By zedcoalam Owning and operating a vacation rental is an incredible luxury with its own set of challenges and upsides. Whether you do the work yourself or invest in a third-party management firm, you see the profitability factors clear as day. Here, we offer a few ways to improve the profits of your vacation rental home so that you can reap its benefits.
Keep the Listing Updated
Showcasing your vacation rental’s outdated appliances and last summer’s landscaping can give the property a sour taste for renters on the hunt. Even if the property is up-to-date and only the images are old, you may be missing a lot of bookings based on those photos. And ultimately, this negatively impacts profitability.
Any time you perform a property upgrade, include this in the imagery for renters to see what they’re paying for. Renters enjoy listings with fresh images, as this is a sign of overall property care and maintenance.
Focus on the Guest Experience
Regardless of whether your guests are in the vacation rental a lot or a little, focusing on the guest experience from check-in to check-out can increase positive reviews. Things like making guests feel welcome in your vacation rental can leave a remarkable first impression that they will remember for years to come.
Be as creative as you want with a welcome basket or a note of gratitude with a local coupon, or you can offer a discount on a future booking. These measures impact your profits throughout the season and potentially solidify a loyal renter.
Offer Review Incentives
Reviews in the vacation rental business play a significant role in gaining traction and more bookings. If you’re not receiving the reviews you want or need, consider turning to an incentive program.
Something like 15 percent, give or take, is usually enough to entice someone without dipping into profitability. And the future bookings you receive from these positive reviews will be well worth the 15 percent discount.
Remember that you control the parameters for the incentive program. So if you see it taking off and working well, you can stop offering the discount to further improve your vacation rental profits.
Remain Aware of Demographic Trends
Remaining aware of demographic trends might be a little more challenging and require more of your time, but you will benefit from this research. Understand what properties are around yours and how much they rent for. You can also review these rentals’ listings to see what is unique about them and apply these findings to your vacation rental to make it stand out above the others. Regardless of tenure in the investment property sector, your vacation rental is worthy of great guests and high profits. Refresh your listing and get competitive today!