What You Should Know Before Listing Your Vacation Rental on Airbnb

November 27, 2018

vacation rentalThere’s a lot of money to be made in listing and renting out your vacation home on places like Airbnb and HomeAway. But as lucrative as this industry may be, there are a few things you should know about it first.

Read to find out what it takes to be successful in the vacation rental realm.

Understand the Legalities Involved

Before you list a property on Airbnb, HomeAway, or any other vacation rental site, be sure that you’re familiar with the local laws surrounding this industry. You don’t want to get slapped with a fine for not adhereing to local regulations. It’s up to you to find out what these local laws are, regardless of where your vacation rental happens to be.

Consider Continued Operating Expenses

You may have enough money in the pot to cover the mortgage and property taxes, but have you considered the expenses related to maintaining and operating the property? More specifically, there’s a lot of money to be spent keeping the place ready for rentals.

You may have to pay for cleaning services after every rental. Or you may have to cover the expense of repairs if necessary. And if you’re paying a property management company to tend to your rental property for you if you live out of town, that’s just one other expense to keep in mind. Just be sure that you’ve got the funds needed to cover such expenses.

Consider the Time Between Guests

Proper scheduling is important when it comes to renting out vacation homes. You want to make sure that you allow for enough time in between guests to have the place cleaned and ready for the next renter. Sometimes you might only have a few hours in between, in which case you’ll either need to get a move on to clean it yourself or find a reliable cleaning service that will be able to accommodate quick work.

Set the Right Price

The rental price you advertise makes a huge difference in how successful you’ll be at filling your rental. Look at what other similar properties are being listed for in the area before choosing the right price. After all, you want to be competitive in the market and make sure that you have a healthy number of guests filling your spot so that you bring in a decent side income.

Stage the Place Appropriately

One of the more important components of being successful in the Airbnb market is to appropriately stage the property. There’s a lot that goes into staging, so you might want to consider hiring the experts in staging your vacation rental before you even take your first photo of it.

At the very least you’ll need to make sure the place is completely decluttered and tidied up. Everything must be in its place. Just think of a hotel room: it’s always in pristine condition before you set foot in it.

You’ll also want to depersonalize the space, especially if you use the place for yourself part of the year. Make sure to take down any family photos or religious artifacts. And make sure you clear all the cabinets, closets, and drawers so none of your belongings are in there.

You’ll also want to neutralize the place in terms of colour, furnishings, and decor. Having too much of a unique and whimsical taste could turn guests off.

Last but not least, make sure the place has all of the things that guests would expect in a stay, such as clean towels and soap. This is an alternative to a hotel, so you want to make sure that you at least give your guests what they would get otherwise.

Let Hope Designs Transform Your Vacation Rental!

Hope Designs has been in the business of staging homes, and they’ve even had some recent experience staging vacation rentals as well. With their tried-and-true experience, they make the ideal resource to help you create the perfect vacation rental for your guests. Call Hope Designs today!