Vacation Rentals - How do you handle reservations, deposits?

[Carlos Flores]

My daughter wants to rent a condo that's available for daily rentals, like a vacation rental or hotel.  It's listed on Trip Advisor.  The owner asked the deposit (50%) be mailed to reserve the unit, but had no paperwork to offer.  That was over email.  We looked the guy up and turns out the owner is a doctor so she called his work number (that's plastered all over the inet) to make sure it's legit.  It appears to be.  She asked they conduct the transaction through Trip Advisor via email and is awaiting his response.

For those of you that have vacation rentals, how are reservations accomplished, how do you conduct your transactions, do you have paperwork?  I'm interested in the experience of those that have rented condos or homes daily as well.

Thanks!