Getting your vacation rental ready for the high season can be a very daunting and time consuming part of your vacation rental business. I’ve found that my low season is the best time to tackle larger projects such as painting, revamping and moving around furniture and updating bathrooms and kitchens.
In my off season I’ve also invited an interior designer to choose both wall colours and fabrics and bedding to give my vacation rental a more “boutique hotel” look.
On top of these renovations and updates done on the inside of your vacation rental there is a most often overlooked and forgotten part of most updates which is updating both your front and back yards. Remember to landscape and create “curb appeal”
Myself I’ve preferred perennial plants over annual plants when redoing my garden. Annuals will give you consistent flowers all summer long but in the fall and winter they’ll will die off and you’ll have to purchase more plants the following year.
On the other hand if you have perennials, your garden will ebb and flow with the season. Perennials will give your garden an ever changing collage of colours and plants. I find that my perennial garden requires less care and watering than the annual garden. Also the nice thing is that your perennials will flower and bloom year after year with very little care.
I’ve come across an additional list of vacation rental updates shared by Ezine Article contributing writer Vincent Orlando “Getting your Vacation Rental Ready for the High Season ” to take care of both during high and low season.
I’m sharing Vincent’s partial list below:
1. Perform construction and updates to make the house a better rental
• Upgrade appliances, if needed.
• Add new amenities.
• Deep clean the entire home including windows and carpeting.
• Paint the ceilings and walls with fresh paint in neutral colors.
2. Furnish the rental appropriately
Decorate the home using a theme and color scheme as a guide.
• Landscape and create “curb appeal”
• Perform a security and safety evaluation.
3. Rental Turnover & Day-to-Day Maintenance
Interview and hire cleaning staff.
• Interview and hire maintenance people.
• Establish a backup plan for cleaning and maintenance emergencies.
4. Marketing & Advertising
Stage and take professional-quality pictures of the rental, inside and out.
• Consider building your own vacation rental website.
5. Create marketing text
List on vacation rental sites.
• Research other online marketing methods.
• Advertise the property offline to reach your targeted market.
6. Financial Planning
Plan a budget for expenses.
• Research applicable taxes in your area
• Find, learn and use a basic accounting program.
7. Guest Services
Stock the home with necessities; like toiletries, paper goods, and cleaning supplies.
• Create welcome packet.
• Make a “Guest Information Binder” of local attractions, menus, maps and information.
• Create an emergency contact sheet.
As you can see there’s a lot of work and preparation in getting your vacation rental ready for the high season. You may not get everything done before your high season hits but at least you get a head start and can continue with the less important updates during the high season. Let’s face it our end result and the reason we as vacation owners work so hard, is so that our customers get the WOW factor when they come to our rentals.
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