It’s great to own a vacation home, but unless you are able to visit it regularly, it is just something that’s collecting dust and piling up expenses. Renting out your vacation home as a rental is a good way to get a solid return on your investment, or create a new cash flow. You have obviously chosen the property for the features that appealed to you, but there are things you need to ensure or do to make it a profitable rental property for others.
5 IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY FEATURES TO OWNING A PROFITABLE VACATION RENTAL
1. LOCATION
Location is key when it comes to owning a vacation rental. It can be the defining feature for a profitable rental property, but yet not quite the end all be all. The key is to know your audience. A property closer to main attractions is going to be easier to market to people seeking the thrills of a new city than one on a relaxing spot on a lake.
At Minnestay, we know the power of marketing. Our experts can help you craft compelling listings and capture gorgeous imagery that will appeal to your potential renters. Whether you’re planning on renting out your hidden gem or luxury estate, our comprehensive management services will take the headache out of renting out your vacation home.
2. AMENITIES
People who choose a vacation rental are looking for a home away from home. They don’t want to be tied into the routine of a hotel, but they also don’t want to rough it like when you’re camping. They will look to a vacation rental that is well-equipped and has similar amenities as their own home. We recommend outfitting your vacation rental with the equipment and facilities that would appeal to your renters. The more you include, the higher the price you can charge, but only to a certain point. Do your homework first. Look at other profitable rental property similar to yours to see what is included and scale up where appropriate. Unless your property is out in the wilds and designed to be an escape from it all, ensure there is good Wi-Fi and satellite or cable TV.
3. MAINTENANCE
No guest is going to be happy to turn up at a vacation rental that is poorly maintained. They want a holiday home that they can use to its full extent without worrying about health and safety, hygiene, or things falling apart. Managing a vacation rental means looking after it with as much care and attention as your own home. This is not easy if you are at some distance from your rental, so you need to budget for periodical trips to make repairs and carry out general maintenance. It is much easier if you partner with a vacation rental management company, like Minnestay, who will take care of your property all year round, even in the off season. We’ll take care of everything from booking your guests to scheduling repairs.
4. PRICING
When setting your rental rates, review the other vacation rentals in the area and make direct comparisons before deciding on your pricing points. Find the average price and understand where your property out or underperforms others and increase or decrease exponentially. Or, ask for our team to help you with our rate intelligence services. To make sure that you’re never undercharging or pricing yourself out of customers, we receive minute-by-minute updates on our competitors’ pricing and local demand. We also take pains to monitor all upcoming events to ensure you’re receiving the highest rents and bookings possible.
5. MARKETING
Marketing is essential when it comes to making your rental property profitable. But there are hundreds of listing sites out there, how are you supposed to know which ones are right for your property? With Minnestay, we’ll do the hard work for you. With professional listing creation and market and distribution, we’ll ensure that the market is properly saturated with your property. And outside of popular listing sites like HomeAway, VRBO, Airbnb, Flipkey and Tripadvisor, we have special connections with 1,000+ listing agents and an extensive database of clientele, promotion ads, and targeted mailings.
GET YOUR VACATION RENTAL RENTED WITH MINNESTAY
Having a vacation home is great, but having a vacation home that pays for your next vacation is even better. If you’re vacation home sits abandoned for most of the year then it’s time to turn that commitment into a new stream of revenue for your family. At Minnestay, we can help you through every step of the process when it comes to renting out your vacation home. As a full service vacation rental property management company, we’ve helped hundreds of families and individuals turned their unused spaces into desirable vacation rentals. Are you ready?
