Dos Casas

FloridaRentals.com is an advertising site rather than a rental agency, and that distinction works in your favor. Owners and property managers pay to list their homes, you reach out through the listing, and you book and pay the owner directly. The site takes no commission and adds no booking fee, so what you negotiate with the owner is what you pay.

The Keys coverage runs the length of the island chain. Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada at the top, Marathon and Key Colony Beach in the middle, then the Lower Keys string of Big Pine, Little Torch, Ramrod, Summerland, Cudjoe and Sugarloaf, and Key West at the end of the road. Marathon and Islamorada carry the deepest selection, and Key West listings are broken out by neighborhood so you can search Old Town specifically.

Because you are dealing with the owner rather than an agency, terms vary from one property to the next. Ask about the minimum stay, the cleaning fee, the cancellation policy and the rental licence before you send a deposit, and get the agreement in writing. Owners who answer those questions quickly and completely are usually the ones who run a tidy house.

It suits travelers who would rather email a person than click through a checkout, and anyone hunting for a place in a specific Keys neighborhood where the big booking sites thin out.