Arizona Vacation Home Rentals Blog

An Owling We Will Go… If you appreciate owls Arizona should be on your list of places to visit. Our state has 13 different species: Great Horned, Barn, Western Screech, Burrowing, Long and Short Eared, Saw-whet, Whiskered Screech, Ferruginous Pygmy, Northern Pygmy, Flammulated, Elf and Mexican Spotted Owls. A few of these owls migrate south during the winter but the majority live here year-round. Most Arizona owls are creatures of...

    Service animals are dogs that are trained to perform specific tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of these tasks include assisting individuals who are visually or hearing impaired, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving items and alerting the individual to safety hazards. Only dogs are considered service animals; other species do not qualify. Providing emotional support, well-being or companionship are not approved tasks under the legal definition of service animal....

  Welcome to the vast and beautiful Sonoran Desert, home to over 60 different mammal species. One mammal you may see (and smell) should you visit our desert is the javelina (pronounced have-uh-LEEN-uh) which is the common name for the collared peccary.       Javalina Facts Javelinas are pig-like animals in appearance but are a different species than pigs or wild boars. They have large heads, long snouts, small...

Planning a trip? Willing to gamble and forego the cost of travel insurance? Let me share some true horror stories, disguised to protect the victims who now, I’m willing to bet, never travel without it.   Convincing Tales Scary Story # 1: A USA couple are on a cruise ship off the coast of the Falkland Islands when she develops symptoms of an intestinal obstruction. The ship docks; a ferry...

It goes without saying that we want you to be happy with your vacation rental home. Arizona Vacation Home Rentals’ website and the other sites that market our homes feature photos, descriptions, amenities, location, reviews and details. Our goal is to be explicit as well as crystal clear: we want you to have all the facts you need to make an informed decision when choosing the property that’s best for...

Behind the Scenes A friend who has a rental home along the coast tells the following true story… Her home had a $500 security deposit collected with reservation fees. A guest swiped two pillow shams from a queen bed in the home and then contacted the owner when the return of her security deposit was denied. The owner first asked why she had taken the shams to which the guest...

  Connecting the Stars The Internet has transformed many industries including, of course, the travel industry. A consequence of the Internet’s revolution is that online travel companies depend on guest feedback to determine their ratings. Although these ratings are not standardized, most are done in the form of stars, diamonds or rosettes. Even before the Internet was widely available and customer feedback was solicited and public, hotels were rated in...

Some of us spent our earliest years watching Saturday morning cartoons with their host of irresistible animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. One of my family’s favorites was Road Runner with the zany but somewhat lovable Wile E. Coyote and the marathon racing Road Runner. For those of you who missed these legendary characters, the weekly plot consisted of predictable chase antics in which the unwavering...

By providing links to other sites, AVHR does not guarantee, approve, or endorse information or products available on these sites.   You may be surprised to know that for those who seek creative stimulation, the greater Phoenix area offers some very fine art. Yes, we are a desert, but we are alive with color and culture and we offer a myriad of opportunities to nurture your own creative genius.  ...

Black-tailed Jackrabbit   Jackrabbits are Not Rabbits That flash of tall, black or white tipped ears you see racing and leaping in the desert may be called a jackrabbit but it’s not a rabbit, it’s a hare. Hares and rabbits are different: hares are usually bigger than rabbits; they have longer hind legs and ears; they prefer living in open areas; and their young are born covered in fur with...