A few months ago, some friends invited me to tag along with them on their trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They had rented a house in Hatteras and we all chipped in to rent this 3 story beach house with excellent views of both the sound and the ocean. Because of this, we all went to the beach for a week for super cheap. Though I have traveled extensively lately, I had never stayed in a beach house before. As I assume that many of you probably haven’t either, I thought I would share with you some of the pros and cons of renting a beach house.

I have stayed in tons of hotels and cruised several times but, as I said, I had never stayed in a beach house before. I have always traveled either in small groups or by myself to meet others on press trips. So, this was a different experience that I was looking forward to. After the week at the Outer Banks, some of the other house guests and I came up with this list of pros and cons of renting a beach house.

The Pros And Cons Of Renting A Beach House

Pros

1. You’ll Save Money – This might be the biggest draw to renting a beach house. Tons of people all in one place means tons of people to help pay. Like I said, we stayed in the Outer Banks for super cheap – like $100 and some bucks per person, if I remember correctly. That is one heck of a deal.

2. Lots Of Room To Spread Out – The beach house we stayed in was really big, 3 stories, and had several bed rooms. Thus, we were not all cramped together like sardines. I often was able to hang out on a deck by myself and work on the blog, read or whatever. There were even people in our party who enjoyed naps in the hammocks.

3. A Variety Of People To Hang Out With – If you are a person that doesn’t like to hang around with the same person for the entirety of a trip, then renting a beach house might be right for you. With so many people staying in one place {I think there were like 11 or 12 in our beach house}, you can hang out with a different person everyday if you like. That also ups the likelihood that you will be able to find someone who is interested in doing each activity you choose with you.

4. Everyone Can Pitch In On Food – Meal times can be really fun when everyone pitches in. One person can cook something on the grill, while someone else makes something in the slow cooker and so on. This cuts down on the workload for one person and also can save a lot of money on dining out while still allowing everyone to have a variety of nice meals.

5. Better Views – Since so many of us were sharing the financial load, we got to rent a super nice, 3 story beach house with excellent views of both the sound and the ocean. We had an elevator, pool table, pool, hot tub, hammocks, nice kitchen and tons of decks. Ah, if only I could live there.

6. Vacation With People You Don’t Often Get To See – I went with a couple of friends and their family. So, I got to meet all kinds of new, interesting people while on vacation. Of course, I was the only person not in the family, but I like meeting new people and they were all really nice, so I enjoyed it a lot! Plus, this would be a great way for families to have a reunion that don’t often get to see each other.

7. Ride Sharing – It can be really fun to ride with people. I often drive alone on trips, or with only Jay in the car, so it was fun to talk to new people on this trip. If everyone chips in, it also saves on gas which helps your pocketbook and the environment. It also helps to make the drive less boring.

8. There Is Always Someone To Help If You Need It – I like to collect sand from the different places I visit and, because of other commitments, I had run out of time to collect sand from Hatteras Beach. One of my travel mates went to the beach and got it for me. This is just one example of ways people can help each other and it was very cool of that person to do this for me. If you travel alone, you would definitely have to do this {and everything else} yourself. Also, if there is a medical emergency, with more people in your group, there is more likelihood that someone will be around to help if necessary.

Cons

1. Very Little Privacy – Even though the house may be spacious, it’s not likely that you will ever be really alone. If you are looking for a secluded getaway, or you are on the antisocial side, renting a beach house is probably not for you.

2. Early Bird Gets The Bedroom – In our particular arrangement, whoever got to the beach house first got to choose their room first. As not all rooms are created equal, someone is likely to feel short changed. If you are a person who is very choosy about where you stay, you might want to be very clear about that when traveling with others. But you may still have to compromise as others have a right to choose where they stay, too.

3. You Are At The Mercy Of Other People’s Viewing Habits – In our particular beach house, there was a common TV in the living room and a common TV in the game room. Generally the living room TV had children’s programming on and the game room TV had various football games on. If you are not interested in this type of programming, you could always watch TV in your room. However, one bedroom did not have a TV and there were only a certain amount of TVs that could be on at one time in the house because of the cable or satellite provider. Personally, I couldn’t care less about this type of stuff, as I only watched TV at night when I couldn’t sleep, but some people don’t play when it comes to TV.

4. There Can Be Personality Conflicts – If you like to go to bed early and those you travel with like to stay up late, the night owls can keep you up all night. Or if you are the one who likes to stay up, you may have to be quiet for the early birds and this may bother you. It’s important to travel with people who are either on similar inner clocks as you or with people who do not care about these types of things.

5. You Are Only As Clean As Your Sloppiest Guest – Let’s face it. People have different habits as far as housekeeping goes. If you are a person who is a neat freak, you might have a hard time in a beach house if one or more of the guests are slobs. Unless, of course, if you are Monica off “Friends” and LOVE to clean. And no, I don’t know anyone like that. Do you?

6. You Are At The Mercy Of The Slowest Guest When Leaving – I like to get places early – especially when it’s work related. Since I am a travel blogger, much of what I do on trips is work related. So, naturally, I don’t want to be late. Several of the people I traveled with were more laid back than myself so this caused me a bit of stress. So, if you are traveling with people who are not on the same time schedule as you are, I recommend not planning time sensitive events with them. That way, you will all have a much better time.

7. Ride Sharing – If you are the person who is responsible for driving other people places, you are most likely hosting people in your car. And some people may not treat your car the way you would. I find it helpful to establish some ground rules when hosting passengers in my car.

8. Responsibility For Others’ Bad Behavior – If your name is on the lease you could be help liable if someone else in your party damages the place or gets in trouble with the law. Because of this, it’s important to be careful about who you invite to be part of your group. You want to invite people who behave at least as well as you do and who take responsibility for their own actions should there be an accident {like damaged property}.

Are You Considering Renting A Beach House?

Or have you already rented a beach house? We would love to hear about your experience{s} in the comments below.