Becoming better at managing your vacation rental business isn’t always a walk in the park. However, becoming better as a vacation rental host can help you to fund your ambitions; such as giving a makeover to your home, getting your children to a better college, or simply retiring with the comfort and security of a second income.

With the turn of the calendar, it’s the perfect occasion for vacation rental owners and managers to think about doing things differently starting on Jan. 1. A recent survey by Fidelity shows that simply making a plan to improve in the coming year can be an important part of your overall financial health. Vacation home owners have other challenges as well, such as getting guest reviews on their listing, keeping their property booked throughout the year and achieving a position where the listing sells itself rather than the owner/manager having to do it all the times.

1. Become goal oriented

Jeff Walker writes that “Don’t underestimate the power of having an effective planning process“. It’s super important to have an effective goal-setting process in place. And, we’ve noticed that a lot of hosts who have excelled at their vacation rental business have done so by achieving incremental goals. They strived to become better hosts, kept their properties neat, clean and impressive, and they’ve remained consistent in providing a good service to guests. They’ve then used the cash earned from their vacation homes for their own vacations across some part of the world, bought a better car, or made an investment in an insurance plan that they otherwise could not have afforded.

Some sample goals for you can be:

• Increasing the number of reviews on my listing
• Change the interior or give a makeover to bedroom/balcony
• Increase the listing rate by improving services (include dinner/supper in listing offer)

2. Improve the guest experience

When it comes to vacations, nothing will beat a good vacation experience. This is why you can re-evaluate the whole approach you have towards guests. Put yourself in their shoes and think of any improvement that you can make to improve the guest experience starting from the key exchange all the way up to guests’ departure. Read online reviews and comments of hosts who have excelled by providing better service. Better yet, get the basics of your vacation home right and you will see your vacation home bookings skyrocket.

Here’s a list of resources you can read and implement in 2017

• How to improve bookings of vacation homes?
• How to handle guest complaints?
• Biggest challenges of vacation home owners

3. Make connections (offline & online)

Establish relationships with other local hosts. This will help you to understand the vacation rental space even better. It will also help you to forge relationships with people who face similar concerns or opportunities in 2017. When you exchange notes with them, you’ll realize that a lot of issues that you face as a host are not uncommon. There must be another host who has faced a similar problem in the past and has resolved it. The value of this network will outweigh the cost (which is usually in the form of time that you’ll have to invest in building relationships).

• Arrange a get together where you host a tea-party for other hosts. This will serve as an ice-breaker between you and people who face challenges/opportunities similar to you.
• Make a Facebook group of local hosts and share views, opinions, resources, and advice. Remember, there’s immense power in social networks that you can tap to grow as a business person. You may start by participating in the existing Facebook groups such as Vacation Rental by Owners or Vacation Homes by Owners only. Start a LinkedIn group where you can share ideas, build relationships and collectively grow as a vacation rental owner (see this LinkedIn group called Vacation Rental Professionals – The Vacation Rentals Group).
• Make a list of quarterly/monthly themes on which you want to interact with the hosts/services providers and association members. Put it in Google calendar and send an invite to others hosts, service providers, and vendors. Holding such events will give you greater insights and confidence to operate in this space, and with more profitability.

In the end, do not forget that it is not the big ticket item you’ll do in 2017 that will make a difference. The major improvement can be brought about by carefully taking smaller yet consistent steps, and investing in your future by listing your property on a good vacation rental platform, and by carefully working towards your goals.

The consistent stream of income that you’ll generate through your vacation home, and the benefits thereof, will far outweigh the concerns you’ve had in 2016. All it requires is an honest attempt to improve the affairs and getting better at managing your things.

There are only a few essentials you need to nail perfectly to attract the potential guests. Here’s how to get them right.

Easy to understand but difficult to implement, the essentials need time and attention. We describe the ways you can be 100% sure that your listing is better than your competitors.

1. Headline

On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar —David Ogilvy

This tells us how important the headline is in an ad. Your property listing serves as an ad for your vacation rental property. Rather than treating the “headline” as a cherry-on-top, treat it like a Sundae. Avoid boring or subjective words. For instance, many people write “large” without understanding that how large is large enough for the guests. Therefore, when writing a headline for your property, stick to the ‘rule of three’:

• Numbers
• Interesting adjectives (free, fun, incredible, essential)
• Unique rationale (principles, reasons, facts, secrets)

Another way to think of the headline is to add your property’s value proposition in it. Think of the unique value that guests will obtain if they book your property.

CottageBolgger listed five great examples of the type of headlines you should write for your vacation rental property.

2. Thumbnail Photo

“They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but with me, it always ends up being well over a hundred thousand.” Luke Tylor

A good thumbnail photo can do the wonders to attract more guests. We can give you tons of advice on how best to capture a photo of your room (let’s keep it for later). Better yet, hire a professional photographer and let him do the job. A good freelance photographer will charge around $600-$700. Remember, “vValue is more expensive than the price”.

Let’s move to the advice part.

Take pictures horizontally rather than vertically. There’s only little depth that you can add taking pictures vertically. And, then there’s lighting that can make or break a photo. Try using natural soft light when taking a picture of your room/lodge.

3. Full description

Use the description section of your listing to paint a clear picture of your home and all the extras it offers. Add specific details that you think can help sell your listing to potential guests. Add nearby tourist attractions, the size of the room (in terms of how many people it can accommodate), and what amenities can you offer to the guests.

4. Photos

In addition to the thumbnail photo, add 3-5 photos of your property, this will help portray a clear image in the guest’s mind as to what they should expect in terms of look and feel when they book your property.

5. Amenities

You can add the name/description of the amenities that you offer in your vacation property. This can become the sole reason of a guest booking your property rather than that of a competing host. Think of the ways that you can improve the guest experience; you can offer:

• Free WiFi
• Free Netflix Subscription
• Fireplace
• Hot tub
• Outdoor space

6. Guest reviews

“When it comes to building your VR reputation, guests know that reviews come direct from the horse’s mouth”, observes Lodgify, a software for vacation rental owners.

Guests are more likely to choose a vacation home that several past guests reviewed favorably. And, this is the hardest part of your hustle as a vacation home owner/manager. And, probably the easiest part to forget when you are darn busy. You’ve to keep in mind from the start that guest reviews will work as an advertisement for your property, the more positive your guest reviews are; the better you’ll attract guests.

Make it a habit of reaching out to guests after their stay and ask them how you may improve your service. After they’ve given you the advice, politely request for a review. Most guests will be happy to oblige after that you’ve connected with them on a more human level. We’ve also written on ways to increase your reputation among guests which can help you get better clients.