Starting your own short-term rental business can be intimidating. Whether you’re opening your personal home or a rental property to short-term renters, there are several considerations you’ll want to bear in mind as you get started. These are also great points to review if you’re looking for opportunities to improve your business.

I have developed these points based on my first-hand expertise in renting my own home and rental property to hundreds of happy guests. I also drew on my background as a luxury travel agent to help come up with these valuable points. Without further ado, let’s get going!

RESEARCH

Before you take the leap, it’s imperative you understand your market. Do a search on Airbnb, VRBO, and other hosting sites to see how places like yours are performing in your market. Check their availability calendars to see how frequently they’re booked and at what price point they’re available. Pick a handful of places you’d like to stay yourself. How different are they than what you’re offering? What can you do to offer a better value than the competition? Make sure at this point you also research the tax and legal implications of short-term rentals in your area. Each state and local government has a different policy, so make sure you know what the restrictions are specific to your location.

PREP YOUR SPACE

Now that you have an idea of what the market looks like in your area, what do you need to do to make your space stand out? This could be anything from a total renovation to simply making a few tweaks to make your space more inviting. Consider how much you’re willing to upgrade based on your budget and what you hope to make a night before you start investing in upgrades, furnishings, and other amenities. As you’re considering how to design your space, ask yourself what will this look like in a picture. People will be judging your space by how it presents in pictures, so it’s important you start to judge your space in this way too.

INCLUSIONS

What will your guests expect from your space? You don’t want to break the bank on things that won’t be important to your guests, but you also want to make a good impression and earn a great review. Therefore, what can you add that will make your place a good value for your guests? For example, a coffee maker, coffee, creamer, and sugar are an easy thing to include that almost all guests appreciate-and many expect. I take that one step further by also including filtered water and snacks in my rentals. This doesn’t cost me much, but makes my guests feel like my space is a better value.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS

Now that your space is ready, its time to prepare your listing. One of the most valuable investments you can make at this stage is to get professional photos taken of your home. You’ll want to thoroughly clean the space, remove any clutter, and add green touches (plants and flowers) to enliven the space. These photos will be the most important way you advertise to your guests, so make them count.

WHAT’S NEXT?

These are just the first five points of my short-term rental guide. If you want to see the rest, please sign up with your email address to receive the complete guide. I know you won’t want to miss it!