There’s no doubt that a clean vacation rental is going to have an appeal to visitors. They are going to opt for a spotless vacation home over one that isn’t kept up. Not only does this mean normal cleaning, but also making sure there is no clutter. If you want tourists to keep coming back or recommending you, develop a cleaning schedule and keep the following in mind.

Why Is Housekeeping so Important?

According to a reputed firm that conducted a survey, one of the main things that hotel visitors complain about it is cleanliness. Visitors would rather not compromise on cleanliness – In fact, your reputation can be at stake if the visitor feels your cleaning ethic is not up to par, such as allowing ants, spiders, dust, and mold in the building. You can bet that if a visitor finds anything that suggests you don’t keep up on cleaning, they will get the word out and your reputation and profit margin will suffer.

How Can You Meet the Major Expectations of Visitors?

Now that you feel motivated to clean you should keep in mind that anything contaminating the ambience of the place needs to be removed. For example, any harsh smells or soiled floors can lead to an unsatisfied impression to your guests. Make it non-negotiable to keep your rental clean.

Take a walk through your rental and check the floors. Make sure they are dirt free. Also, wash all upholstery, change your furnace filters, and clean anything – even the smallest thing – that you see out of order.

Additionally, you’ll need to check under the couch, end stands, and even beds. Remove any dust mites. Check window frames and remove any bugs or dead flies. Spider webs should be clear as well.

Indoors is not the only part you need to keep clean – Maintaining a neat and attractive outdoors is equally as important. Some tips on curb appeal are trimming the lawn, pressure washing the siding, keeping your sidewalks mildew free, and keeping any bushes cut evenly and landscaped.

How Can You Keep Your Property Clean Professionally?

Contact any local cleaning agencies that you can count on to keep your vacation rental maintained all year. Come up with a checklist that you will give to your maid service to make sure that tend to every area you need. Of course, this will need to be discussed prior to hiring them to ensure each part is within their areas of willingness and expertise. Some things to consider in the checklist are trash and dishwasher emptying, arranging cabinets, vacuuming and mopping the floors, washing windows, cleaning bedrooms, washing upholstery and bedding, and other duties.

Ensure that either you or the maid is keeping up on flooring and even the bathroom tiles and grout. Make sure to always have the brand name/manufacturer name written down in a secure spot for your appliances, for whenever they need maintenance or repairs.

When it comes to cleaning area rugs, this should be done by an agency that specializes in this type of cleaning. Make sure to ask for a stain resistant coating as well. While you’re getting your carpet cleaned, make sure your blinds and draperies are also being cleaned to reduce any smell, pollen, and even mold.

The sandy, sunny memories of swimming at the beach faded away faster than you would have liked. The crackling of the Fourth of July fireworks came and went just as fast. You may be upset summer is over. You may think, “You can only do so much when it’s not hot out anymore.” Luckily, that’s not true. You don’t need to be dipping your toes in the sand to have fun. In fact, here are a list of end-of the-summer things to do across America.

How does camping with ponies sound?

Venture out to Maryland’s Assateague Island to experience one of the best end-of-summer camping trips along the Eastern seaboard. Rather than visiting Ocean City, Maryland where it’s almost always crowded, go 10 miles south to Assateague Island, which is a Maryland state park, where you can find a colony of wild horses. A bonus is the cool temperatures so you don’t have to camp in scorching heat.

*Tip* – If you are planning on camping here, make sure to reserve a campsite ahead of time. If you are going just to have some fun, this island is spectacular for hiking, biking, kayaking, fishing, and crabbing.

Experience the Power of the Chicago River

Chicago won’t disappoint when it comes to phenomenal views and heights. To take advantage of this great power, you would need to kayak the Canyon of Skyscrapers along the Chicago River. The Riverwalk has shops and several restaurants, as well as a winery. There’s even a place to dock so you can enjoy wine tasting and some nice live music.

Saddle Up Along the Wyoming Frontier

What’s better than being in the wide-open West? You can either enjoy a scenic respite, go out for a horseback riding adventure, or just kick back and relax in your very own “dude ranch.” Experience rustic cabin lodging, real-life cowboys, hiking, swimming, fishing, and trail rides during your visit.

Do You Like To Party? Head Out to San Francisco

If your version of a party and having fun includes some alcoholic beverages, you’re in luck if you visit San Francisco’s Dolores Park. Skip the “tall boy” drink you usually turn to and reach for “Cutty Bang”. Check out the back of the fridge in a corner store and you’ll find a Ziploc bag pack of airplane-sized bottles that contain liquor, usually mixed. The variety of alcohol is worth the look.

Get Active by Mountain Biking Through Utah

If you would rather escape the crowd, head 100 miles outside of Moab in Utah where you will stumble upon an overlooked desert wonderland, called Goblin Valley. There’s usually nobody else around. Once you reach the sandstone formations, you’ll want nothing more than to explore. Head over to the park’s biking trail system and have a blast by yourself or with some friends. If you stay until nighttime, you will experience a fantastic view of one of the darkest skies in America.

Scams are everywhere and unfortunately you even have to worry about it while you’re traveling. Think back to your last trip – Did you come across that one person wearing sneakers, golf shirt with a windbreaker over it, shorts – Oh and don’t forget about that baseball cap that doesn’t fit quite right. That’s the type of person scammers are going to target. They know that person is a tourist. Don’t dress like that at all. In fact, try to blend in as much as you can.

But how else can you protect yourself against these notorious scammers? Keep these 3 things in mind:

Keep An Eye Out on That Taxi Driver

You may have heard about a taxi driver scam before. After all, it happens way too often, especially with travelers. Say you get into the taxi and you have an idea of what the ride will cost. You may even make the mistake of trusting the driver. You arrive at your destination, only to find out you are being charged double or even triple what the cost should have been. The driver tells you your total, with an intimidating look and a half-crooked smile.

Solution: Find out the most reputable taxi service before you even step foot in your destination.

If You’re Single, Take Note

Single and heading out to travel. You’re likely going to run into some interesting people of the opposite sex. Maybe back home nobody is worth getting to know, but you run into someone during your travels that caught your eye. Unfortunately, scammers are looking forward to tourists traveling to their location. For example, they get you interested in talking with them, suggest drinks, and get you to let your guard down. You wake up the next morning not remembering much and not having any cash in your wallet. This scam is real and you need to keep your guard up at all times.

Solution: Limit your drinks so you know what’s going on. Make sure you watch your drinks being made. If you meet someone nice, why not go out for a coffee instead. At least with coffee you’ll remember the entire time together.

Photo Credit: fabartdiy.com

Is That Handbag Even Real?

It’s not just the internet you need to be careful on when you purchase a brand name handbag – You also need to be cautious when you are traveling. Southeast Asia and China are well-known for their knock off items, which is why their electronics and luxury items are incredibly cheap. The majority of the time the products you’ll come across are Western-designed items, which have been copied by the locals.

Solution: Always know what you want. If you have your eye on a Michael Kors bag, you need to either go to the website and view the bags closely or go online and type in “real vs fake Michael Kors bag” – Always educate yourself before being scammed.

You may not always be scammed when you’re traveling but it’s ideal to know what you’re in for ahead of time.

Hosting gostiju u vašem vlastitom mjestu da biste ostvarili dobit je sjajna ideja, ali stvari se možda neće uvijek glatko odvijati. Trudit ćete se pružiti najbolje svojim gostima za odmor s velikim putujućim iskustvom. Međutim zajedno s tim, nastaju mnogi problemi i stoje kao stresni izazovi. Slijede neke točke koje treba razmotriti kada se radi o poteškoćama da budete najbolji domaćin.

Kao domaćin, zasigurno morate nastojati pružiti svojim gostima najbolje putovanje. Međutim zahtjevi i želji gostiju mogu biti različiti od onoga što ste spremni pružiti u vlastitom domu. Dakle, kako možete kompromitirati između vaših pravila u vlastitom odmoru i gostima u stanu u zakupu? Možda biste htjeli jasno navesti pravila kuće u svom profilu kako bi gosti bili svjesni pravila prije nego što rezerviraju nekretninu. Međutim to može smanjiti broj zahtjeva za rezervacije koje možete primiti i time ograničiti zaradu. To je izazov, pogotovo ako ste iznajmili sobu u kući ili ako je vaš kratkoročni najam za odmor u vrlo konkurentnom području zajedničkog tržišta.

Drugi izazov s kojima se suočavaju domaćini jest nemogućnosti fizičke dostupnosti u vrijeme njihovog dolaska na imovini. Neki gosti mogu biti toliko zahtjevni i teško ih je zadovoljiti ako stvari ne idu točno onako kako očekuju. Ta se situacija posebno pojačava ako imate nekoliko oglasa za odmor na udaljenim lokacijama ili u različitim regijama ili zemljama. Naravno, uvijek možete uzeti u obzir angažiranje tvrtke za upravljanje iznajmljivanjem vašeg odmora, ali pitanje povjerenja i dalje bi bilo snažno. Ovo rješenje također nije zadovoljavajuće u smislu ekonomske izvedivosti, pogotovo ako uvrštavate pristupačne sobe u kuću i pokušavate se natjecati s hotelskim sobama ili sličnim prostorijama u tom području.

Još jedan izazov s kojim se možete suočiti je dobivanje povrata na policu osiguranja. Ovaj proces može biti dugotrajan i stresan. Kao domaćin za iznajmljivanje odmora možete ostati na donjem kraju prioritetnog lanca kada je riječ o zadovoljstvu gosta. Morat ćete uložiti mnogo napora u potraživanje novca za štete koje uzrokuju gosti. Zajedničko tržište i osiguravajuća društva određuju profit i zadovoljstvo gostiju zbog zadovoljstva domaćina. Dakle, ovo je nešto što trebate prihvatiti i biti spremni za rješavanje ako se dogodi.

Također, kao domaćin, svakako ste zabrinuti za mjere sigurnosti vezanih za domaćine. Domena za sigurnost domaćina za odmor nije adekvatno riješena niti je pozornost obraćena na većinu zajedničkih tvrtki na tržištu; u suprotnosti s iznosom naknade koje se pružaju za sigurnost gostiju ovih tvrtki. Nema jasnih propisa koji se bave tom temom kako bi se zajamčila sigurnost domaćina, posebice da nema dostupnih mjerenja pregleda gostiju, osim vlastitih razmatranja i gostiju što možda u nekim slučajevima ne odražava stvarnost pozadine gostiju. Pitanje koje ponekad ostavlja sigurnost domaćina samo na sreću i šanse.

Sve ove teme predstavljaju velike izazove domaćinima za odmor. Ti se problemi moraju ozbiljno riješiti, a trebaju se stvoriti i dugoročna rješenja. Velika je misija ugostiti ljude na svoje mjesto, ali to sigurno ne bi trebalo biti problematično. Iznos napora koje domaćin ulaže u iznajmljivanje mora biti uvelike cijenjen i to bi se trebalo odraziti na bolje usluge i odredbe koje se odnose na zadovoljstvo domaćina. Zadovoljstvo gostiju ne bi trebalo nadmašiti zadovoljstvo domaćina u bilo kojoj situaciji. Sretan domaćin znači sretni gosti i cvjetanje poslovanja.