Owning a vacation home isn’t just your own personal escape hatch from the real world. Thanks to the explosion of short-term rental websites such as Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway, having your vacation home up on these sites can also net you some serious cash!

After all, the tide has turned: Short-term rentals are getting to be ever-more-popular alternatives to hotels. In 2018, Airbnb made up about 20% of the total lodging spending among U.S. customers, and HomeAway, owned by Expedia, made up 11%, according to data from Second Measure.

But here’s the thing: Renting out your vacation home isn’t quite as easy as posting a few photos and waiting for visitors to arrive.

Hosts often feel that by listing the home on a particular channel that they can kick back and let the reservations come in.

Major listing websites like Airbnb and VRBO have millions of properties, and it is important to take the appropriate measures to become what they think about a fantastic host.”

In this article we’ll explain how to become the host(ess) with the maximum (est). Keep these insider insights in mind to help maximize your profits with minimal burden.

Get Some Protection

Not only are guests using Airbnb and similar websites to make travel arrangements, but the websites also offer protections for homeowners renting out their homes.

Since guests are required to pay when they book on platforms like Airbnb, homeowners don’t have to worry about getting stiffed. Airbnb does charge a host fee of 3% on the booking subtotal for most listings, but most consider that money well-spent.

Describe the Vacation Home The Right Way

It may seem obvious, but homeowners will need to be accurate in every aspect of the listing: the property description, photos, and calendar. An unhappy guest could leave a negative review, which might affect a host’s ability to attract future bookings.

If you list your home as a’luxury beachfront property,’ only to have guests arrive to find the home is more of a’quaint bungalow many blocks away from the beach,’ they are bound to be disappointed and leave a bad review, even if they ended up enjoying their stay,” he says.

Include all details about the property (good and bad), amenities, location, and rules for the home. Also, list items the home is stocked with, like a hair dryer or dishwasher.

One of the most important things about getting your listing right is making sure you clear what you’re offering and what you’re not offering.

Showcase the Home With Professional Photography

Professional photographs highlighting all aspects of the home are a necessity. The photos should accurately show off the interior and exterior of the home, along with amenities like a pool or spa and elements, to portray the home accurately.

Selecting a photographer may be an extra expense, but it’s key to maximizing profits in your vacation rental. Chances are you’re going to have a great deal of competition, and if you don’t have great pictures of a beautiful space, then you may as well not exist.

Keep Your Calendar Up to Date

A frequent mistake new Airbnb hosts make is not keeping their property’s calendar showing its availability up to date.

If the home is cross-listed on multiple websites, this may mean someone might book the home on Airbnb for the same days it has just been reserved on, say, HomeAway. As such, you’d have to cancel one of the bookings.

Not only does this send a bad message to guests, but Airbnb and other websites may penalize hosts (and potentially shut down their accounts) who decline bookings on nights listed as available.

Are you thinking about investing in vacation property or a second home?

The vacation rental sector is booming. It is expected that vacation rentals will supersede the resort industry exponentially.

It’s no surprise that more and more people are seeking to own a vacation home of their own. Second home investments offer owners a multitude of valuable benefits. However, ownership does not come without responsibilities.

Are you ready to purchase a vacation home of your own?

Read on for essential things that you need to know before investing in a vacation home!

Things You Should Know Before Purchasing Vacation Property

A Vacation property can be a rewarding investment if you know what to search for before signing any contracts. If you have been considering owning a vacation home, there are some things that may help you with your decision.

Not everyone is best-suited as a vacation homeowner. However, there are several reasons that it can be a great way to enjoy your investment while making a substantial yield.

Here’s what you should know before you make a final decision.

What’s Your Purpose?

There are a few reasons that people consider buying a vacation home.

Perhaps you want a place for your family and friends to be able to get away any time of the year. Or, you might be hoping that your investment will reap a considerable return in rental income.

It is possible that you would like to be able to enjoy the property as well as make a profit when your home is not in use. There is a good chance that you can take advantage of your home for personal use as well as putting cash in your pocket if purchase wisely.

Whether you are purchasing for your own enjoyment, or to create a line of profit, or both, is important in choosing the right property to fit your requirements.

Ideally, your vacation home would be a fantastic investment, as well as a place that you could take a break and have some fun from time to time.

The Rule that is 1%

If you are a seasoned investor, then you may have heard of the 1 percent rule. It is a rule that many professionals use to determine whether or not a property is worth the investment.

Basically, it asks if the average monthly earnings on a property will exceed the amount you pay for the property’s mortgage each month. If you can answer yes to this question, then you are on the right track.

The Condition of Property

When purchasing an investment property, an individual needs to think about the home’s condition. But this is especially true once you are looking to buy a vacation home that you might not have the time or resources to make significant repairs or improvements.

You are not likely to be present to oversee any ongoing home improvement projects. In addition, extensive repairs might take away from the earnings.

Even if you do decide on a fixer-upper, try to select a place that allows you to finish the necessary work at your convenience whilst continuing to rent it out to vacationers along the way.

Even if you are unable to rent the property at a premium price, it is better to have a vacation home with some earning potential right from the start. You can always raise the rent after additional improvements are made.

Upkeep

When you purchase an investment property, you must bear in mind that the price you are paying for the property is not the only cost.

Expect to pay any necessary costs for maintenance, as well as additional expenses that may be incurred, such as taxes and insurance.

You should also factor in any projected maintenance costs, homeowners association fees, cleaning fees, and other expenses that may be associated with the home’s annual upkeep.

Furnishings

Is the property you are currently considering already furnished, or is this going to be your duty?

You may need to buy furniture, utensils, bedding, appliances, or other essentials to rent your home. If so, are you able to afford to furnish your new vacation property so that it is rent-ready?

If your vacation rental is already furnished, you’ll need to review the condition and working order of the contents before renting it out. If any repairs or replacements are needed, you should be prepared to take care of these immediately.

Property Management

If you are not living in close proximity to your vacation home, then you’ll want to make arrangements for property management services throughout the year.

Some condominiums and rentals have a service already in place for owners. While others require that you secure your property management services.

If your home need immediate attention while you are away, you want to make certain that you have a plan in mind that covers situations that may arise.

Location

If you are purchasing your vacation rental primarily for personal use, then you have more freedom to choose a location that suits your fancy, regardless of its’ rental potential.

However, if you are hoping to create an income, then you will need to take into account a location that is popular amongst renters. It’s common to purchase vacation investment properties suitable to the beach, mountains, or other places that are highly sought getaways.

Should you decide on a location that has few attractions or sits in a secluded area, although you may see it as the perfect spot, it may be hard to sell to others.

Find the Ideal Vacation Home for You!

Buying a vacation property can be an amazing way to earn an income. And, it offers an added bonus to families and friends looking for an escape every now and then.

There are tons of vacation properties to choose from on the market today. No matter what your preferences, you’re certain to find one that’s perfect for you.

Have you ever thought about investing in a vacation home to use a short-term rental? Looking for the best way to make money outside your 9-to-5 job? How about real estate investing?

It can be intimidating to dive headfirst into the world of real estate investment, but buying a vacation rental home is one avenue that’s gaining a great deal of popularity. We think it might just be the best way to enter the real estate business and become a property investor.

There are many benefits to purchasing a vacation rental and we have put together a list of the top reasons that we believe you should think about this as your first step in real estate investment.

Own a Dual-Purpose Property

If you’re a first-time real estate investor, you are probably considering all the options and thinking about what’s best for you.

Purchasing a vacation rental home has one clear advantage: It can serve dual purposes. You can use it as a second home and spend your own vacations there with your family, and then rent it out to guests the rest of the year.

Purchasing an investment property for the sole purpose of renting it out long-term does not give you this option.

Generate Rental Income

One of the major advantages of real estate investing in general, and investing in rental properties in particular, is the fact that you gain a source of steady income.

How? Through rental income.

The idea is that you will be renting out your second home to guests when you aren’t using it. You’ll be making money without having to necessarily buy an”investment” property. After all, your vacation home is your next home. It just happens to make money on the side.

When you buy a vacation home and use it as a short-term rental, the money you make from bookings actually makes it possible to pay the mortgage and other expenses (property tax, insurance, maintenance, and repairs) for the place where you spend your vacations.

Build Value through Appreciation

In addition to making money in the short run, a vacation rental home also makes money — potentially a great deal of it — in the long term.

A second home is a real estate property, and real estate generally appreciates in value over time.

When you are ready to sell your vacation rental property, you can usually sell it at a higher price and cash in on the profit. The best part is that you don’t have to do anything to enjoy this benefit. Natural real estate appreciation will take care of it.

If you want to make even more money when selling your property, you can make modifications and improvements to push the market value of your vacation rental (known as forced appreciation).

Earn Tax Deductions

Similar to your primary home or an investment property, a second home also provides tax deductions. These apply to mortgage payments, property tax, rental income, insurance premium, utilities, and other rental expenses.

However, the situation with a vacation rental can get somewhat complicated depending on the number of days you live on your property and the amount of days you rent it out to guests. So, if you choose to buy a vacation rental, we suggest that you work with a professional accountant and/or a real estate attorney to assure that you are taking maximum advantage of tax deductions without breaking any tax laws.

Take On Less Risk

Investing in vacation rental exposes you to lower risk than other kinds of real estate investment. First, vacation homes are in prime tourist destinations, so you can attract a great deal of guests, reach high occupancy rates, and charge a high rate.

The combined effect is high rental income. And rental income is the way investors make money from their rental properties.

One way to reduce your risk even further is to pick a location and a property that works as either a traditional, long-term rental or as a short-term rental. If you find that you have a low occupancy rate, low rental income, and negative cash flow, you have the option to switch strategies and become a traditional landlord.

And in the worst case scenario, if a long-term rental strategy also fails to bring you a positive cash flow, you have a second home to use with your family.

This will save you the expense of renting hotels or other people’s vacation homes until your property has appreciated enough in value to sell it. After all, if your vacation rental is located in a popular destination, appreciation shouldn’t take more than a few years to kick .

Learn About Real Estate

No matter how many real estate books you read or how many real estate classes you attend, you will not become an expert real estate investor until you actually buy an income property and start managing it.

Buying a vacation rental home provides you with an easy entry into the world of real estate investment because it’s often less stressful than other real estate investment strategies, such as getting a full-time landlord, fix-and-flip, wholesaling, etc..

They’re Easy to Manage

While some people take on vacation rental management as a full-time job, you don’t have to do this in order to start making money in real estate. It’s feasible to make owning a vacation rental a part-time occupation that doesn’t take up much of your time, especially if you use a vacation rental management service.

Management is a major concern for inexperienced investors, and it can potentially turn into a real nightmare for first-time vacation rental owners. Imagine having to clean your property, change the sheets, wash the towels, and refill the toiletries between each guest — sometimes multiple times a week — all the while working your 9-to-5 job.

Most owners don’t have time for that. Instead of handling it themselves, they’re hiring property managers or vacation rental management services to take over those duties.

Then they are free to manage the aspects of vacation rental management they want, such as talking to guests, making recommendations, and collecting rental income.

You Are Interested — Now What?

Investing in a vacation rental home is an easy entry point to real estate investment that provides endless opportunities to learn and carries lower risk than other choices. However, if you are a beginner real estate investor, you might be wondering how to go about the whole process of buying a vacation home as an investment property.

Here’s a list of the main factors you need to consider as you look for vacation rental properties:

Choose a Popular Location

Experts say that “location, location, and location” are the three most important factors in a successful real estate investment, and they are not mistaken. When buying a vacation rental home, choose places where other travelers — besides you and your family and friends — would like.

Learn Local Short-term Rentals Legislation

Regulations on short-term rentals have been tightening in many places around the U.S., so as soon as you’ve chosen a location for buying your next home, make sure you will be allowed to use the property as a short-term rental and make sure that you won’t be taxed too heavily for it.

Conduct Comparative Market Analysis

Prior to purchasing your income property, conduct some real estate market analysis to make sure you’re not overpaying for your second home. Real estate comps are the only way to assure you can get positive cash flow from renting out your vacation home on a short-term basis.

Everyone loves to vacation. When work weeks appear to routinely bleed into the weekends, and emails ping from morning these rare instances of free time are moments to unwind, recharge and have fun.

But in the last several years, millions of people are increasingly embracing vacation time as a business opportunity.

As Airbnb has grown from a small San Francisco startup into a global hospitality brand, sparking other short-term rental companies to emerge, the chance for one group to take some time off has become a way for another group to make money.

There are stories of rental owners making millions per year, and other instances of rural areas becoming travel destinations. Vacation homes that may have previously sat empty for months are now being seen as a way to increase retirement savings, pay off debt or save for college. The average Airbnb host makes about $920 a month.

This shift in how we view vacation stems from the Great Recession and is enabled by new technology. According to a study by vacation rental website HomeAway and real estate firm Savills, it’s also fueled by people prioritizing monetary returns on their investment properties.

So if you’ve been thinking about buying and operating your own vacation rental property, there are some important things to learn in order to be successful.

QUALITIES OF A HIGHLY-PROFITABLE VACATION RENTAL

As with your primary residence, the classic real estate trope of”location, location, location” is mostly true about vacation rentals, also.

According to the HomeAway and Savills report, California and Florida dominate the vacation rental market because of attractions like beaches and theme parks.

Choosing a property within a desirable town — that are the hubs of most vacation rentals — is easy enough to remember, but it’s also important to pick on one in a safe neighborhood.

If you’re thinking about building a property for a vacation rental, think twice. Costly new building is much more time-consuming than renovation and can delay profit. Rather, think about purchasing fixer-uppers on large lots.

When you feel you’ve found a desirable location for your property, check the city’s ordinances about vacation rentals. Some prohibit short-term rentals, where others have a required minimum stay or additional taxes, so familiarize yourself with the logistics of having a rental in that area before making a down payment.

MAKING THE PROPERTY MARKETABLE WITH DESIGN

As soon as you’ve selected a vacation rental property, you may have to do some renovations or design upgrades. The first step is to research and procure a trustworthy vendor to do the construction, and to work with the city to secure the necessary licenses.

Clean, modern aesthetics are usually popular across renters. And photos will often be the determining factor in whether or not your rental gets booked.

Discover the positive attributes in the home and enhance those with a classic, fun design,” she said. In addition, try and create a realistic budget and prioritize what has to be done — make paint your friend.

Bring a clear vision to your vendor before construction starts, and be prepared to roll with the punches as designs and timelines often change.

If you have decided to run this vacation property yourself, consider hiring a professional to write your ad and a photographer to take exterior and interior images.

A vacation property makes you a business owner, so you’ll have to play the part. Being smart about even the small details will go a long way toward earning your vacation rental 5-star reviews, which helps you increase your occupancy and nightly rates.

Everyone loves to vacation. When work weeks seem to bleed to the weekends, and emails ping from morning until night, these rare instances of free time are moments to unwind, recharge and have fun.

But in the last several years, millions of people are increasingly embracing vacation time as a business opportunity.

As Airbnb has grown from a small San Francisco startup into a global hospitality brand, sparking other short-term rental companies to emerge, the chance for one group to take time off has become a way for another group to make money.

There are tales of rental owners making millions each year, and other instances of rural areas getting travel destinations. Vacation homes that may have previously sat empty for months are now being seen as a way to increase retirement savings, pay off debt or save for college. The average Airbnb host makes about $920 a month, according to one study by Priceonomics.

This shift in the way we view vacation stems from the Great Recession and is enabled by new technology. According to a study by vacation rental website HomeAway and real estate firm Savills, it is also fueled by people prioritizing monetary returns on their investment properties.

So if you’ve been contemplating buying and operating your own vacation rental property, there are some important things to learn in order to become successful.

QUALITIES OF A HIGHLY-PROFITABLE VACATION RENTAL

As with your primary residence, the classic real estate trope of”location, location, location” is mostly true about vacation rentals, too.

According to the HomeAway and Savills report, California and Florida dominate the vacation rental market because of attractions such as beaches and theme parks.

Choosing a property within a desirable town — that are the hubs of the majority of vacation rentals — is easy enough to remember, but it’s also important to pick on one in a safe neighborhood.

If you’re thinking about building a property to be a vacation rental, expensive new construction is more time consuming than renovation and can delay profit. Instead, consider purchasing fixer-uppers on large lots.

When you think you’ve found a desirable location for your property, check the city’s ordinances about vacation rentals. Some prohibit short-term rentals, where others have a required minimum stay or additional taxes, so familiarize yourself with the logistics of owning a rental in that area before making a down payment.

MAKING THE PROPERTY MARKETABLE WITH DESIGN

Once you’ve selected a vacation rental property, you may need to do some renovations or design upgrades. The first step is to research and procure a trusted vendor to do the construction, and also to work with the town to secure the necessary licenses.

Clean, modern aesthetics are usually popular across renters. And photos will often be the determining factor in whether or not your rental gets booked.

Find the positive attributes in the home and enhance those with a timeless, fun design. Bring a clear vision to your vendor before construction starts, and be prepared to roll with the punches as designs and timelines often change.

If you’ve decided to run this vacation property yourself, consider hiring a professional to write your online ad and a photographer to shoot at exterior and interior images.

FINISHING TOUCHES THAT CREATE 5-STAR REVIEWS

When your home is ready for guests, do you thing before putting it online: Be a guest yourself.

It’s easy to forget the details when you’re worried about the larger picture — such as a towel rack in the bathroom when you are focused on water pressure but you spot these deficiencies if you treat yourself to an overnight stay.

Keep an eye out for missing locks or drafts, windows that stick to the frame and missing lightbulbs. Stock kitchen cabinetry with clean cookware and easy-to-find utensils. Evaluation for reliable WiFi and high-definition entertainment options, and place an array of books and board games nearby. Lastly, pay attention to how comfortable the beds are.

A comfortable bed is one of the most important factors, In addition, also bear in mind that’comfort’ can mean something different to everybody, so make certain to offer a variety of mattresses and cushions.

Don’t forget about seeking out a dependable cleaning service and maintenance crew, securing a short-term rental insurance policy, and inquiring about taxes you may need to collect.

A vacation property makes you a business owner, so you will have to play the part. Being smart about even the small details will go a long way toward earning your vacation rental 5-star reviews, which helps you increase your occupancy and nightly rates.

Buy the Correct Vacation Home

Most new vacation rental homeowners succeed when they consider:

Location. Homes with immediate access to a nearby attraction (the ski slopes, the beach, the water, the theme park, the city center) are the most obvious choice for an investment property.

Seasonal appeal. You will see better financial results if you opt for a location that is accessible and desirable year-round. This might be because of weather or because of seasonal activities.

Size. The more bedrooms and bathrooms, the more you can typically charge per night.

Regulations. Check on local city, county, and HOA (homeowner association) ordinances about vacation rentals. Some regulations can make it more difficult to rent your second home short-term by restricting the number of guests, imposing strict parking restrictions, or simply outlawing rental activity altogether.

Decorate and Furnish

Creating a gorgeous space for guests is one of the easiest ways to make money on your vacation rental. Not only does this make for a guest experience that is better, but it’s also crucial for good marketing–if your guests are posting images of themselves in your home on Instagram, then you’re doing it right.

There are a few seamless ways to upgrade your home’s appeal:

Fluff up the mattress. Opt for hotel-quality linens and recommend a minimum of four pillows per bed. Guests sleep better and your bedrooms photograph even better!

Spruce up the kitchen. A big draw of vacation homes is the private kitchen, so make sure yours is stocked with measuring cups, mixing bowls, baking sheets and pans, and some wonderful table linens.

If you are feeling extra ambitious, think about painting the cabinets a fresh color or removing the doors to create open shelving.

Dress the windows. You would be surprised how much curtains can add to a space. Select something light and airy for rooms that get a great deal of sun, and heavier drapes for bedrooms.

Optimize Your Listing

Draw potential guests into your getaway with the help of your home’s online profile.

Invest in professional photography. Your photos will make or break your home’s listing. We take professional HDR photographs for each home, complete with careful staging: open the curtains, close the toilet lids, hide the trash cans, and fluff the pillows.

Give your guest a tour. Virtual walkthroughs of a home can enable a guest visualize their vacation, encouraging them to book. Invest in virtual 3D tours for your home. Generally you’ll see an increase in occupancy.

Write a brief, accurate description. A description helps round out a guest’s expectations and can help highlight attributes that are hard to capture in a photograph.

Keep the description short and sweet–scannable descriptions that supplement the photographs are more appealing than long-winded sagas.

Update Your Amenities

Guests search for a few specific amenities more than any other, so you’ll boost your home’s visibility by offering these high three perks:

Welcome dogs. Homeowners who allowed dogs earned an average of $6,000 more than those who didn’t.

Add a hot tub. This is especially true for homes with incredible views or in colder climates. Our data demonstrates that adding a hot tub can add lead to a 15 increase in earnings –and we make it easy with our hot tub installation program.

Provide WiFi. Internet access is a basic expectation of guests today, and you’re going to miss out on bookings if you don’t provide it. (If your home is too secluded to offer WiFi, be upfront and make it clear in the description that it is a lovely place to unplug.)

Maximize your Vacation Rental’s Income Potential

Determine Your Rates

You simply can’t rely on the old model of”set it and forget it”–using simple fixed nightly rates for weeknights or weekends, in high season or low season.

As technology becomes more sophisticated, rates have become more dynamic and are presently one of the most challenging parts of vacation rental management. In the current landscape, it pays to have a team behind you.

If you want to optimize your rates by yourself, you will need to invest a lot of time in monitoring and updating your pricing.

Manage Your Calendar

Your calendar can have a massive impact on your home’s profitability. We suggest these tips for managing your calendar:

Avoid minimum stays. Applying aggressive minimum stay requirements may seem like a path to a premium booking, but probably causes potential guests to bypass your home in favor of something easier.

For example, forcing a guest to book a five- or seven-night stay throughout the Fourth of July (when the demand for the holiday is just three nights) could cause guests to turn away from the property. What might have been three nights of earnings is now worth zero.

Avoid minimum nightly rates. Similarly, minimum nightly rates can create an illusion of more revenue, but can lead to fewer bookings as the seasonality changes.

A $400 minimum rate may satisfy the demand during peak season, but is likely too high to generate bookings in the off season when demand is a lot lower. Pricing your vacation home during shoulder seasons is one of the quickest paths to higher overall performance.

Market Your Home

If you’re marketing your vacation home on your own, choosing the right listing site (or sites) for your property is key.

As with rates, working with the experts can increase your revenue stream by getting your home in front of as many potential guests as you can.

Digital marketers accomplish this by:

SEO (search engine optimization). Using the right keywords and the right signals to ensure your home is well represented on search engines.

PPC (pay-per-click) ads. These sponsored ads appear at the top of search results, targeted to appear if your visitors search for precise keywords.

Display ads. You know those banner ads that follow you around the internet? We do those, too.

Facebook ads. Once we know a guest is looking for homes in your area, we put a beautiful picture of your property right in their newsfeed.

Organic social. Our most stunning or unique homes are featured within our social media profiles, reaching hundreds of thousands of curious travelers.

Welcoming Guests

Learn From Bad Reviews

Negative reviews can often be a blessing in disguise. Negative reviews are an opportunity to:

Make improvements. Some of our most successful homeowners are those that take feedback to heart and make small improvements regularly.

Build trust. If you take the time to correct the issue, you demonstrate care and consideration for your visitors and their experience. You may even win them back.

Hire a Vacation Rental Management Company

Making money on your vacation rental property is so much easier when you have a comprehensive management company by your side. A good manager will take care of all the details so you can spend more time enjoying the extra income you make.

Vacation rental management services generally include:

• 24/7 guest service
• Dedicated local property managers, housekeepers, and maintenance techs caring for your home
• Dynamic pricing platform
• Professional marketing
• 3D virtual walkthrough tour and professional photography
• Listing on top booking sites such as Vrbo, Airbnb, and Booking.com
• Filing lodging taxes and assistance with permitting and licensing

Earning more money on your vacation rental property doesn’t have to be a second job. In fact, with the appropriate tools and the perfect management company, it can be rewarding.

Do you have a vacation home? Other then having an alternative place to stay in your seasonal getaway, you may also have a great opportunity to make some extra income.

Here are great ways you can profit from your vacation home.

Rent It Out to Apartment Dwellers

If you use your vacation home for a couple of months throughout the year, you may thinking about renting it out as an apartment.

When you rent out your vacation home, you’ll keep your home occupied for a greater portion of the year. When a home goes unoccupied for months at a time, there’s a greater chance that it’ll get broken into–unless you employ a live-in caretaker. But you have to pay the caretaker every month–why spend money when you can make money?

Recall three crucial things.

First, when you rent out your home to tenants, you become a landlord, which means you are responsible for handling all maintenance issues on the property. If you don’t want to do that, consider hiring a property management company to handle those tasks for you (your rent money will definitely offset the property management costs).

Second, always make certain to conduct a tenant screening to make sure you’re not going to have any criminals living on the property, or tenants who have a history of evictions. You want honest people residing in your vacation home who always pay their rent on time.

Third, be sure to only sign tenants into a six-month lease (perhaps followed by a month-to-month lease). That way, you can vacate the premises when it’s time to stay there for the seasonal vacation!

Rent out it Vacationers

Thanks to vacation rental sites, renting out your home to vacationers has become one of the most simple ways to make money online. Create an account on a vacation rental site and list your vacation home (make sure you include photos of the interior and exterior).

Renting your home to vacationers could be more advantageous than renting it out to tenants because you don’t have to act as a landlord.

In addition, it’s also easier to ensure that your home will be vacant when you want to stay there–if you plan on using your vacation home intermittently through the year, renting it out to vacationers is definitely the way to go.

Rent it Out for Special Occasions

If you have a lovely and spacious vacation home, you may be able to rent it out for events. Vacation homes are commonly rented out for:

• Weddings
• Brunch parties
• Family reunions
• Birthdays
• Bridal showers

Most of these events include alcohol, which means there’s a greater risk that someone could cause damage to the property in some way. Always have your event planners sign a contract that requires them to pay for damages they cause and think about taking a security deposit before the event.

While you want the attendees to enjoy the time they spend at your venue, you should in no way let anyone get away with causing significant damage to your property (with that being said, know that trampled grass or light spills may be inevitable).

Rent it Out to Filmmakers

If you live in an area where there’s lots of manufacturing companies, you can make a good amount of income by renting out your vacation home to filmmakers. Oftentimes, it is much more affordable for a film crew to rent out a home than to create an whole house set.

There are plenty of filmmakers shooting commercials, short films, music videos, or even major motion pictures that are more than happy to pay you a dividend to take in your home.

Just like with renting out your home for events, make sure you have the filmmakers sign a contract that ensures they’ll pay any damages caused to your property (most of the time, a film crew is much more respectful of your home than a bunch of drunk partiers).

Sell It

If you find that you’re not using your vacation home quite often, it might be time to sell your home. Every month your vacation home goes vacant, it costs you money–whether that be from property taxes or caretaker expenses.

When you account for those costs, you might realize that it’s cheaper to rent a vacation home for your seasonal getaway than to own one. Again, it all depends on how often you use your vacation home. But if it’s sitting there gathering dust, it might be time for you to place it on the market. You can use the cash for retirement, for your vacation budget, or for other investments.

You probably get the most joy out of your vacation home when you stay there for the holidays or for summer. But remember, a vacation home is an investment property, so you must always be searching for ways to use it to grow money.

Whether you’re just starting or you have been renting homes for a while, it is important to adapt to the current market.

Vacation renting, or short-term lodging is a theory that has been around forever. With all the advances in the travel and information businesses, it is becoming essential to adapt to the marketplace to make sure that your property is getting the right kind of reach.

Here are a couple of online basics that will drive business your way.

Get Your Property On A Listing Channel

There are handful of listing channels for you to place your property on. They range from major conglomerates with small divisions like the HomeAway family, or classifieds similar to Craigslist and Kijiji. Then there are niche marketplaces, for example, SmokyMountains.com, that focus on hyper-specific kind of rentals.

There’s an assortment of channels out there. The best way to get listed on the ones you want, simultaneously, is to invest in a channel manager. Similar Futurestay, which allows you to be featured on all these channels, also get automation.

Whether you opt for a channel management tool or do it manually, it’s important to be featured within these marketplaces. In no order of importance, here are a few listing websites:

• HomeAway (and its subsidiary sites)
• Airbnb.com
• Booking.com
• FlipKey.com
• Wimdu.com

There are dozens, if not, tens of thousands of more websites that tailor to specific kinds of vacation rental homes, so it’s always good to list on channels that will have the sort of guests that are looking for your type of property.

Industry-wide, the average rental owner is featured at least 3 of these listing websites, and though the numbers aren’t precise yet, the trends show that more visibility leads to bookings.

Create A Website & Drive Engagement

Are you looking for a way to avoid fees from other sites and handle the demand on your own? Invest in a site.

Yes, it is still important to be featured on some of the world’s best listing channels and drive bookings through them. But it’s still important to differentiate yourself as an independent business with your own website.

Use a website creator like Wix, Weebly, or Futurestay, to display your property.

You can even add a booking engine on your site and adjust prices to make certain that they’re up-to-date and change depending on the season. You should also use high-quality images of your property and the area surrounding it.

The more professional the website looks, the higher the booking conversion rate will be.

Driving Traffic To Your Vacation Rental’s Website

Like in marketing, it’s important to focus on using different channels that lead to your website. Using the aforementioned listing channels and having a channel manager, is the best way to get your property out there.

You’re going to have to invest a little bit of time, money, and effort to get your site flourishing. Though some listing sites give you the ability to link back to your page, others won’t — fearing that they may lose their transactional fees.

So if you want to spend a little bit of money to get a solid return, you can put your efforts on these three items:

• Social Media
• E-Mail Marketing
• Search Engine Marketing

These 3 marketing initiatives will help drive new type of traffic to your site. More importantly, drive bookings that you may have never been able to previously attain.

The fact of the matter is, people are searching for a new escape or experience. If you market yourself appropriately and obtain visibility throughout all the different channels that are available; you’ll be able to have guests, and hopefully, more referrals.

Utilize Social Media & Other Channels To Drive Bookings

There are two ways of going about social networking marketing: advertising and creating great content. There are pros and cons to both of them, but it is ideal to balance both and test which ones work.

Creating ads consists of finding the ideal demographic to target and digging deep to get certain people to view your advertisements. When starting it’ll need a lot of trial and error, along with getting used to the advertisement creation ecosystem. So start off with small investments and move up incrementally.

Content creation, even though it sounds appealing, it is a little difficult to master. If your content initiatives aren’t high-quality or don’t have good images or wording, you may not see the return on your efforts for quite some time. So the time spent coming up with images, editing, and adding a call-to-action can be costly.

Make Your Property A Brand

Starting and marketing your website, along with listing it across the web, are the three essential keys to improving your property’s visibility.

Something as simple as adding a Yelp list of your favorite things to do nearby will reveal potential guests what are some of the best things to do near you. The best part is they’re being curated by you, or the ‘brand’ that represents your property.

Adding these small personal touches will garner the interests of new guests, thus improving the odds of landing a booking.

Use Videos To Show-Off Your Vacation Rental Property

Aside from all of the tips, I am finding that the use of different media is helping with website conversion rates.

It is best to think about having videos on your site, social networks, and if possible, online ads. Giving your potential guests a look into your property and having them feel as if they’re there will make it easier for them to make the choie of booking your vacation rental.

However you choose to go about getting your vacation rental online, just know that there’s no one way of doing it. You will have the options of selecting one of the many services to list your property, along with ways of displaying it on line. Find the formula that works for you.

The right rates can do wonders for your vacation rental’s success.

They can help you make a booking when none of your competitors are seeing any interest at all. They can let you command higher rates than your neighbors when demand in your area is high. They can even pull at you out of a booking slump!

That is why your rates deserve a bit more attention than placing high season and low season.

Let’s talk about how to set — and adjust — rates that get you to the rental income you want.

Know Your Competition

First things first: how do other owners in your area price their properties? Pricing your home at $600 per night when similar rentals nearby are all hovering around the $400 mark isn’t going to bring you many bookings. If a guest can get an equivalent property at a lower rate, they will!

On the other hand, if your property brings something unique or high-quality into the table, you may be able to price higher than similarly-sized properties. That is the reason why the first thing to do is take an objective look at your home.

Write down the property type, the number of bedrooms, the amount of people that your property can sleep, and the amenities you have to offer, and do a search on major listing sites such as VRBO or Airbnb to find properties in your immediate area that have the same features.

Once you have 10 or so properties similar to your own, you can start whittling down to your real opponents. Assess each property’s calendar to see if they’re getting regular bookings when they need to — high season, weekends, holidays.

If a property’s calendar is empty, it is probably not a great property to look to for pricing guidance.

Get To Know Your Selling Points

Once you have properties that look the same as yours does on paper, it is time to look at the features that might sway a guest to pay a bit more — or less.

Kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms are the biggest considerations for potential guests. A property whose kitchen has well-finished cabinets, granite countertops, and an island will be able to command a higher rate than a kitchen composed of Formica and linoleum.

This isn’t to say your property must have the best finishings around to get a booking! It does mean, however, that you shouldn’t look at the pricing for properties that don’t look like yours. If you have Formica countertops, don’t compare your property to one with granite — look for properties that have comparable features.

One of these kitchens is not like the other — even though they’re in the same condo complex!

The same goes in the bathrooms and bedrooms. You can even think about the quality of the furnishings in your vacation rental vs. your competition’s. Try to be objective — you may love your beat-in comfy chairs, but on a listing, they may not look as visually appealing as your neighbor’s brand-new recliners.

Narrow down your equivalent properties to five that are comparable to your own — and take a hard look at the numbers.

Know Your Booking Potential

Write down all of the pricing information available for your comparable properties. You may have to enter dates in the search engine to get a quote for nights at other times of year, but it is well worth the effort to get accurate pricing.

Group the prices you can find by categories like”high season,””low season,””Fourth of July,””Christmas,” and so on. If one property has specific pricing for a holiday and another doesn’t, leave that space blank. You may wind up with something like this:

Many areas also have off-season boosts for holidays and large local events, so you will have to keep these surges in mind as well to remain competitive.

Take the average of these rates by adding all of them together and dividing by 5, which will give you the following prices for each season using our example numbers above:

Understand Your Rental Goals

As soon as you’ve identified your competition’s average nightly rate, it can be tempting to out-price them. The higher your nightly rate, the higher your paycheck. Right?

Not necessarily. If there are 100 properties in your area and interested in booking during the summer, it is bad to be one of the highest-priced properties in the area.

If it’s high season and pretty much every property in the area will be booked every weekend, you can probably push your rates a little higher than average and still get a booking.

Your main priority should be setting rates so you get the best nightly rate possible — while still getting a booking.

Many owners fail to think about whether they can get a booking at their nightly rate! You could specify a property at $400 a night in this same area, however when comparable properties are going for $130, it is very unlikely you will ever actually earn the amount you’re asking.

There’s good news, however: setting lower rates can often generate more revenue overall than higher ones. If you get 3 bookings of three nights each at $200/night, you’ll earn $1,800. Your neighbor, priced at $300/night, may only get one booking in that time — and he earned $900.

On paper, $300/night appears better than $200/night. However, when you factor in that competitive prices get more bookings, it’s the lower priced properties that come out ahead in hard rental income.

Would you rather have a high nightly rate, or more money in your bank account? It’s up to you — but we’d select the rental income every time.

Know Your Past

If you’re an experienced renter, you already have a great rate-setting tool in your arsenal: your rental history.

View every part of your history with a critical eye. Did you have a fantastic summer last year? When did you notice bookings started to slow down? On average, how many bookings did you make last winter? Do you think you might want to adjust your pricing to account for more or less demand?

Experience brings information. By looking at your previous rental history, you can probably identify some trends you can use to your advantage.

For example, we noticed that in some areas,”summer season” doesn’t last from Memorial Day to Labor Day — although most owners price their properties as if it did. Looking at our success in the area, we noticed that the quantity of rentals went down in August, rather than September.

We adjusted our pricing accordingly to be more competitive in September, and earned a great deal of additional bookings for our owners. There were just a few travelers searching for properties in September, and we earned most of these bookings by pricing.

You may not have multiple properties in a single area to draw data from, but owners will have information spanning many years for a single rental. Take a close look at your previous history, and don’t accept”well, it’s the low season” for months where you made no bookings. Consider adjusting your pricing, and see if you can’t pull in a tiny rental income in the slow months.

Know Your True Worth

When can you raise your prices higher than the competition? When you have social proof.

The more five-star reviews that you have, the higher the price you can command. That you still should stay in the same general ballpark as your competition, but if the average price of comparable properties is $225, and they don’t have half the reviews you do?

Go ahead and price at $250. You get bookings, because renters are willing to pay a little extra for a certain thing.

If you’re just starting out or trying to get over some negative reviews, you may want to lower your prices to get a few bookings in the door first. Earn some great reviews, and you’re going to improve the rate you can command over time.

Setting optimal rates and keeping them continually relevant is no easy task. It takes a keen eye for business, time, and consistent research to ensure your pricing acts as an asset and not a liability; however, cultivating industrial and regional knowledge is the best way to maximize your rental income and see a solid return on your investment.

Putting a little extra time and effort into your rates pays off. If your rates are optimized for success and your neighbors are flagging behind, you’ll earn more bookings, earn more rental income — and achieve lifetime success for your vacation rental.

This year, local markets across the country are beginning to heat up for second homeownership, according to Forbes, leading some people to think about the idea of jumping into the vacation rental industry with the assistance of popular short-term rental sites such as Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and many others.

If you count yourself among this category, you will want to know a few things before you even get started, such as demand for rentals, estimated rental prices, how best to manage a property, on the floor services and local tax conditions for the area.

Then you’ll want to consider how you want to position your property to prospective renters, as you are going to find having a quality short-term rental and good customer service can help keep your rental property occupied.

From hiring property managers to implementing automated systems, ensuring you run a smooth operation increases the chances of travelers sticking shiny five-star reviews on your listings.

Your attention to detail and professionalism can be the difference between flipping the virtual vacancy light on or off. Here are some actionable tips for entering the market and launching a successful short-term rental business this year:

Hire a Management Company

For some people, self management, or rent-by-owner, isn’t the best choice. You may be short on time, unsure how to go about managing a short-term rental business, or prefer to not deal with the work involved. Hiring a professional management company can help calm the nerves of an owner dealing with their first round of bookings and eliminate the burden of dealing with guests, maintenance and cleaning vendors.

Even though you may lose some control over your property and there are (sometimes significant) management fees, hiring a property manager means you’ll be relieved from dealing with all the details of guests, managing booking sites, cleaning services, taxes and much more.

Choosing a manager can be a good first step for people new to the short-term rental game, and you can always consider taking it on yourself after you learn a little more about the procedure. If you decide to hire a property manager, make sure they have experience in your market, they are professional and you are comfortable with them as a person. A good manager should quickly be able to offer you a realistic assessment of nightly rates and anticipated bookings for the year.

Look to the Fine Details

With sites and listings galore at their disposal, today’s travelers have more options than ever. Hosts need to have a quality website listing that focuses on the strengths of the property, with lots of details about location and amenities as well as high-quality professional photos. And a few extras can go a long way. You can earn business if you include the expected amenities: a fully stocked kitchen, high-quality towels and linens and the all-important WiFi.

To cherry out your place and have guests eager to return, include popular technology comforts such as 4k TVs, gaming systems, Netflix subscriptions and a full cable lineup to pick up all the sports networks. Attentive owners provide items like beach chairs, beach toys, inflatable toys, beach towels, boogie boards and much more.

Think about what you like and need when you are there and provide that for your visitors. It’s important to remember people love a personal experience when going the short-term rental route. After all, they’ve chosen this experience over a hotel.

Welcome notes or baskets with snacks like fresh roasts, wine or a simple cookie tray that conveys”thank you” for their pick. These cozy touches make your visitors’ stay a memorable one, upping your odds of a fantastic online review as you’ve set yourself apart in the short-term rental space.

Follow Tax and Licensing Rules

Short-term rentals are usually required to register and collect occupancy taxes, just like a hotel. Rules and taxes around short-term rentals are getting to be increasingly scrutinized in communities across the nation. As you get bookings for your new short-term rental, you will be required to register, collect and remit sales and lodging taxes. To get started, you will first need to register with town, county or state agencies (and sometimes all three).

The guest pays the rental tax but it’s your obligation to collect and pay it to the right city, county or state agencies, usually each month or quarter. Similar to a resort, you will need to pay tax to one (or more than one) local governing agency.

Any uncollected taxes or late tax payments may incur penalties and interest to the homeowner. Want to guarantee you’re compliant? Set up an easy lodging tax platform to eliminate the burden and make sure nothing slips through the cracks. If you use a full-service property manager, it usually will handle these taxes as part of its services.

Automate Your Rental Tasks

Technology is making everything easier in the short-term rental space and, you will want to keep up with customers’ expectations for a smooth experience. Short-term rentals often have high turnover with lots of visitors.

By streamlining your bookings, automation delivers maximum efficiency while providing a positive experience for any travelers. Today’s technologies allow you to streamline everything — the online booking procedure, guest reviews, contracts, the check-in process, keyless-entry systems, housekeeping communication, maintenance, temperature controls, payment processing and occupancy tax remittance.