Common Things Vacation Home Owners Overlook
As you have probably heard before, success is the result of hard work and failure. With that in mind, here are some common vacation rental owner mistakes to avoid.
Writing a Good Description
Your vacation rental description should be detailed as much as possible. However, don’t make it too wordy, as most guests will choose to skip it altogether. The perfect description should be anywhere between 300 and 400 words.
When writing the description, make sure to:
- Describe the property’s suitability for certain groups as couples, family reunions, kids.
- List all amenities room by room.
- Specify bedroom info and setup. For example, the size of the beds.
- Detail the type and size of the property. For example, if it’s a 2,500 sq. ft. home or a 4-bedroom villa.
- Highlight the property’s selling points in the first sentence.
There are certain things your headline should convey. A good headline should:
- Express the uniqueness of the home
- Clearly define the type of property
- Specify the distance to a nearby attraction (i.e. ski slopes, theme parks, beach access)
- Highlight special amenities or features (i.e. Wi-Fi, BBQ grill, deck, hot tub)
Hiring a Professional Photographer
This is a mistake that one too many vacation rental property owners make. Quality images draw the attention of a prospective guest much quicker. In fact, high-quality photography has become so important that professional and drone photography have become industry practice. To have a competitive advantage, invest in a high-quality photography service. While it’ll cost you a little bit of money, it can go a long way in increasing bookings.
Listing Multiple Places
One of the responsibilities of a vacation rental owner is to list their property on multiple channels to help increase the exposure it gets, which should also improve your bookings. Some of the top vacation rental listing sites include Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, Booking, TripAdvisor, Homestay, and OneFineStay. Additionally, there is software that are available to help you list across multiple channels with a click of a button.
Ask for Reviews
Guest reviews are something the vacation industry can’t live without. A review can make or break your vacation rental investment.
- Leave visual reminders around the property. These can be in the form of flyers or stickers. When done properly, they can help remind your guests to leave feedback about their stay.
- You could ask directly. When checking out, find out whether they enjoyed their stay. If affirmative, have them consider writing a review.
- You could wait until the guest has left. You could then reach out to them and ask them to write an honest review of their stay.
Insurance
A landlord policy is designed for a tenant-occupied property, while homeowners insurance is designed for an owner-occupied home. Just like other covers, vacation rental insurance helps cover damage, loss or theft on the property.
Response Time
Having a slow response rate is one of the quickest ways to ruin your vacation rental business. Many years ago, responding to inquiries within 24 hours was considered the industry’s best practice. However, today the responses need to come quicker than that. As a savvy host, try to respond no later than in one hour.
More: Best Ways to Promote your Vacation Rental
These are common mistakes that all rental property owners should avoid at all costs. Doing so will help you stand out from the competition, and therefore get more engagements for your vacation property.
For more information on owning vacation rental property, contact my office. I specialize in all Park City homes and vacation rentals, properties in Kimball Junction, and luxury homes in Heber Valley and Deer Valley.
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