5 Tips When Considering to Rent Your Vacation Home Keep in mind the responsibility attached to renting a property There are several advantages to renting your vacation property, including generating income to cover the property’s expenses, tax break incentives, and even profit from the rentals. However, there are also several stresses to being a property manager for a vacation rental. You will need to arrange for cleaning services prior to check-ins, absorb the cost of maintenance repairs, manage the marketing of your property, and collect payment and fees. Make sure you have the extra time to commit to this. If not, consider hiring a property management company. Call in the Experts There can be a lot of red tape associated...
Great word-of-mouth and raving reviews are always the best marketing a rental owner can have – and the cheapest. Even great digital marketing can’t beat a personal recommendation. How do you get guests to rave about their stay? By being the perfect host and delivering a 5-star experience to keep them coming back year after year! Here are some tips to do that: Scope out the competition – then be better. Learn from your competitions’ strengths and weaknesses. Research your competitors’ reviews for certain amenities people seem to enjoy and offer it for your rental, when possible. Also, take notice of common complaints, so you can avoid them. Depending on how thoroughly you want to investigate, consider sending a “secret...
Despite common disregard for the cost-saving power of the thermostat, Energy Star has found that heating and cooling bills account for up to 45% of annual utility costs. Managing vacation rentals in tropical or mountainous areas can produce hefty heating and cooling bills. With home automation, you can control your thermostat remotely from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop and save upwards of $200 a year, according to Energy Star. Renters hurrying to meet checkout time often leave A/C and other utilities running when they leave. Without being able to control your property remotely, these hours of wasted heating and cooling in your vacant rental can add up and leave you in a bind to adjust the settings. Home automation lets...
Don’t procrastinate! In highly sought-after vacation areas, cleaning companies in your area can be booked up fast. If you’re in a bind, you may be left with a less-than-stellar company, or one that you have no familiarity with. Research cleaning services long before the in-demand season hits to get first pick of the best cleaning companies available. There’s an abundance of review sites, so make sure to read the reviews for each potential company and pick the perfect one for your property. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Your expectations and the cleaning company’s standards may not line up. Do a walk-through with the company to show exactly the items/areas that you would like cleaned between each rental, and create a written...
Security Since your vacation home is not your primary residence, it can be difficult to know when your home has been burglarized between occupancy. Home automation can sync your locks and home monitoring system to send you text alerts any time a door or window is opened or unauthorized motion is detected. Also, you can program your home automation to send alerts to police or first responders in the event of an emergency or a break in. Further, placing lights/lamps on a timer gives the allusion of occupation to unwanted intruders, deterring potential break-ins. Access Control A repairman or cleaning lady needs entry? With automated locks, you can set up temporary codes that works for a specific window of time...
