There are a lot of misconceptions around hosting short term rental properties. When I tell people about our short-term rental business, the response I most often get is along the lines of, “I could never do that. I can’t imagine having someone come stay in our home. What if your guests trash your property?”
Literally hundreds of rentals later-no one has “trashed” my property.
Has someone spilled red wine on my white sofa? Yes.
Have people forgotten everything from blankets to sunglasses? Yes.
Have guests contacted me at 6 AM about how to use the coffee maker? Yes.
Is it still worth it? YES.
Commit to Getting it Right.
Opening your home to guests is not a decision to make lightly. It can take a a lot of time, money, energy, and effort to create a property guests want to use. We bought our home, with its attached apartment, with the intention of making both short-term rentals. Our location is what makes our property special, but we also undertook extensive renovations to make it appeal to guests who are willing to pay a premium per night.
Renovating our home was an investment we felt we needed to make to command top dollar. I don’t regret doing it for a second, but I certainly was naïve about what it would entail to live in a construction zone for six months.
Completing renovations was just the beginning. We invested in professional photography for our listing images. We consulted with a family member in Public Relations to write our descriptions. We figured out what a competitive price would be for our spaces, but also had to factor in what was worth it for us in terms of time and energy to have to leave our home. In our case, it’s simply not worth it to host guests for a single night. Because we rent out our personal home, it’s often not practical for us to host people for longer than 4-5 nights. It’s up to you to determine what types of rentals work for you.
These are all things that happened before we were able to offer our home as a short-term rental.
Presentation is Everything.
It takes even more time, energy, and effort to prepare for guests to come stay in your space. It can be time consuming to prepare for guests to stay in our home; and for us to move out of it. My washing machine doesn’t stop for about two days prepping linens. We often need to organize closets and drawers that have gotten away from us between rentals. My husband will typically spend a full day getting the exterior yard work and maintenance done before guests arrive.
The day guests check-in, we have a professional cleaning team who comes in and cleans to ensure everything is perfect for our guests. We include toiletries and thoughtful extras in each bathroom to make sure everyone has everything they need. I also provide a bottle of wine, chocolates and a hand-written note welcoming them to our home. These extra personal touches go a long way to make guests feel welcome, but also reminds them this is our home too.
I share a guide with our guests about 5 days before their stay that includes arrival instructions, a guidebook about our home and the local area, and invite them to let me know of any questions or concerns they have about their visit. This sets the tone for their stay and really helps answer a lot of questions and concerns before they arrive. Many times, I won’t hear from guests at all during their stay.
I’m a big believer in no news, is good news.
Be Available.
There’s always the chance something will happen, and a guest will need your help. It’s not enough to provide the space. You must provide exceptional service if you’re committed to creating five-star experiences for your guests. Therefore, it’s imperative that you’re available to them if they should need anything at all during their visit. In my experience, guests are understanding and gracious if they experience hiccups during their stay, but only if you’re responsive and care about their issue. This is KEY in earning great reviews and generating business.
Short term rental hosting isn’t for everyone. There is an inherent risk in allowing strangers to come stay in your home and trust that they’ll treat it with respect. In our case, we’ve decided the risk is worth the reward. Our short-term rental business paid for the renovations we completed and allowed me to step away from my full-time job to pursue endeavors like this blog.
It’s not always easy, but I wouldn’t change a thing.