5 Essential Tips to Rent Out a Vacation Property & Actually Make Money

Renting out a property to tourists and other short-term renters can often be a great idea for an income stream when you’re in a position to take advantage of it. But, that doesn’t mean you can just rent out a vacation property without putting too much time or effort into it and expecting to make a decent living.

Instead, you’ll need to actually put the time and effort into it to make sure you’re in the best position possible with it. It often takes more work than you’d expect.

That doesn’t need to mean it has to be overwhelmingly complicated. Quite the opposite. Focusing on the right rental property tips could be more than enough to help with this. They’ll make the process more straightforward while helping you increase your rental income.

Five of these could end up being essential because of the impact they can have.

Rent Out a Vacation Property: 5 Tips to Use

1. Enhance Curb Appeal

While the interior of your property is always worth focusing on to help bring in bookings, it doesn’t mean overlooking the exterior. Nobody wants to stay somewhere that looks terrible. Make sure you’ve put a bit of time and effort into the property’s curb appeal.

Updating the doors, taking care of any landscaping, and giving your property a fresh lick of paint every once in a while are all great ways to do this. It shouldn’t have to take you too much time or effort, but it’ll reap dividends as time goes on.

2. Know the Local Amenities

It’s always worth going out of your way to highlight the local amenities for your potential guests. It could end up being a big part in their decision to stay. Ideally, they’ll be as close as possible to everything. The better you highlight these, the more appealing your property is.

If your property is in London, for example, you might want to highlight the train stops, Paddington luggage storage, restaurants, and the nightlife. It’ll help you appeal to potential renters much better, giving them more of a reason to book a stay.

3. Adapt With Smart Technology

Smart technology has gotten more and more popular in recent years, and this can be worth taking advantage of with your property. It helps to make your property more appealing while adding to the overall guest experience. It’ll be more than worth it as time goes on.

Many of these can even be tied to check-ins and check-outs, making them much smoother and easier for you and your guests. It’ll even help to improve your property value in case you ever decide to sell up later on.

4. Create Professional Listings

You’ll need to list your property on several platforms to bring in as many bookings as possible. Make sure these are as professional as possible so they can serve your business in the best possible light. It’ll lead to more interest and bookings as time goes on.

The most important part of this is the imagery. The more high-quality this is, the better it’ll make your property look. Nobody’s going to be interested if all of the photos are dark and depressing, after all. Actually put the time and effort into making them look great.

5. Add Some Luxury

Guests always want to relax and take in a bit of luxury when they’re on vacation, and it’s always worth leaning into this. It makes your rental property more and more appealing, and helps it stand out to other options. You don’t even need to put too much into this, either.

Focusing on the bathroom and bedroom is important here, as they’re often the most used rooms in a vacation rental. Depending on your budget, you can branch outward from here, but concentrating on these at the start is always worth it.

Habits to Build to Rent Out a Vacation Property Successfully

Each of these tips should help you rent out your vacation property, but you’ll still need to put a decent bit of time and effort into it. The most successful landlords all have a few things in common, and that doesn’t just mean a decent income stream.

Instead, they all boast a few common habits that are all worth developing. They should pay off more and more in time, with some of the more notable including:

1. Treating it Like a Business – Many people see their rental properties as just another income stream, so they often don’t take it nearly as seriously as they should. You’re much better off treating it like a business so you can keep making improvements and changes while boosting your income.
2. Communicating with Tenants – Communication with anyone renting out your property should always be a priority, and this should be clear and transparent. It makes sure everyone’s on the same page and lets you avoid any potential hiccups with check-ins, check-outs, and other areas.
3. Making Constant Improvements – The best landlords don’t just settle for how things are. They’re constantly looking for ways to improve their properties for their tenants. While this means re-investing in the property regularly, the return on investment you should get from this makes it more than worth it.
4. Working Toward Goals – Speaking of improvements, great landlords do these with a clear plan and toward solid goals. These goals are always worth having in place and working towards, as they directly correlate to more bookings, higher profits, and similar benefits for you.

Added to the tips above, these should help you rent out a vacation property consistently and for a decent profit. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t help you create a viable income stream with your property.

Summing it Up

You should see more than a few benefits when you rent out a vacation property and make quite a bit of money out of it. But, that’s only when you know what you’re doing. Put the time and effort into the right areas so you can pull it off and make the best rental income possible.