With each new listing added online, the Short Term Rental industry grows increasingly competitive. To set yourself apart from the amateur operators, you need to understand which opportunities to jump on and which to avoid. This can be a huge challenge, especially when you’re just starting out. To offer some guidance, we have put together four tips on how to become a professional Short Term Rental host. Let’s make [...]
The Miami Beach Times recently released results to a survey completed by AirDNA and IPX 1031 regarding the top cities for Short Term Rentals. “Florida is home to seven of the top ten cities with the most Airbnbs per capita. Kissimmee, FL comes in at No. 2 with Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Studios next door, Daytona Beach comes in at No. 4, while Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and [...]
Surely, you’ve had at least one. If you list your property for short-term rental on sites such as Airbnb, VRBO or HomeAway, you’ve likely come across a request that just seems a little bit off. Spam inquiries are usually easy to spot, especially after you’ve seen one. They all have similar red flags: odd or famous names, the email doesn’t match with the name, multiple mistakes and grammatical errors. They [...]
If you are already in the short-term rental business, or thinking about it, certainly one of the main draws was to make income off your property. A recent poll of 1000 people by real estate company Clever found that 84% of respondents think listing a home on sites such as Airbnb is a good way to make money. However, it’s not as simple as “list the home, and the money [...]
Part of providing an excellent guest experience when renting your home to vacationers are the simple hospitality items that you’d find in a normal hotel room. For instance, fresh linens, small toiletry items, a small supply of paper products, etc. are common items vacation renters expect to find in their dwelling. Another such item is a coffee maker – 64% of Americans enjoy a cup of coffee daily, and that [...]
If you’ve been listing your home on Airbnb, VRBO or Homeaway for any length of time, you’ve surely run into inquiries on your property that look completely bogus. Or maybe you just get the sense that something isn’t entirely on the up-and-up. Perhaps they are asking you for your contact information because they want to circumvent the booking process, or, perhaps the language just seems like its boilerplate, or it [...]
You’ve had guests stay in your vacation rental property and they had a great experience. Now, it’s a year later and those same guests are thinking of coming back to your area on their next vacation. Will your short-term rental be their first choice for lodging on their trip? Or, if their friends or family are coming to stay in your city, will your guests recommend your property? Why or [...]
Short-term rental guests expect some of the basics when they’re staying at your rental property. Remember, you are competing with Hilton Hotels with your short term vacation rental - it makes sense that if your guests are traveling on vacation, they aren’t going to haul their kitchen items with them, or a set of extra sheets for the bed. But for those who opt not to stay in a hotel, [...]
Whether you’re an animal lover or not, you’ve surely contemplated whether or not to allow pets in your vacation rental. In fact, travelers likely are choosing (or not choosing) your property based on this factor alone sometimes. On Homeaway, it’s on the initial search menu when selecting dates and how many guests will be staying on the property. On Airbnb, pet-friendly properties are part of the advanced search. PetsWelcome.com is [...]
Has this happened to you? You have guests staying in your short-term rental property. They call you on the first day with a simple request. Then they call you a second time. Then a third. The requests may or may not be reasonable, but they expect you to meet their demands. Where do you draw the line? Or, perhaps your guests leave the home in terrible condition, cause damage, don’t [...]