golfing destinations in the Southwest.  ...