How To Turn Your Home Into A Short-Term Rental

People are increasingly turning to private homes instead of a hotel room while travelling. If you live in a popular tourist destination, offering your home as a short term rental can fetch you more income per month.

Before you get started with fixing up your home as a short term rental, you’ll need to do a little research about your area. As a short-term rental, you can earn almost double what you make with long-term tenants. Of course, this depends on how frequently you rent out your place, the amenities you can offer and the demand in your locality.

Prepare Your Home

Short-term rentals are usually alternatives to a hotel room so guests would expect homes to be furnished to basic standards and amenities needed for travellers. These are a few things you need to do to make your home guest-ready.

• Industry-standard furnishing: Invest in good quality, durable furniture as short term rentals go through more wear and tear than a regular home. Make sure your furniture and appliances are in good working condition. Certain items like mattresses, bedspreads should be hotel standards.
• Essential amenities: You need to provide standard amenities such as Wi-Fi, toiletries, etc. If you have a kitchen, you need to keep it stocked with necessities.
• Declutter your home: Your home needs to be minimal and clean for guests. Remove an unnecessary item especially personal belongings.
• Automate your rental: Create a system using a lockbox or keyless door to provide self-check-in.

Creating An Online Presence

Now that your home is guest-ready, it’s time to advertise your rental. The internet has made home-sharing easy but now if you are living in a tourist location, it’s very likely that your neighbours are doing the same. So, you need to stand out from the crowd.

• List on several sites: Advertising your rental on multiple sites is the best way to increase your exposure which in turn results in more bookings.
• Snap professional photos of your space: High-quality photographs are the single most important factor for marketing your short term rental. It’s essential that the photos highlight every aspect of your space accessible to the guests.
• Determine the rent: The right price is crucial for the success of your business. You shouldn’t price too high or too low as both practices will cost you in the long run. Research your market for similar rentals and implement a dynamic pricing strategy to maximize revenue.
• Have a direct booking website: Building a dedicated website reduces the reliance of your STR business on other platforms. Always provide guests with an incentive to book directly by offering them the best rate on your website.
• Manage guest expectations: Make sure all the features of your space is clearly advertised. Creating a false impression to attract renters will leave your guest disappointed which again would affect your reviews.

Managing Your Property

Short-term rentals are more difficult to manage due to higher guest turnover. If you are not looking for an active role, you should hire a management company.

• Have a cleaning process: To meet the expectations of travellers, a clean home should be a top priority for your business. Having a comprehensive cleaning checklist is key to making your rental spotless.
• Having the right people you can call for cleaning and maintenance makes your job easier. You need to build a team of reliable people.
• Effective guest communication: Send your guests detailed information on how to gain access to your property before they arrive. You could also prepare a set of house rules to guide your guests on how to use your property correctly.

There is a lot of work that goes into a short term rental so make sure this is the best strategy for you. Hiring a good manager or company can do wonders for your business. STRs have great earning potential but also have its risks. If you are looking at consistent rent every month with less turnover, short term rentals may not be the way to go. But opening your home to this model can unlock huge earning potential.