Maximizing Vacation Rental Income

The popularity of the Outer Banks as a great place to vactioners love our beautiful beaches and historic sites. Both tripsavvy.com and US News and World Report recently published articles touting this vacation spot. With these vacationers coming, the affordability of an Outer Banks vacation rental or second home should continue to be good.  This post offers a few suggestions for maximizing vacation rental income.

A vacation rental home is similar to a business.  First, you need to attract that vacationer.  Having the amenities that they want and marketing those amenities is a good place to start.  Most vacationers will be viewing the property on-line so having pictures and descriptions of those amenities is critical.  Second, you want that vacationer to be happy while using your home so they may come back.  Return guests usually take better care of the home. They also make it easier for you to fill the weeks offered.

Setting the Scene

Since the Outer Banks is a coastal resort, your vacation rental should reflect that. When choosing interior colors and furnishings, it is a good idea to look at magazines like Architectural Digest or Coastal Living for contemporary ideas. Your visitors will want a beautiful home matching the beautiful location in which it is set.

As you begin to make your place that escape for family and friends, you might consider simple luxuries that make a place perfect for relaxation and reconnecting with companions. Consider placing a sitting area in each bedroom surrounded by a neutral palette of wall color and durable flooring to remove the challenges posed by the cleanup of an inevitable vacation mess. Easy ways to keep clutter at bay like enough hooks to keep towels off the floor and storage solutions make enjoying the beach simpler and easier.  These considerations help to maintain a warm and welcoming environment all vacation long.  Other furnishings that will cause your guests to want to come back:

• beautiful and durable pillows
• plush bedding
• king sized beds in every room possible
• comfortable living and dining room furniture

You also might want to go the extra mile and have a list of fun things to do listed on the refrigerator or some other prominant place in the house.  Feel free to use our list of things to do here.

Outdoor Entertainment Checklist

Once  your visitors arrive, they’ll be focusing  on spending time  together with friends and family. Of course, most people come for the beach but outside amenities can differentiate your home from other vacation rentals.  Also, having outside amenities keeps the interior of your home in better condition.  Probably the most desirable (and the most expensive), outside amenity is a pool. Pools increase rental income by thousands of dollars every year. Adding a tiki bar or cabana kitchen will help take that rental income to the next level. Not all homes have room for one and some vacation rental owners don’t want the extra maintenance.

Here are some inexpensive considerations for outdoor fun:

• include  games (such as corn hole)
• some quality outdoor furniture
• a hammock
• a playground for the kids

One ingenious thing seen here is areas under the house (parts of a carport), being used as entertainment areas. They’ll likely be a day or two when your guests have indoor weather.  Being able to send the kids outside to do something fun in the carport or ground floor area out of the rain helps the entire group have a good vacation. A beautiful day in the Outer Banks will almost always include time enjoying those outside amenities.

Inside entertainment Checklist

Within any week’s vacation, a little rain is always a possibility. Maximizing vacation rental income will include creating an entertaining environment inside to match the experience outside. The living room should be one of the main entertainment centers in the home. Providing  plenty of seating options, a great deal of boardgames, TVs greater than 42” (in all rooms with a TV), and a top-grade theatre system will insure your visitors have fun while on vacation. If you have an extra bedroom or entertainment area, then having a pool table increases rental income. You’d be surprised how much use that pool table will receive. Having an equal number of activities outside and inside maximizes visitors’ options while they stay at your property.

Even if you decide to use AirBnB or VRBO, it is a good idea to talk with a local property manager.  They’ll likely give you some good ideas to improve the rentability of your home. Most times, the manager will have a list they can provide you or they’ll view the home and make suggestions. Unlike many Realtors, Scott Team Realty does not manage vacation rental homes and does not accept referral fees from local vacation rental managers.  This allows us to help find you the best property manager for your home.  As you continue to improve your OBX  vacation home, keeping these tips in mind will help you to improve the experience for your family as well as maximize vacation rental income.