vacation plans

One Texas property makes the cut on Vrbo's best vacation rentals of 2024

Vrbo, the online marketplace for vacation rentals, has unveiled its top 10 list for 2024, and one home in Texas made the cut: The list, called 2024 U.S. Vacation Rentals of the Year, showcases the 10 best vacation rentals in North America, based on factors such as guest reviews and amenities.

The list includes properties in famous getaway locales ranging from Sedona to Big Sky to Cabo San Lucas.

The Texas entry is Toro Canyon in Austin, a tranquil retreat tucked away in the hilly Westlake neighborhood, six miles west of downtown. Designed by renowned Austin architect Michael Hsu, the home offers "timeless modernity" and "high quality craftsmanship," according to its listing. Stays begin at $2,015 per night.

The two-story home features five bedrooms and five bathrooms that overlook a luscious green backyard, temperature-controlled pool, and hot tub. The home sits on a one-acre lot, surrounded by mature trees for the ultimate privacy for guests.

Toro Canyon, Vrbo Vacation Rentals of the Year, Austin vacation home Toro Canyon is your own private retreat.Photo courtesy of Vrbo

There is ample space for relaxation and lounging outside, with a stone landing, two covered pavilions (one with an outdoor kitchen), and a second-floor balcony. Guests who want to stay active while on vacation can make use of the partial basketball court or in-ground trampoline, or they can set up a net over the pool and play volleyball.

An outdoor shower at one of the pavilions is available for guests to rinse off before heading back inside to enjoy the rest of the home.

The home accommodates up to 15 guests, with three out of five bedrooms boasting two queen- or king-sized beds each. The remaining rooms each contain a single king-sized bed.

Natural light floods every room to provide the perfect ambiance on a nice sunny day, and each bedroom blends modern features with elegant details through its wall art, decor, and bed linens.

Toro Canyon, Vrbo Vacation Rentals of the Year, Austin vacation home Only two of the five total bedrooms at Toro Canyon contain a single king-sized bed.Photo courtesy of Vrbo

For guests who want to take advantage of the home's location in the city, it's a five minute drive to Lake Austin, or a 10-15 minute drive to downtown. Popular hiking and nature destinations like Mount Bonnell, Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve, and the Barton Creek Greenbelt are all 15 minutes away.

Other vacation rentals highlighted in Vrbo's 2024 U.S. Vacation Rentals of the Year list include:

"Palatial Paradise Estate" in Sedona Arizona
"Fire Lookout Towers" in Big Sky, Montana
"Pardise Found" in Inlet Beach, Florida
"Villa Montebella" in Glen Ellen, California
"Sandy Lakehouse" in Sand Lake, Michigan
"Miracle Creek Retreat" in Epworth, Georgia
"Copley's Lakefront Cottage" in Winchendon, Massachusetts
"Villa Cin Cin" in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
"Casa Acantilado" in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

The most expensive rental on the list is Villa Montebella, an exclusive wine-country villa in Sonoma Valley that costs $4,750 per night. On the low end, the lodge home in Big Sky, Montana is a relative bargain at $770 per night.

This is the third year vrbo has published such a ranking. A Hill Country home made the list in 2023.

The full list of winners can be found on vrbo.com.

Toro Canyon, Vrbo Vacation Rentals of the Year, Austin vacation home

Photo courtesy of Vrbo

Toro Canyon sits on a private, one-acre lot.

austin westlake hills vacations vacation rentals vrbo awards

Holiday Travel News

American Airlines briefly halts flights nationwide for technical issue

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

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American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday due to a technical issue just as the Christmas travel season kicks into high gear.

American flights were cleared to fly by federal regulators about one hour after a national ground stop order was issued by federal regulators.

Just before 8 am Dallas time, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. at the airline’s request. American had reported a technical issue affecting its entire system with millions traveling for the holiday.
The ground stop, according to the time stamps on the FAA's orders, lasted exactly one hour.

American has not expanded on what technical issue grounded the flights and the airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The groundings couldn't come at a worse time for the millions of travelers expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays and through January 2.

Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up.

In December 2022, Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.

Southwest was ordered to pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into the Christmas debacle of 2022.

Excluding the settlement, the nation’s fourth-biggest airline by revenue said the meltdown cost it more than $1.1 billion in refunds and reimbursements, extra costs and lost ticket sales over several months.

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