Buying a holiday home rental?

If you are a private owner thinking of buying a holiday home to rent, here's a few tips to get you started:

Be your customer

In order to know what your customers may want from a holiday home in the sun, you should try renting a holiday villa yourself. Make a list of the best and worst bits and try and incorporate these into plans for your own rental. Think about the amenities close by that you found useful and the ones you didn't have. Also think about what made the holiday home comfortable for you, for example, was there a TV with a good selection of channels (not everyone will rent your accommodation in the summer so there needs to be something to do during the colder days/nights), were there any board games, was there enough hot water - if you can get basics right, this could be the difference between a good holiday and a GREAT
holiday, thus a returning renter!

Be available and keep your customers informed

Nowadays holidaymakers want to be able to book their holiday home at the click of a button. Well, we know its not that easy, however you need to make it as easy as possible. Include your phone and mobile number on your advert, create an auto-reply email thanking the holidaymaker for their enquiry and explaining to them that you will return their email asap. Keep your customers (the holidaymaker) informed of availability and things going on in the resort. Why not keep the email address of everyone who has made an enquiry about your property and email them updates and special offers.

Your holiday rental is a business not a home
If you purchase a holiday home in the sun for renting, remember that on average private holiday home owners spend just four weeks out of the entire year at their property. Remember to think about appealing to the masses when deciding upon your home as this will make it easier to rent.
Think about what you would want from a holiday villa or apartment rental and then think about what your friends or other family members would want, then find some compromise and this should be the perfect holiday home rental.

Location, Location, Location
When booking a holiday villa or apartment in the sun, holidaymakers want the entire process to be as easy as possible and that includes when they get to the resort, so think about how long the journey is to the airport, how far from the beach and how far from bars and restaurants your holiday property is.

Really SELL your holiday rental
Make your holiday rental stands out from the rest by perhaps spending a little more on home comforts and furnishings. Think nice but practical. Leather furniture may sound excessive for a rental property however this is actually the easiest to keep clean!

If you are thinking of buying a holiday home to rent and are unsure of certain things, please feel free to email one of the team at Villa Holiday and we would be happy to help out with any advice.