Must have clean, crisp, fresh and bright white look.
WHY – Guests demand pristine clean. White means you are accountable, guests appreciate this. White can be bleached if need be. Colors could suggest you're hiding stains and too soft is interpreted by some as warn, old, and used.
Supplier must be easily accessible for ease of replenishment.
WHY- Relying on a consistent supply and supplier saves a bundle in time and management.
Design must be simple and consistently available.
WHY – Elaborate design will lock you into one manufacturer or brand. Maintaining inventory consistency equates to efficiency.
Price point must be reasonable.
WHY – Spend too much and you are less inclined to generously replenish.
Items must be separately available. (Hoteliers don’t buy in sets)
WHY – Pillowcases, top sheets, and fitted sheets experience varied lifespans.
Quick drying for efficient turnovers. (single ply sheets- Long fibers)
WHY – Quick turnover is king. Heavy cotton sheets, or plush bath mats for example take too long to dry.
No shrinkage. (Poly blend not 100% cotton)
WHY – Shrinking or pilling can render the product unusable.
Durable enough to withstand commercial laundering.
WHY – Must stand up to the rigours of routine laundering, guest wear and tear. Poly blend adds strength and durability.
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Then we have the vacation rental inventory checklist we use to help property owners get their kitchen ready for their first season.
Kitchen Inventory worksheets
Page 1 – Cutlery and dish ware
Page 2 – Serving dishes and glassware
Page 3 – Kitchen linens and utensils
Page 4 – Baking and cookware
Hope this helps
FREE Printable Worksheets
]]>Yes and No. First question you should ask yourself: Why am I a short term rental host? If it's simply to rent a space here and there for extra income, then you are best served with ONLY using the large OTA's (Online Travel Agency) such as Airbnb, VRBO, Booking and so on...
If on the other hand, your vacation rental has become more of a business venture, then by all means you should have your own domain name and direct booking site.
1 - Branding - Name your property create a slogan
2 - Secure a domain using your property name. Try Godaddy
3 - Shop for a suitable platform for example Owner Rez or Lodgify are popular. But there are quite a few to choose from. Go to Capterra and search for "vacation rental software."
4 - Set up a payment processing account for example Stripe, Go to Capterra and search for "payment processing software."
5 - Download all previous guest emails from the OTA's you are using.
1 - Set up a Google Business page; this helps legitimize your domain, since the big OTA's discourage travellers from booking direct.
2 - Learn all you can about SEO
3 - Write a few short blogs about the area
4 - DO NOT remove your OTA listings.
5 - Use tools like Facebook, instagram, Mailchimp or Constant Contact
6 - Encourage repeats and referrals
As you can see this is a time consuming endeavour.
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Many Airbnb Superhosts are reporting a drop in vacation rental bookings.
Most experts chalk it up to a supply demand imbalance. Unfortunately there’s not much you can do to fix that over saturation. Instead, let's look into what you, as a vacation rental host or manager, can actually control to improve your BNB listing(s).
If you want your Short Term Rental (STR) bookings to increase, continue to grow and remain profitable. Start by focussing on your main objective, which should be to:
" Stand out from the crowd"
This is very simple and easy. If you haven't already. Give your STR a name and even a tag line. For example; Quail's Inn "Kelowna Family Retreat". Then secure a domain name, e.g. https://www.quailsinn.com/.
Of course the large OTA's (online travel agency) such as Airbnb and VRBO offer significant advertising value when it comes to exposure. But are you getting lost in their *algorithms? Have the OTA's saturated the STR market?
Regardless, it is always wise to diversify your marketing strategy. List at as many OTA's as possible. At the very least Airbnb and VRBO.
Look locally for booking sites, here's a good example. https://www.okanaganvacationhomerentals.com/
Look for government funded tourism sites that may allow a free or low cost listing. Example: https://www.visitsanantonio.com/category/lodging/vacation-rentals/
Consider creating your own Vacation Rental Booking Site. Not an easy endeavour, but it is considered a very worthwhile investment. From $40/mth plus about 40 person hours of setup. Or. Simply start with a one page web page that could include pictures, contact info and a link back to your listing(s).
Consider setting up a "Google my Business" page.
Have you been building a guest email list?
Now that we're all dealing with such a competitive STR landscape. Keeping your property up to date is crucial. Inspect, repair and replace.
Refresh furnishings. Freshen up your linen supply. Paint. Get rid of chipped dishes and so on...
Focus on something that helps your property stand out from the crowd.
Refresh images and verbiage. Consider hiring a photographer. Try adding a video.
Review pricing. Not saying lower, just take a good hard look at the competition. Increase value before adjusting rates.
How efficient are your turn-overs? Who is doing a final inspection ahead of check-in? Are linens washed on site or off? Either way you should have a clean supply of bed linens and bath towels ready for your cleaners.
Are you allowing enough time? 11am to 4 pm is typical.
Welcome your guests either with a message or in person. Follow up again at check out. Ensure any issues go through you or you manager. Otherwise you run the risk of a guest leaving a negative review. As we all know "stuff' happens.
Re-visit your guest manual. Include cheat sheets in particular areas. For example points on how to use laundry in the laundry room. Check out procedures. Contact, WIFI & checkin/checkout times on another card.
Do you leave a welcome card or basket?
*Algorithms are complex mathematical computations, in the case of the big OTA's, booking site algorithms are designed to benefit the corporations desired outcome.
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If you're starting a vacation rental business, follow this step-by-step guide on how to prepare your home for guests.
Remove excess personal items and keep a few locked areas to store your belongings. Remove anything irreplaceable or valuable.
Go over your property inside and out to make sure that everything works and that nothing is damaged or broken. Your property does not have to be in pristine condition, but you must never leave guests with a home in disrepair. Your vacation rental business depends on good reviews!
Supply your kitchen with enough flatware, glasses, plates, etc… for double the number of people the rental can sleep. Dining and living spaces must also accommodate all possible guests with enough comfortable seating. Replace old mattresses and pillows and make sure bed frames are solid. If you offer twin or double sized beds, it is highly recommended that they are 80 inches long. Note bed sizes below.
Vacation rental guests may overlook an older couch and weathered patio furniture, but they are less tolerant when it comes to sleeping and bathing. Beds must be comfortable, clean and fresh, and bathrooms need to be spotless.
The best way to achieve this is to supply ample amounts of quality bedding and towels. And yes, do yourself and your future guests a favor and purchase (minimum three sets per bed) white hotel quality sheets and towels, they’re tried and true, and consistently available, making them easy to replace and simple to manage and maintain. Find VR Supplies here: Shop Canada or USA
Always buy poly/cotton blend sheets—they wear better and are less prone to wrinkling than 100% cotton. And if you want to offer a high-end freshly pressed look? Simply iron your pillow cases. Believe me when I say, nobody will notice that a fitted sheet wasn’t pressed.
Along with the dimensions shown here, standard mattress depths range between 12 to 14 inches. The most popular bed size used in the hospitality industry is a queen, next, a king. Twin XL are very popular in the bed and breakfast industry since they easily convert to king. If you stick to these dimensions you will find it much easier to maintain a consistent supply of linens.
Nobody talks about pillows, unless of course you’ve made a few beds in your day. Best tip ever; stick to one size! Ideally ‘Standard’. Trust me; it will make your life managing pillows, pillow protectors and pillowcases much easier. After all, head sizes don’t vary (physically that is).
Typically most well-lived-in homes already have everything a traveler needs. The best rule of thumb when starting a vacation rental business is to offer what you were using yourself, from your washer and dryer through to your high speed internet, books, games, television and so on. Even a well equipped junk drawer supplied with everything from batteries to scotch tape goes a long way towards creating happy guests. Leaving non-perishables such as sugar, salt and other dry goods is always appreciated, and a basic first aid kit is highly recommended. Make sure your fire extinguisher and smoke detectors are operational and up to date.
As for extras, a waste paper basket in each bedroom and bathroom is a good idea. A laundry basket in each bedroom may keep wet towels off the floor, and a hotel luggage rack will save your furniture from luggage scratches.
Sharpen or replace knives, replace such items as BBQ brushes, hangers, toilet brushes, just to name a few. Stepping it up a notch would be to offer mini hotel shampoos and hotel soaps. Disposable make-up removers are also a nice touch, and will save your towels.
The upside to our global connectivity is that marketing your vacation rental could not be easier. First and foremost invest in good images. Set up your space as it should look at check-in and be sure to use a high-resolution digital camera. If you’re not great as an image editor, then just click away and simply choose from the best. You should have at least 25 good images in your repertoire. Write up a few catchy paragraphs about your home’s positive and unique attributes.
If you have an entire home available on a regular basis then consider VRBO. If you have a room or space available here and there, then be sure to check out Airbnb. And of course, your local websites can offer great local exposure. Most of these sites prompt you throughout the process and make it very easy to get set up.
As a follow up to your marketing, you must fully appreciate that your vacation rental will only succeed if your guests are happy. Reviews can make or break your venture. The best way to acquire positive reviews is to be very sure that you are providing what you are selling and that you are priced accordingly. Always make personal contact with your guests by phone or in person; once before they book, and again after they check-out. Also make sure they have local 24-hour contact information in case they need anything. The bottom line is: on occasion, things can (and will) go wrong, from a mouse in the pantry to a leaky dishwasher. It’s how you handle these situations that matters the most.
We asked hosts if they used Instagram for vacation rentals. 41% said that they did have a dedicated Instagram page for their rental, and of those hosts, 43% said that they felt that their Instagram page was bringing them more bookings!
When used correctly, Instagram is a great tool that may be used to stay in contact with previous guests, and to attract new ones. Below, you will find tips on how to best use Instagram for vacation rentals.
General Tips
How to Find Followers
4 Ideas for Posts
I have an acquaintance who welcomes short-term guests into her beautiful hilltop home while she and her husband visit their daughter in a country house outside Lyon, France. They’ve done this several months a year for at least a decade, most of that time without specific vacation rental insurance. They’ve always had great tenants. But three years ago, they returned home to find that their huge, expensive, newly installed front door had been almost completely destroyed. “It looked as if someone had taken an ax to it,” she said. “And guess what? Our insurance company denied our claim. They said we’re operating a business.”
That was a wakeup call! We’d simply assumed that our homeowner’s insurance would cover us if something happened while guests were staying in our home as part of our vacation rental business. But what if they wouldn’t? What if someone stole our computers and TV? Trashed the house? Or worse, slipped on the stairs?
We realized that we’d been very nonchalant about the short-term rental process. We knew enough to declare the rental income on our tax returns, but we’d never bothered to educate ourselves about vacation rental insurance, or short-term rental laws, or other taxes we might be subject to. It was about time we did. Read on to see what we learned.
When I finally checked with our insurance company, I was relieved to find that our policy would protect us from personal injury lawsuits and fire damage resulting from short-term or vacation rentals, although the company might not pay claims for tenant-caused damage. But many homeowners’ insurance policies do not, or they have exclusions that leave big holes in your coverage. To avoid nasty – and costly – surprises, contact your insurance company, explain what you plan to do, ask whether you’ll be covered, and ask about exclusions. For extra protection, send your agent an email confirming the details in case there’s a misunderstanding later on.
If your insurance company balks, you’ll need to find a company that does cover you when guests are living in your home without you being there yourself. Some such companies currently exist, and as more and more people join the ranks of short-term rental hosts, others are reconsidering their policy exclusions. At least one listing site, Airbnb, provides some coverage, but I’m not sure how extensive it is. Your own company might let you buy a supplement to your policy or you might be able to purchase supplemental vacation rental insurance elsewhere. It might be worth the cost just for your peace of mind.
In New York, it is not legal to host or advertise a short-term rental of less than 30 days in a multi-unit building. Violators risk heavy fines: $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second, and $7,500 for the third.
Many cities across Canada and the US have implemented similar rules and regulations.
The last thing you want to worry about in planning a vacation is running afoul of the law. Unfortunately, no single set of rules applies to all short-term rentals. The IRS expects you to fork over applicable taxes on the income (see below), but laws and regulations governing short-term rentals and house-swaps are enforced locally.
To avoid what could be very stiff fines, educate yourself about any local or state laws that might apply to you. You might need to register your home as a short-term rental and pay a local tax. Or you might be limited in the number of days you can rent out your home each year. You should be able to find any regulations online, and with so much buzz surrounding short-term and vacation rentals in the last few years, there’s a good chance your local publications have covered the issue. If you have any questions or concerns, consult a lawyer.
Most of us are pretty law-abiding. We obey traffic regulations. We pay our taxes. We don’t steal or commit assaults. Yet many otherwise law-abiding people run afoul of fair housing laws when they rent out their homes.
Federal fair housing laws make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, familial status, disability, age, and source of income. Your local and/or state laws might include further categories.
The wording in a rental listing or advertisement is the first indication of intent to discriminate. For example:
“No immigrants,” “Russian family seeks,” “Hispanic neighborhood”
“No wheelchairs or walkers,” “no pets, even service animals”
“Not suitable for children,” “single occupancy only,” “perfect for a young couple”
“Quiet, mature neighborhood,” “seeking Christian family”
If your intention is only to alert some renters that your home might not be suited to their needs or might not be a good fit for them, use descriptive language that will allow your readers to make those determinations themselves:
“Bedroom is reached by a somewhat steep flight of stairs.”
“We live in a seniors-only community so we cannot accept children under the age of 16.”
“Our swimming pool is unfenced.”
It’s not really clear the extent to which hosts renting out their private homes for a few weeks are subject to Federal laws and to local housing laws and regulations that may go even further. But that doesn’t mean you should seek people only from certain groups or with certain characteristics, or turn people away because they don’t fit those criteria. Instead, base your selection of tenants on whether you think they’ll pay the rent, take good care of your home, and respect your neighbors. Whether or not your short-term rental is subject to fair housing laws, it’s just wrong to discriminate. Period.
If you’re already a short-term rental host, you probably know that if you rent out your home for more than 14 days in a given year, you must report the income to the IRS.
What you might not know is that you might also be required to collect “lodging” taxes and/or sales taxes on your short-term rental, just as hotels must do. It can take some research to find out (1) what taxes apply to your rental, (2) what the tax rate or rates are, and (3) when the taxes are due.
In some markets, Airbnb now collects and pays certain taxes as part of hosts’ user fees. But your short-term rentals might be subject to multiple taxes and fees, depending on where you live and the length of your rentals. Check with your local and state tax authorities, or ask your tax professional what taxes you need to pay.
While you’re at it, learn about deductions you might be able to make as a result of the rental. Did you incur any: cleaning or maintenance expenses; internet and utility payments; home improvement investments; or insurance premium costs as a result of renting your home? Keep careful records, and ask your tax professional what deductions you can take.
We’d like to know about your experiences with the topics covered in this post: vacation rental insurance, laws and regulations, discrimination, and taxes. What tips would you give someone who is just starting out as a short-term rental host?
Thanks to Janis Fisher Chan for submitting this article.
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