March 20, 2009, Newsletter Issue #124: The Best Way to Market Your Home as a Vacation Rental

Tip of the Week

There are a few simple, probably obvious factors to consider if you want to successfully enter the vacation home rentals business. Before you actively market your rental home, consider the following.

Is your rental house in an area that will attract a wide variety of vacationers? Obvious? It should be, but at times this basic requirement is overlooked. While it is not technically impossible for a family of four to want to spend two weeks on a farm in Nebraska, the variety of the market may be limited. When you compare this property to a two bedroom rental house on Cape Cod, within ten minutes of four beaches, you can be sure the potential market for this property will widely outstrip the market for the former. Assuming you’re going to rent your property on a short term basis (from a few days to around two weeks at a time), are you prepared to completely clean and refurbish your house at regular intervals? Owners sometimes forget that, although their rental homes are fully equipped with furniture, utensils, flatware, linens, and towels, short term vacation renters often don’t have the time or inclination to undertake a major cleaning as they're rushing to leave on time. Unless you’re a mystical sage or soothsayer, you should be prepared to screen and qualify all prospective tenants. Assuming you’re not going to have a long term vacation tenant, you’ll be required to perform quite a few screenings, which can become a bit tedious, but necessary, nonetheless. It could cost more than your 14 days’ rental income to fix tenant problems that may arise. Once you realize the necessities of successful vacation home rentals, expose your property to the widest audience possible. Competition for cost effective and quality vacation home rentals can be quite heavy. Perform a market analysis (to know what your competition is charging) and make your house rental sparkle to attract the best vacation tenants. You may enjoy the experience as much as the rental income you’ll receive.

About LifeTips

Now one of the top on-line publishers in the world, LifeTips offers tips to millions of monthly visitors. Our mission mission is to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Expert writers earn dough for what they know. And exclusive sponsors in each niche topic help us make-it-all happen.

Not finding the advice and tips you need on this Rental Home Tip Site? Request a Tip Now!


Guru Spotlight
William Pirraglia