Month: September 2017

With the new feature CuddlyNest offers of sharing listing details on multiple social media platforms, traffic is only going to rise. Most people spend their time on social media, so it’s a great way to gain the attention of your audience.

Why to Take Advantage of This Feature

When it comes to sharing on social media platforms, it’s not just about the people you are associated with on that platform. Once you share your listing on social media, your friends and family see your post, and they are likely going to share it. If you add a photo to your listing, your post is no doubt going to get shared numerous times. If you take a look, especially on Facebook, you’ll see people posting dreamy vacation photos, houses, etc – This means, that if you put an attractive photo up, you’re going to end up receiving some decent traffic.

How to Use This Feature the Right Way

Just because you can share listing details on your platforms, there are some things you should know. You don’t want to come off spammy. If you have the same friends across multiple platforms, they are going to want to see the same post over again.

A quick fix to this is to change it up a little bit. Add something unique for each platform and add a different attractive photo for each. Think about how you use social media for your own personal reasons – when do you consider something “spam”? Remember that when you’re making and sharing your listings. When it comes to sharing listings, you want to add what people want to see. It’s all about your potential guests.

Develop a Sharing Schedule

When it comes to sharing more than once and on several platforms, it’s beneficial to create a sharing schedule. For example, think of some guidelines you can set for yourself as to how often you should be posting per day, week, and month. Think about a preferred time of day. Usually, after dinner time is best since that’s when most people are online and not working or tending to their family.

Add some creative variety to your schedule and listings. It’s critical to not share the same message twice. For example, if you post something on Twitter, the next day make sure you change it up and get creative. Try not to just post information about your listing with a link each time. Try asking a question to your audience, such as “What would you do here for three nights?” or “Imagine yourself here on vacation. What would be the first thing you would do?” This will get your audience to engage with your posts.

Browse. Book. Stay.

CuddlyNest provides all accommodations to all travelers at the best price. Find unlimited travel inspiration on our blog and social media channels:
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X.

You May Also Like:

How To Give Your Nest a Memorable Name and Description 
How To Take the Best Photos for Your Listing

It’s rare that you immediately become an expert at being a well-organized vacation rental owner or property manager. This is especially true if you jump in feet first without truly knowing what you’re doing — there will definitely be a learning curve you’ll have to get used to.

Even then, the most seasoned vacation rental owners can still up their game in certain ways. Do you want to be the best vacation rental host you can be? CuddlyNest has three ideas for resources you can utilize that will greatly improve the quality of your work.

Productivity Tools

The more lucrative your vacation rental operation becomes, the more you’ll have to keep track of. This becomes amplified when you own multiple vacation properties…how are you going to keep track of all your scheduling?

It’s not as simple as just paying attention to when guests come and go. After a guest leaves, you need to have the property cleaned. Routine maintenance work needs to be done, and that can’t happen during a guest’s visit. You also have to make sure that you keep in contact with your guests in order to gauge their visit and in the event any issues arise.

Productivity tools you can download to your smartphone or tablet are a lifesaver in this situation. Google’s calendar feature is a great way to keep track of scheduled events, like leeching a septic tank or when you can have a vacation rental cleaning. For emails, Tout is a great app that creates email templates you can easily send. There’s no point in individually emailing every client a new message just to ask if they’re enjoying their stay.

Security and Automation Tools

You want your guests to have a good time in your vacation rental, right? It’s not enough to leave a muffin basket in the kitchen and a piece of chocolate on their pillows. One of the major reasons people will still choose hotels over vacation rentals is their comfort level. They feel safer in a hotel that has a full security system and is in the city over a house they’ve never been in that may or may not have a security system.

Because security is such a major concern, it’s something you absolutely have to implement in your vacation rental. Check out magazines like PCMag which post lists of the best home security systems in the market.

There is one thing to be wary of, though. Some clients will assume that because you have a security system, you may have had an issue in the past or that your neighborhood may not be the best. How do you mitigate this? Combine the security system with home automation. BeHome247 is a great home automation service to look into. Your vacation rental moves from “potentially dangerous” to “totally high-tech.”

Insurance Policies

Finally, never rent out any property without making sure you have vacation rental insurance. You may not realize this, but many pre-existing homeowner policies don’t actually have vacation rental policies, leaving you and your guests vulnerable.

Do your own research about whether or not your insurance company offers vacation rental insurance. If not, consider companies like CBiz that offer vacation rental insurance separate from your current insurance company. If you would like to know more about Vacation Rental Insurance we invite you to take a look at this article from fitsmallbusiness.com to know much more about Cost, Coverage & Quotes.

Becoming the best vacation rental property owner you can be isn’t about your own ego. It’s about being able to offer the best services possible to your guests, which in turn gives you better reviews and more rentals. It’s a win-win!

Browse. Book. Stay.

CuddlyNest provides all accommodations to all travelers at the best price. Find unlimited travel inspiration on our blog and social media channels:
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X.

You May Also Like:

How To Give Your Nest a Memorable Name and Description 
How To Take the Best Photos for Your Listing

Home automation is convenient as is, but is it actually something that can make you money? We’re not talking about adding home automation to your own home, but instead to your rental property.

Your initial thought might be that that’s a pretty big investment for just a rental property. However, it’s important to look at your rental property as an investment. Most people who want to stay in a rental property are on vacation or a special trip — they’re looking for an experience, not just a place to stay.

There are a few other reasons why home automation might bring in more money to your vacation rental property. CuddlyNest wants you to make the most money possible, so here are a few other ways that home automation can benefit your wallet, as well as the most valuable automation features you need to invest in.

The Payoffs of Home Automation

A more convenient home is a home that gets better reviews. Tenants in an automated rental property can dim the lights, change the AC settings, and monitor the security without much effort at all. This lets them focus on themselves, not maintaining the house, which will certainly net great reviews. Check your listing on CuddlyNest after you include automated systems and you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by your new, higher rating! 

Cutting your energy costs puts money back in your pocket. Automated systems installed in a home can turn lights off when they aren’t in use, and keep an eye on your thermostat and other useful functions. This can decrease your energy costs exponentially; up to 25%!

Security is paramount. Tenants like feeling secure in a rental property – they aren’t used to the area and the home, and this can put them on edge. An automated security system will help to put their mind at ease.

Automation allows you to raise your rental price. “Wouldn’t this displease customers?” No — it would if you spiked your prices for no reason, but when they see that your home is automated? They’ll be willing to pay the elevated price.

The Features You Need for Automation Success

There are a lot of different features in any home that can be automated, but there are three automation options that are really high-ticket items.

Thermostat Automation. No one likes having to turn their thermostat up and down 20 times a day to try and get the perfect temperature and adjust for changes. An automated thermostat does the work for you AND helps you to save energy. Some automated systems even allow you to manage this system through a smartphone app, which is easy for your tenants to do.

Humidity Sensors. Want to avoid mold and wood rot? Moisture and humidity sensors in your home can help to alert you to the moisture levels in your home. If the levels read high, you could have a problem with a leak, leading to mold problems.

Surveillance Systems. This explains itself. Tenants want to feel safe in your rental property, and the easiest way to give them security is quite literal: an automated security system. Most security systems also include smartphone apps, which again can help them feel comfortable in your property.

Are automated systems in your rental property necessary to rent it? No — but they can increase the revenue you make from renting out your property. Research automated system installation and see if you can invest in this valuable addition to your rental property.

Browse. Book. Stay.

CuddlyNest provides all accommodations to all travelers at the best price. Find unlimited travel inspiration on our blog and social media channels:
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X.

You May Also Like:

How To Give Your Nest a Memorable Name and Description 
How To Take the Best Photos for Your Listing

At CuddlyNest, we’ve always prided ourselves on being the best and most customer-focused short-term rental listing site out there. We listen to what hosts and guests want, then we adjust our site and practices accordingly. This is certainly the case with our latest implemented features: the ability to easily call hosts directly and host website linking.

Direct Calling for Guests

There’s always been something of a stigma against allowing hosts and guests to have direct communication when it comes to rental listing sites. The idea has always been that acting as a middleman also means negotiating contact between the two parties. Now, direct calls and communication between hosts and guests is an official site feature.

The idea behind this feature is that contact and transparency will increase bookings for hosts and make guests feel more heard and secure in their rental choices. Let’s say a potential guest sees a vacation rental they’d like to utilize. Now, it’s easy for guests to get in touch with hosts to ask questions about properties before they decide to rent.

On the end of the hosts, sharing information publicly isn’t a necessity. If you currently host with us, we won’t force you to utilize this feature. You can opt for it when you decide to go to the off-site payment method. You can still keep your info private and discuss the property indirectly through CuddlyNest if you choose to complete the booking and payment process through CuddlyNest.

Website Linking for Hosts

You can think of listing rental properties like stock trading. Some people only trade as a hobby and a way to get extra cash, while others turn it into a career. Similarly, some hosts only have one property that they like to utilize as a vacation rental when they aren’t using it themselves. Others buy and/or manage rental properties as part of a business.

No matter how you like to list your properties, CuddlyNest is still focused on finding new ways for you to improve your money-making strategy. Now, hosts can link to their own vacation rental websites in order to promote their properties and build a following on CuddlyNest.

What does “build a following” mean in terms of short-term renting? First, some renters build rapport with their hosts. If they love property and a host’s accommodation skills, they’re likely to want to rent from that host again. Linking to an outside website allows a host to showcase other properties they own or manage that guests can choose from.

Another perk of this feature is notoriety. If one guest loves a host enough to review them and spread their property via word of mouth, all the other properties they manage also get a boost because the host manages or owns them. An outside list or website makes it easy for these potential clients to find properties managed by a host they know is professional and congenial.

Choosing CuddlyNest

We’re proud of the growth we’ve recently experienced at CuddlyNest, and we want to thank you — the hosts who work with us and the guests who support them – for how far we’ve come. Because you’re who make us who we are, CuddlyNest will always be a business that aims to create features that help both guests and hosts make the most of our services.

Browse. Book. Stay.

CuddlyNest provides all accommodations to all travelers at the best price. Find unlimited travel inspiration on our blog and social media channels:
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X.

You May Also Like:

How To Give Your Nest a Memorable Name and Description 
How To Take the Best Photos for Your Listing