3 Things We Wish We Knew Before Becoming Vacation Rental Hosts
Becoming vacation rental owners had always been a dream of mine and my husband's. Once we found the perfect property, the decision to host was easy!
What came after was a number of lessons learned through experience. Here are a few of them; 3 things to know before becoming a vacation rental host.
1) Being a host is A LOT of work.
This is not a commitment to take lightly. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of being a vacation rental host. Jobs such as managing post listings, setting prices, scheduling guests, preparing for guests, cleaning, and making sure amenities are stocked will keep a host very busy.
Some hosts choose to manage all these tasks themselves, and others choose to outsource to local property management companies. There are also several online tools to help hosts stay organized such as HostAway, Guesty, or Lodgify. No matter how a host chooses to stay organized, just remember that meeting interesting guests makes all the hard work worth it!
2) Good reviews are very important.
We can't stress this one enough! A vacation rental will have a hard time succeeding and staying booked without 5-star reviews. So, what is the best way to get 5 star reviews from vacation rental guests? Ask for them.
Check with your guests before, during and after their stay if they need anything to make their trip a 5 star experience. Accommodate their needs as best as you can, and, upon check out, remind guests to leave you a review.
3) You will likely encounter problem guests.
Unfortunately, some guests might not be as respectful of your home as others. You may come across partiers, mess-makers, noise-makers or anything in between. Be sure to be prepared for all situations, and have vacation rental insurance so you don't end up paying out of pocket for damages.
Some red flags that a guest may be a "problem guest" include haggling for lower rates, asking to pay "under the table", or asking if you live on site.
If you're considering using your property for vacation rentals, we've prepared some tips to help your business succeed and a list of reasons it's a great idea!
All very good points. We’ve been running a B&B for just over a year and would add;
4. Don’t make exceptions to your rules. We find that these are the guests that end up giving less then positive reviews every time.
I didn’t know the twin beds we had were too short to rent to adults. Buying twin extra long was an expense we didn’t expect. But glad we did it.