1. travel
2. vacation rentals

How to Rent
a Vacation Home
By Owner
A comprehensive checklist
for owners looking to successfully rent
out their vacation homes
The vacation rental business is booming as more travelers choose
vacation rentals over hotels and more vacation homeowners seek out
rental income to offset expenses.
If you are considering getting into the vacation rental business, it
certainly can be daunting. That’s why we’ve created a comprehensive
checklist for how to rent a vacation home by owner.
Viability
Is Your Home Marketable
•
It is in a sought after location?
•
Does it show well? Is it up to date? Does it have a
“wow” factor?
•
Do you have desirable amenities to tout? (i.e.
beachfront)
2. Balance of Personal Use and Rental Supply
•
Will you make enough weeks available for rent to
make it worth your effort?
3. Financial Model
•
How much will you be doing yourself ? Will you be
engaging a housekeeper, property manager,
concierge, rental agent?
•
Assess the marketplace, forecast potential revenue
and determine the net income
1.
Elite Destination Homes is a
boutique vacation rental
agency representing luxury
homes in premier resort
destinations across the globe
since 2005.
Copyright © 2013 Elite Destination Homes
www.elitedestinationhomes.com
How to Rent A Vacation Home By Owner
A Comprehensive Checklist
House Set Up
4.
According to
TripAdvisor
49%
of US travelers are turning to
vacation home rentals instead
of hotels. Read more.
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Copyright © 2013 Elite Destination Homes
Rental Readiness
•
Property maintenance – all repairs are taking care of
and everything is in working order
•
Décor – home furnishings and accessories carefully
chosen and well maintained
•
Technology – satellite or cable TV with DVD player,
VOIP phone, WiFi, iPod docking stations
•
Supplies – paper goods, linens, kitchen and bathroom
necessities
•
Determine your cleaning schedule
•
Create a cleaning and inventory checklist
•
Create an entry system for guests - keyless entry,
lockbox, property manager greets and provides key
•
Create a House Manual with household instructions
for guests – how to operate the remote, etc.
Legal
•
Check with home owner’s association and city
requirements for rental licensing
•
Get the proper insurance in place
•
Write up a Rental Contract
Positioning
•
Why should someone choose your home over
another in the area?
•
What is your pricing strategy?
Set Your Rates
•
Analyze similar houses in the market
•
Analyze promotional activities
Determine Your Promotional Plan
•
How much are you willing to discount?
•
How will you fill open nights in the short term and
long term?
Conduct a Photo Shoot
•
Capture key features that set your home apart
Write Your Property Description
•
Highlight what makes your home unique
Create a Welcome Letter/Pre-Trip Planner
•
Build a list of information about the area along with
your personal recommendations for restaurants and
other activities
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How to Rent A Vacation Home By Owner
A Comprehensive Checklist
Sales & Reservation System
Sales Management
•
Will you be in charge of sales or will you be assigning
an agent?
•
Determine languages for taking reservations
•
Develop strategy for closing leads
•
Determine how you will accept and process
payments
13. Choose a Calendaring System
•
Get it up and running
•
Block off your personal dates for vacation and
maintenance
•
Integrate with on-site service providers
14. Choose a Lead and Reservation Management System
•
Get it up and running
12.
From HomeAway’s
2012 Fall Report:
92%
of vacation home buyers plan
to rent their property within the
next 12 months. Read more.
Copyright © 2013 Elite Destination Homes
Marketing
Create a Website for Your Home
•
Optimize it for search engines so it can be found by
potential guests
16. Build an Email Database
•
Segment the list
•
Determine your content strategy and plan for
continual communication
17. Promote Your Home via Social Media
18. List Your Home With Rental Listing Services
•
Research your options and their terms, the best/
biggest ones are VRBO, HomeAway, TripAdvisor,
Airbnb. These are excellent vacation home rental
sites but like any marketplace (e.g. Ebay or Craig’s
List) there is an art and a science to ranking at the
top of the listings and standing out among the crowd
•
Research your competition on these sites
•
Set up accounts and build your listings, renew listings
as necessary
•
Continually monitor your listing rank, view and lead
volume
•
Continually tweak your listings to maintain top
rankings
15.
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How to Rent A Vacation Home By Owner
A Comprehensive Checklist
List your home with a local villa rental agency
•
Research your options and their commission rates
•
Convince them to take on your home, negotiate rates
•
Provide information about your home to get their
listing up
•
Stay in contact to keep your home top of mind
20. List your home with international villa rental agencies
•
Research your options and their commission rates
•
Convince them to take on your home, negotiate rates
•
Provide information about your home to get their
listing up
•
Stay in contact to keep your home top of mind
19.
Roughly half of owners report
that their rental income
covers at least
75%
of their mortgage payment.
Read more.
Revenue Optimization
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Review Leads and Occupancy Regularly
Review Channel Performance Regularly
Continually Research New Channels
Plan Promotions
Assess Rates vs. Competition Regularly
Update Promotions and Rates Across All Channels
Determine Additional Tactics to Increase Reservations
Continually Promote Via Outbound Calls, Email and Social
Channels
Vacation Sales
Check Email Continually for Leads
Respond Quickly
•
According to the Harvard Business Review
responding to leads within an hour generates 7x the
conversions
•
Confirm availability and rates
•
Put dates on hold
31. Vet Guests
•
Talk to each guest on the phone, conduct online
research as appropriate
32. Sell Your Home
•
Tout it’s unique features and benefits
•
Paint a rich picture of the location, the
neighborhood, the full experience
•
Differentiate it from their other options
•
Give them time to mull it over while staying in
contact
29.
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How to Rent A Vacation Home By Owner
A Comprehensive Checklist
Close the Sale
•
Verify reservation
•
Get a signed rental agreement
•
Block the calendar
34. Collect Down Payment
35. Generate a Weekly Reservation Report
•
Create a report with the details of all reservations on
the books
•
Provide it to your local property manager/concierge
36. Collect Balance
33.
Pre-Trip Planning
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The total U.S. Vacation Rental
Industry is expected to reach
$25.8
billion by 2014
Read more about the research
conducted by PhoCusWright.
42.
On Site Property Manager/Concierge
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Copyright © 2013 Elite Destination Homes
Plan Airport Transit
Communicate Home Access Details
•
Set meeting time for local property manager/
concierge
Gather Special Requests (i.e. highchair, crib)
Provide Information About the Area
Make Dinner and Activity Reservations
Pass Guests Information to On Site Property Manager/
Concierge
Stage Home
•
Attend to special requests (i.e. highchair, crib)
Meet and Greet Guests
•
Offer Welcome Gift
Provide an Orientation
•
Provide a tour of the home and walk them through
the House Manual
•
Provide area information and activity
recommendations
Make Dinner and Activity Reservations
Attend to Any Additional Needs
Oversee Housekeeping
•
Ensure house is cleaned and supplies restocked
before, during and after stay
Inventory and Damage Check
•
Immediately after guest departure
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www.elitedestinationhomes.com
How to Rent A Vacation Home By Owner
“Elite quickly and efficiently brought
my Vineyard Estate home to a level it
would have taken me much longer to
achieve, and that includes rental
revenue. Guests love their experience
here. Elite added value to my real
estate.”
- Mike F, Owner in Sonoma County, CA
A Comprehensive Checklist
Trip Follow Up
Collect Repair Costs if Necessary
51. Contact Guest After Their Stay
•
Thank them
•
Request feedback
•
Request a review
52. Watch For and Respond to Reviews
50.
Financials
Deposit Money From Renters
Deduct Expenses
55. Pay Service Providers
56. Pay Taxes
57. Create a Monthly Revenue Report
•
Track financial performance
•
Adjust financial model, sales and marketing strategy
as necessary
53.
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Renting your vacation home
doesn’t have to be a second job.
Yes, there's a lot to get done, but there are numerous people you can
partner with to make your rental business stress-free and extremely
lucrative. Check out our analysis of the different types of vacation
rental agents.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive marketing and rental sales
solution, consider us. Since 2005 Elite Destination Homes has been
providing vacation rental management services for an international
portfolio of multi-million dollar luxury homes.
Contact us.
It all started with a few of our own.
Call Kathryn at 651-389-3838
to learn more or click here to submit
your home for consideration.
Copyright © 2013 Elite Destination Homes
6
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