VacationRentalsIntl.com | How to Rent By Owner International Vacation Rentals, Vacation Cabin Rentals, Vacation Home Rentals

Organizing your ideas on paper

If you are a new vacation rental owner you may have ideas of grandeur. Perhaps you see dollar signs dancing in your eyes? Well if you want to be the proud owner of a successful privately run vacation rental home you are going to need to have some goals in mind. Today we are going to talk about some the basics of owning and promoting your vacation home.

- What is your goal to owning a vacation rental?

- Why should people want to rent your vacation home?

- Are there any restrictions?

- What are you charging?

All of these points are important when starting your own vacation rental website. If you do not know why you are charging three times more than other rentals in your area then why is someone going to want to rent your property? Having a well-organized plan of attack is key to being successful in any business, and don’t be fooled – this is a business.

We are going to assume you’ve already put in time and thought into how you are going to maintain your rental. Keeping everything in working order is very important however it is not today’s focus. If you have not thought about who is going to cut the grass, how you are going to deal with cleaning up after guests, and who is going to come down to fix your A/C unit for a guest you may want to take a few minutes right now to think about that.

Okay?

Alright let’s get started.

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You have established yourself as a vacation rental owner, you have a steady growth of guests renting your property, and you are looking for a way to increase your profit while not having to spend a lot more money.  Some people may say it is impossible, but we say install a hot tub. A hot tub is something that has the ability to give your vacation rental property the extra push it might need.

When someone is looking at a property they are looking at a checklist in their mind. For example, I was recently looking into a Banff Vacation Rental home for a summer trip with a group of friends next year. I was looking for something that has enough room for my group, rented by the month, had a good view of the mountains - although it is hard not have a good view - and if was a pet friendly vacation rental (finding a pet friendly vacation rental can be tough too, but that is a whole different story). If I were looking at say my top two choices both were about the same size within the same price range, but one had a hot tub. I would choose the Vacation rental with a hot tub simply because it would be fun to have. A hot tub is an amenity that a lot of people would really enjoy having. I know I would.

So if you are a vacation rental owner, consider installing a hot tub on your property. It will pay for itself in the end.

As a vacation rental owner renting out your private rental home can be a tough business. No matter how amazing your vacation property is if you do not market it right you will not get any response. There are simple ways of going about advertising your Vacation Rental Property.

First off you should start locally. Do not try to spread all you resources all at once. If the best you can do is putting up flyers in local stores or on community bulletin boards that is fine. Just always make sure to make your flyers look professional. Check your spelling and grammar, take a nice picture of your vacation rental property, and try to create something that is not only informative, but also eye-catching.

Once you’ve got a handle on local advertising and you are interested in moving into bigger pastures, get ready for the internet.

Obviously if you are reading this you will know something about the internet, luckily now a day the web is becoming easier for everyone to navigate. Try your hand at signing up at some of the many vacation rentals by owner websites out there. Many of these websites will charge a minor fee to post your vacation rental online. That way when people are searching for say a Kauai Hawaii Vacation Rental, they will come across your Kauai Vacation Home in their searches. Anytime you are advertising online be descriptive as possible. Use nice, up-to-date photos, be sure to list all your rental amenities, and let people know if you allow smokers, or if you vacation rental is pet friendly. A lot of people search for specific amenities and extras in a vacation rental. If you can supply those extras, let them know.

You can take online marketing to even higher level by setting up a private website for your Vacation Rental. If you can make something informative and eye catching it can almost guarantee people will rent your vacation rental home.

Owning your own vacation rental is not easy, you have be will to put countless hours into it’s upkeep, and maintenance, never mind promoting the vacation home in hopes that someone will want to rent it. Property management companies can do a great deal of that for you, but property management companies will take a large bite out of you profits - anywhere up to 50%, if not more.

If you aren’t sure you want become a vacation home owner, you are thinking about renting out a home, or you are looking for some advice, we found a great article in the Orlando Sentinel about what hard work and dedication to do for a vacation home owner.

Read the full Owning a Vacation Home article. 

If you have a second vacation home you are looking to rent, you don’t neccisarily have to go through a property management company. Infact renting out your vacation home without help from a property management company could save you as much as half your rental income. The stigma that vacation homes are just for the wealthy is no more.

We have found a few great tips and websites that can aid you in making a profit from renting your vacation home out. Christine Karpinsk, a self-taught vacation property owner, can offer you a few good tips right out of the gate.

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