With the economy still struggling, travel enthusiasts are searching for the most affordable way to travel while still enjoying all the perks of an opulent styled vacation.

Vacation home rental/home exchange companies such as Itrip.com, empathize with their clients needs, and the idea of D.I.Y. vacationing. But-there is a common misconception where price is concerned with vacation rental homes.

In the past, connoisseurs of the travel industry used travel agencies and hotel accommodations for planning the perfect vacation. This method is no longer efficient- the reason for this is cost and deliberate deception.

Travel agencies have often been criticized for using a practice known as “racking.” Racking is the practice of only displaying brochures of those travel companies whose holidays they wish to sell, the ones that pay them the most commission. The customer is lead to believe that these are the only holidays on offer and are unaware of any possible alternatives.

Hotel Accommodations

The state of Florida is commonly referred to as the tourist capital of the world, with Orlando being the top attraction. So, let’s say your vacation destination of choice is Orlando. In order to validate my point, I have called several of the most popular hotels to stay at in Orlando. Keep in mind, the rates are based on making reservations a month in advance for a “nicer” room.

Here are the results:

The average cost per night to stay in a one room hotel in Orlando is $200 a night. Now, imagine you have your family, friends, or some other reason you may require two rooms. You would be paying out $400 a night for a room(s) that is roughly 350 sq. ft.- and that doesn’t include dining expenses, which as we all know can be costly in and of itself.

On the other hand, in using a home exchange market such as Itrip.com, you can secure a gorgeous 3 bedroom, 2 bath, executive condo with 2100 sq. ft. on Lake Cay, and in close proximity to Disney World, Universal studios, the Orlando Convention Center, shopping centers, and 5 star restaurants, all for only $139.oo a night.

There shouldn’t be any misconceptions now. 2100 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen, dining and living room, and many other amenities vs. one room with either a king size bed or two queens and about 350 sq. ft. for an average of $200 a night.

You’re probably asking yourself how social networking and the internet fit into all of this. It’s simple really. PhoCusWright, a market research enterprise, recently completed a study on the vacation rental market place and found that, “Approximately 10% of all U.S. adults, and nearly 20% of all online travelers have booked a vacation rental.”

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, have sped up the online segment of the travel industry, helping it to grow in both transactions and advertising. Facebook is arguably the most popular of the social networking sites, with over 350 million members. According to an article on m-travel.com, “Facebook users are creating content to share at an unprecedented rate.”

Word of mouth, along with friend and family referral is still the way to get trusted information about your travel options, only now, you’ve got these social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, to aid you on your journey in finding the best vacation resources available.