VacationRentalsIntl.com | Vacation Rental Tips International Vacation Rentals, Vacation Cabin Rentals, Vacation Home Rentals

Renting a vacation home in hawaii can be a lot more cost effective than staying at a hotel in Hawaii, it can also put you closer to what you want to do on your vacation. Just be careful you are renting a legal vacation home.

In Oahu alone there are only 1,000 homeowners who are certified to rent rooms for less than 30 days. However, you can find more than 2,000 online ads for rentals all over the island. Most of the Bed & Breakfast’s in Hawaii are not run through all legal channels, be careful.

We’ve spoken in length about how challenging owning a vacation rental can be and the best ways for you to promote your vacation rental home. Today I read a short but sweet article about how important word of mouth is to the Vacation Rental industry. It really can apply to all sorts of businesses of course, but we like to focus of the vacation rental aspect.

Basically if you leave a good impression on your customers, they will tell one person, that person will tell a person, etc. At the same time, if you leave your vacation rental home in shambles and do not treat your customers with respect they will let everyone know that your rental is not recommendedJust remember every little bit counts.

Read the full Word of Mouth Article

You want your honeymoon to be a very special time. So why should you choose a Honeymoon Vacation Rental instead of a Big Resort? Here are some of the reasons we hear:

Honeymoon Rentals are more unique, individual, and intimate. While its true that some ultra high priced resorts have unique accommodations, most offer a choice between three or four floor plans and decor, that are repeated 100 times. So you wind up with a box just like 20 other boxes or more at the same property, right down to the same placement of the TV and the same bedspread. To be sure, some of them are very nice boxes, but what if you want to Honeymoon outside the box?
(more…)

I read this article today about how vacations are on the out. Apparently 43% of people do work on their holiday. I know, I know, I’ve written about this before, but I cannot stress enough the fact that if I didn’t have holidays my head with explode, and I think, when you really get down to it, and look at yourself in the mirror, you will want to put your blackberry, palm pilots, laptops, and cell phones in a small locked boxes and hide them under 2 1/2 years of movies you haven’t seen yet because you’ve been working. So do me a favor, and try and get yourself a long weekend at least for 2 weeks from now. On that Monday off, sleep in, eat breakfast in your PJs, and go enjoy what is left of our quickly fading summer! Please!

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.

Are you unsure if you can afford a big summer family vacation rental? You still want to take the kids with you, but there are some budget issues?

During peak seasons most Vacation Rental properties go up in price. Why? Supply and demand really. If you aren’t going to pay a higher price, someone else will. That is why I think that sometimes it is a good idea to look into renting a vacation home in the off season. It might not provide that perfect beach weather you were hoping for, but there is still plenty to do: Hiking and exploring, family games, shopping and reading that book you have been meaning to read for the last two years.

There is no limit to what you can do on your own vacation! This is the beauty of a vacation. So the next time you are searching for a vacation rental home, try looking at the off-season prices too. You may be pleasantly surprised.

If you are renting a vacation home anywhere in the near future, and you plan to travel by plane you should know what you can and cannot bring on the planes due to recent terrorist activies.

Make Up and Personal Items

• All creams and lotions (i.e. ointments, suntan lotion, topical creams)
• Bug sprays
• Bubble bath Bubble bath balls (that contain gel)
• Eye drops and gels Gel deodorants (solid stick is permitted)
• Gel caps
• Hair styling gels
• Hair sprays, including aerosols
• Hair straightener or detangler
• Lip gels and liquid glosses (solid lip glosses, lipstick and blushes are permitted)
• Liquid foundations
• Liquid medications (up to 4 ounces of non-essential)
• Liquid sanitizers Liquid soaps (bar soap is permitted)
• Make up removers and facial cleansers
• Mascara
• Mouthwash
• Nail polish
• Nail polish removers
• Perfumes and colognes
• Saline solutions
• Toothpaste

Foods and Drinks

• All beverages (excluding formula and breast milk)
• Gel based sports supplements
• Jellos
• Puddings
• Yogurts

Other Items

• Baby teethers (that contain gel or liquid)
• Children’s toys that contain gel
• Gel candles Gel shoe inserts

Several Kailua vacation rentals have been hit with robberies in the past month, so we here at Vacation Rentals International would like to remind everyone to stay safe while you are vacationing. The last thing anyone wants is to come back to an empty house.

A rash of burglaries have hit Kailua vacation rentals, many of which are operating illegally, KITV 4 News reported. Police believe many beach visitors are provided a false sense of security while settling into a vacation rental.” They’re perfect for the criminal,” said Honolulu Police Department Detective John McCarthy. “They’re here on vacation; they let their guard down. They have valuables. What more can a crook ask for?”

Try keeping all your valuables out of sight. Do not leave money, jewelry, watches, passports etc., out in plain sight. I keep an old holed out book on me when I travel. That way I have somewhere to keep valuables I don’t want to lose, but cannot take with me when I go to the beach.

Lock all your doors. This may seem obvious, but I’m sure we have all rushed out to the beach or out hiking and exploring without locking the doors. All it takes is an extra minute. That extra minute could save you thousands of dollars.

Keep your wits about you. If you are out walking around in a busy tourist heavy area make sure you are aware of your surroundings. You never know when there could be a pickpocketer around. And steer clear of card games, dice games, and any of the sort in the street. 95% of the time they are a con looking to steal your money from you.

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.