The Insider Guide to Prime Season Key West Vacation Home Booking

The keys to scoring the best Last Key vacation home fit for your prime season stay are: educate yourself on our policies ahead of time, let us help you find a match, and be prepared to secure your rental. For those prime season Key West vacationers who brave the vacation rental market each year, this is your insider’s guide, created for you by our Director of Marketing & Reservations, so that once next year’s dates become available for rental you are ready to pounce on that vacation home you’ve been crushing on.

**Insider Tip** Understanding Right of First Refusal

In order to properly prepare for prime season rentals, it is best to start with the pre-booking policy of Right of First Refusal. We offer the Right of First Refusal to our prime season monthly guests (Jan-April months in relevant homes.) “Right of First Refusal” simply means we try to give current guests the first crack at renting the same home for the same dates the following year before it is made available to the public. Our timeline for this shifts each year, but typically seasonal guests are contacted the December prior to their stays to exercise their bookings for the following season. As an example, in December 2018, guests for season 2019 will be contacted regarding Jan-Apr 2020.

What this means for prime season vacation home shoppers is the day following the right of first refusal deadline is the best opportunity to jump on a reservation for the home you have your sights on. Mark your calendar for the right of first refusal deadline and call our office on that day.

Let Us Help You Find a Match

Our goal is to host you as our guest in the home that fits your needs. Help us do this by thoroughly communicating what you do and do not like about various homes we discuss in the booking process. New homes join our inventory all year long, so the more we know about you and your search, the better. Just in case the home you’ve been eyeing is unavailable, it’s always a good idea to have other homes in mind. Rank your top choices (1-4) and communicate why you do or do not like options we share, and we can best match you with the right home for your dates.

Tour The Home In Person

Although our homes are very true to the photos here on our website, we appreciate that many guests prefer to personally view a home prior to confirming a rental. We are available to walk you through any of our rental homes free of charge, as long as the home is not occupied by guests at that time.

Not able to come tour a home for yourself? We encourage vacation home “shoppers” to take a look at the reviews past guests have entered on our website, on HomeAway/VRBO/AIRBNB listings, and on Google.

Be Prepared to Secure Your Rental

Provide our team with as many details as you can about your needs so that we can best consult on the homes in our inventory that may match your search. On the day that homes become available for rental, be prepared to secure yours by knowing what you need – we require a signed contract and a 50% deposit in order to confirm your reservation. Be ready to sign and put down your deposit to lock in your dates as quickly as possible.

There you have it, the recipe for how to get the vacation home you want! The prime season months always book up the fastest (a year or so in advance) so do not hesitate to make your plans early. Remember we’re always here to help you plan your next Key West adventure – contact us at rentals@lastkeyrealty.com or call our Office at (305) 292-6266 to speak with a reservationist directly.

Merry Keysmas

Feeling lost about how to best spend your holiday? ‘Tis the season to celebrate all of the traditional joys associated with this time of year, with no snow shoveling involved! Key West is the perfect location to celebrate the season with family and friends for a holiday everyone will remember.

Escape from the cold and experience the holiday season a little differently here in Key West.

This Year Shovel Sunshine, Not Snow!

The winter chill might be on around the world, but here in sunny Key West you can expect temperatures in the high 70s or low 80s. Sometimes cold fronts bring a frost to the mainland of Florida, but here in Key West we stay frost-free! Rain is uncommon this time of year too so you can expect sunny skies and warm enjoyable temperatures.

Imagine enjoying a bike ride through Old Town to view the creative talent of Key West locals as they decorate with lights on everything from their homes, to fences, to boats… Palm trees make great Christmas trees too. Santa can even be found snoozing in a hammock or on a front porch.

Worried about stressful travel to Key West? Well don’t be, because getting to Key West has never been easier… United Airlines is now offering direct flights to Key West from Chicago and Newark throughout the Holiday Season.

Christmas in Paradise!

Give the ultimate gift of a last-minute Key West vacation to your spouse or family this year! We are currently offering a SUPER special of up to 60% off remaining rentals for Christmas, and we’ve extended this deal for January rentals as well. To make the deal even sweeter, our Concierge Team is offering Christmas Tree delivery and set-up, as well as all of the usual services (bike rentals, dinner reservations, fishing trips, etc).

Don’t hassle with traveling with gifts, just ship them to our office and we’ll deliver them right under your tree!

Enjoy More Churches and Bars

You are probably not surprised to hear that Key West offers more churches and bars per capita than anywhere else in the USA. For those looking for worship, you can attend a service at any of the many churches and synagogues. For those seeking happy hour and perhaps more, enjoy an eggnog martini or your preferred beverage at your favorite Key West watering hole. FYI Virgilos is open again!

Events = Lighted Everything!

December in Key West means the festive season is in full swing. The island buzzes with magical events for all to enjoy… and lots of lights!

Take a lighted trolley to view all the wonderful lights around Old Town.

Enjoy the annual lighted boat parade.

Take a tour of the Historic Inns of Key West.

Ring in the New Year… Key West style!

Spend your last nights of 2017 sipping on bubbly in Paradise! Key West is the best place to celebrate New Year’s Eve – watching the famous drag queen Sushi drop from a shoe at 801 Bourbon or the famous Conch Shell drop at Sloppy Joes bar. Duval street is closed to cars for the big party. The best part – sipping champagne in 75 degree weather. We’re also providing special welcome and celebratory gifts to guests staying with us for New Years.

Consider spending this holiday season with us in Key West and make a special holiday memory or plan a surprise trip for your spouse or family as a Christmas gift. Give us a call at 305-292-6266 or browse our available homes for last minute availability.

November 2017 Review/Photo of the Month

It’s time to announce our November 2017 Review/Photo of the Month winner! Each month we choose a recent guest who has submitted a great review and special photo enjoying their vacation home to win a $100 cash card.

Our winning submission for November 2017 is the Beech Family, recent guests of our at :: THE MELLOW MACAW :: who submitted a stellar 5-star review for their stay, and submitted some fun photos of themselves enjoying their time in paradise. Thanks for sharing!

Read the winning review submission.
The whole crew having dinner out together!
Enjoying the beautiful fall weather and good times on the water…
The Beech Family experienced the Super Boat Races during their stay.

Future guests are encouraged to submit your 5-star review and guest story photo to be automatically entered into our monthly contest. The more memorable and fun the review/photo, the better your chances of being selected!

October 2017 Review/Photo of the Month

We are excited to be back delivering our guests a truly memorable vacation experience in Key West. Our winning Review/Photo submission for this month was from one of our first Post-Hurricane Irma guests, and we are so happy that they were able to enjoy Key West to the fullest.

Our October 2017 cash card winner is The Julien Family, who stayed with us at :: CASA VICTORIA :: and submitted an awesome 5-star review for their stay, as well as some fun photos of themselves enjoying the home and their time in Key West.

Julien Family 5-Star Review.
Guests enjoying their time at Casa Victoria.
The whole gang at the Southernmost Point.
Enjoying some fun on Duval Street.
These guests celebrated a birthday while in residence.

We are beyond thrilled to be back doing what we love – providing our guests an unrivaled Key West vacation experience. Seeing these amazing moments reminds us how lucky we are to be doing what we do and to live in such a magical place.

Future guests are encouraged to submit a review for their stay and to share your photos/videos of your group enjoying your Key West experience with Last Key. All entries are automatically entered into our monthly contest, for a chance to win a $100 cash card. See you in Paradise! 🌴

Adventures In Key West Real Estate

I think I’ll start by introducing myself… My name is Krystal Thomas, I am a REALTOR® and work for Last Key Realty, Inc. as an agent helping to make peoples’ dreams come true one closing at a time (corny but true!  Who doesn’t dream of buying a home in Key West?!).  In my spare time I’m a writer, avid reader, lover of the sunshine, good vibration seeker, newly inducted Rotarian and an avid fan of my husky and sidekick Skyy.

skyygoggles

I became a real estate agent in 2013 and let me tell you, the struggle has been reeeeeeal.  The amount of offers I put in for clients vs. the number of homes sold is astounding.  The first year I sold one house.  The second year I sold one house.  This year, year 3, as of today I’ve sold 5 and have 3 under contract.

It’s been a long rough road to get to where I am today both professionally and personally.  I’ve learned so much along the way and there is still so much more to go!  With each transaction and experience there are lessons upon lessons to be learned and I’m more excited than ever to share these experiences with you.

There are A LOT of really cool things cooking right now!  Aside from it being Fantasy Fest week in Key West, just today this happened:

  •  Got an accepted offer for my buyers for a mid town home in Key West, FL.
  •  Spoke with a prospect who will be in town next weekend and wants to  look at properties while he is here.  BINGO, set up showings for next  Friday… check!
  •  Approved the HUD to close on my first investment property on Friday.  My first house flip.  The FIRST FLIPAROOSKI!

I’ve realized that through all of my journeys, both personally and professionally in Key West, I am neither the first nor last to do or learn any of this.  But what I want to share with you is what I am learning along the way as an experienced/constantly learning agent, a first time home buyer, project manager, etc. etc.

I’m looking forward to sharing my adventures in living, buying, selling, managing and investing in Key West with you so stay tuned.

If you like what you read here, and would like my help as you enter your own Key West home purchase journey, please shoot me a message at krystal@lastkeyrealty.com or 305-394-4073 and we can set up time to talk.