When you own a vacation rental business, you understand the importance of peak season. It’s when your property experiences an influx of tourist flows and full bookings. But an increase in bookings isn’t obvious. Peak seasons require you to invest more in promoting your vacation rental and managing bookings and reservations more efficiently.
Although peak seasons create an excellent opportunity to grow vacation rental businesses, it’s stressful for vacation property managers and owners. But this shouldn’t be the case. Better preparation can go a long way in making the peak season less hectic for you and your team.
If you have a vacation rental, here are seven tips to help you prepare your property for the peak season:
1. Deep Clean Your Vacation Home
Deep cleaning your vacation home is the first thing you must do to prepare for the peak season. Guests expect high levels of cleanliness when booking vacation homes. Get a professional cleaning service to clean the house thoroughly before guests start streaming into your property. The cleaning process should focus on hard-to-reach areas and essential rooms like the kitchen and bathroom.
Additionally, to keep guests safe, enlist disinfection services to sanitize frequently touched surfaces, including countertops, doorknobs, tables, light switches, and shelves. Remember to deep-clean outdoor spaces, including paths or walkways, driveways, and any other outdoor areas on the property, to rid them of leaves and other forms of debris.
You may use outdoor vacuum sweepers to make the task easier. Also, if your vacation rental comes with a pool or hot tub, ensure it is thoroughly cleaned and maintained for the safety of your guests.
2. Update Your Listing
With so many prospective travelers searching for vacation rentals online, your property listings will view your listing. Take time to update your listing early to make it stand out. Look at your competitor’s listings and borrow ideas for improving yours. Adhere to listing regulations in your area, review past customer feedback, and adjust your listings accordingly.
In most instances, updates include changing nightly charges, discounts, and amenities. Updates should also include uploading professional photos that show off your vacation property well and attract visitors. To take great photos, tidy the property up. Clutter can capture people’s attention for the wrong reasons.
After clearing clutter and organizing your property, ensure that you have proper lighting before taking photos. Take photos of the interiors and exteriors and add them to your listing.
3. Check The Functionality Of Your Property
Another tip for preparing your vacation rental for the peak season is to check its interior and exterior functionality. Before the peak season, check all your locks, appliances, and bulbs to ensure they function well.
If there’s a garden on the property, ensure it’s well–kempt – cut the glass, paint the walls, upgrade the garden furniture, and repair and clean the swimming pool. While things can break down while guests occupy the property, ensuring that everything functions well when handing over the keys ensures you get fewer complaints and have more happy guests.
4. Reach Out To Previous Guests
Your previous guests can send you referrals and become repeat visitors. Before the peak season commences, reach out to them and remind them of their pleasant stay on your property. You can send them personalized emails or newsletters with attention-grabbing subjects. Consider offering them special incentives like discounts to encourage them to spread the word and stay on your property again.
5. Give Your Vacation Rental A New Look
Give your vacation home a fresh look by repairing it and replacing broken or worn-out furniture. A great way to impress guests with renovations is to add a fresh coat of paint on the walls and replace the old decor with new pieces that add a modern, distinctive look to the home.
6. Automate Vacation Home Processes
The high number of bookings can overwhelm vacation home managers during peak seasons. Automating management tasks such as bookings, client communication, check-outs, cleaning, and maintenance can streamline processes and increase efficiency during peak seasons. Additionally, installing smart locks on your property can save time and simplify check-ins and check-outs.
7. Prepare To Receive Guests
Avoid the last-minute rush by preparing for guests’ arrival ahead of time. Prepare everything you need to receive them before they start arriving to give them a comfortable experience. Some items you could prepare include a guest welcome note, a welcoming basket, a welcome book, or any other special treats. Remember to make copies of the rental agreement beforehand and plan staff responsibilities like welcoming guests and cleaning.
Final Thoughts
The privacy, homely environment, and value for money that vacation rentals offer to make them popular among visitors. However, the influx of guests during peak seasons can overwhelm rental owners and managers. If you own a vacation rental, you can avoid such situations by preparing well for the peak season using the seven tips discussed above.
