How to Prepare Your Vacation Rental Home

A vacation rental home can be a great source of income, but it takes a lot of work to prepare them. If you’re planning to lease out your home for vacationers, during the holidays, or just for long weekends, use this guide to help you set up your property so it is fully prepared for when the guests arrive. It will make the process easier for everyone involved!

Clean the Home Before Guests Arrive

The first thing you should do when preparing your home for guests is clean it. This may seem like an obvious step, but many people forget this or don’t have time to do it before their vacation rental guests arrive. E.g. there was a guest of mine who payed enough money for abu dhabi city tour and so he expected me to hand him the house all neat and clean and wonderful, of course it’s his right to since he is paying for a high level of service.

When you’re cleaning the house, focus on the areas that are most likely to be used or seen by guests. For example:

● Clean all windows inside and out.

● Wipe down sinks and counters with a disinfectant cleaner like Lysol wipes.

● Vacuum carpets and floors thoroughly with either a traditional upright vacuum cleaner or a cordless rechargeable one like Dyson’s V8 Animal Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, which has strong suction power and comes with two batteries so you can charge one while using another battery at the same time!

Decide on the Sleeping Arrangements

When you have guests, it’s important to consider their sleeping arrangements. You might have a king-sized bed in your master bedroom and want them to stay there, but if they’re traveling with children or another couple, they may not want to be separated from their loved ones at night.

You can accommodate this by adding an air mattress and providing blankets for everyone’s comfort. Make sure that there is enough free space on the floor so that all of your guests have room to place an air mattress so they can have a comfortable sleeping space.

Prepare the Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in any home. It’s where you cook, eat and socialize with friends and family. Vacation renters love to cook so it’s important that your kitchen be fully equipped for them to cook up a storm!

Preparing Your Kitchen for Travelers

● Make sure all appliances are clean

● Clean out the refrigerator and freezer

● Remove anything that won’t be used during their stay (food items, cleaning supplies etc.)

Make it Easy to Find Your House Keys

You want to make it easy for your guests to find the keys, but not too easy!

You want them to feel like they are staying in a home, not a hotel. That’s why you should hide the keys somewhere secret in the house and only tell them where they are after they arrive. We recommend that you have your guests acknowledge that if something goes missing or gets broken, then it will be their fault because they were the ones occupying the home.

The best place to hide your house keys is behind an object on display (like a painting) or inside something tangible (like some pillows). If you have kids who might be playing around with things around the house while your guests are there, consider hiding them somewhere only adults would know how to access – like under the bed or inside an old textbook lying around from college days!

Make a List of All the Things that Need to be Done

Check if you have all the essential items in your home that will make it comfortable for your guest(s), including towels, linens, toilet paper and soap. If something is missing or broken, do not wait until last minute to replace it! There is nothing worse than having guests arrive at your vacation rental only to find out that something is not working properly or there are no extra sets of towels available for them. If this happens you may lose their trust as well as future bookings from them because they won’t want to stay at another one of your properties again due to poor service.

Make Sure Everything Works Before Guests Arrive

● If something is not working, try to get it fixed before they arrive. There is nothing more frustrating than spending your vacation at home waiting for a repairman to come.

● If you can’t fix it yourself, find someone who can do the job quickly and cheaply (like a friend or family member) or hire someone through Airbnb’s handy “Hire an Expert” feature.

Check and Clean Fireplace and Ventilation Systems

If your home has a fireplace, clean it out and check all ventilation points so it doesn’t get dusty or dirty while you’re away.

If there are any vents in the room, make sure they’re clean as well. This will prevent mold from growing inside of them while you’re gone and help keep things fresh while they’re in your rental home. Guest safety should always be your top concern.

Remove or Store Any Personal Items

Your guests will be thrilled to see their vacation home with all of your personal touches, but they may not want to see the rest of the house full of your personal items. Some things can be removed temporarily and returned when the guests are gone, like family photos and artwork on the walls or shelves. Other items that also might need to stay out of sight are your favorite blankets, knickknacks, or personalized cushions that would be difficult for guests to replace if they get lost or damaged during their stay.

Check Smoke Detectors Regularly

Smoke detectors are a crucial precaution to take when renting out your home, and they’re easy to forget about if you don’t have anyone staying in the house for an extended amount of time. Whether you’re going away on vacation or just leaving for work for a few days, it’s important that all of your smoke detectors are working properly before leaving.

Set Up and Maintain a Calendar

If you’re a homeowner, the best way to ensure that your vacation home is ready for guests is by setting up a calendar. You can do this in two ways – by setting up an online booking system or using physical calendars and post-it notes.

If you want to go with the digital route, there are many websites such as Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway where homeowners can list their properties and set prices for them. These sites often come with built-in calendars that allow owners not only to list their rentals but also to see when they are available or unavailable by color coding each day according to its availability status (e.g., red means unavailable). These sites can also help travelers make reservations more easily, contact the owners, and set up their vacation. The easier you make it for the renter to lease your rental vacation home the more customers you will have. The more customers, the greater potential profit you will generate!

Get a Professional Inspection

Consider hiring an inspector to look over your property before guests arrive. If you decide to go this route, make sure they are licensed and insured as well as familiar with the type of home you’re renting out. You can find inspectors through the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) or the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI).

Organize Your Storage Areas and Trash Bins

● Organize your storage areas and trash bins. When you’re not traveling, it’s easy to forget what items are stored in the far reaches of your home. Before guests arrive, take some time to put things away so that they have an easier time finding what they need when they need it.

● Clean out the fridge! If there are any spoiled foods or leftover containers in the fridge, remove them before guests arrive–even if it means tossing out leftovers from last week’s dinner party! The last thing anyone wants is for their vacation rental experience (and stomach) ruined by spoiled food smells lingering around the kitchen area or even worse…in their room!

Prepare a Welcome Basket or Gift Items for Your Guests

If you’re the kind of person who likes to give gifts, this is your chance. A welcome basket or gift items for your guests is a great way to make them feel special when they arrive at your vacation rental home. It can also be a nice touch if you’re renting out the home for an anniversary or birthday celebration and want to show how much thought was put into their stay.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you prepare for the upcoming season. We know how difficult it can be to get everything ready for guests, but with these tips and tricks, you’ll have a much easier time doing so!