How to Have a Vacation Home for Free: Keys to Running A Successful Vacation Rental

If you’ve been watching the show “Vacation Home for Free” on HGTV, you might have started thinking about what it takes to buy and run a successful vacation rental to offset the cost of owning a vacation home. 

I’ve been managing and renting out vacation homes successfully for 25 years, and I get lots of questions from friends and family about how I do it, so I'm gathering together my (often random and not guaranteed) tips for success in a series of blog posts that might be helpful for you! The more popular vacation rentals are, the more often people will think vacation rental first, before booking a hotel, so it is “win-win” for everyone when vacation rentals are successful!

This will be a series of blog posts, covering (in no particular order):
1.    Where to buy your vacation home for a successful vacation rental
2.    What to stock in your vacation rental
3.    Clean clean clean – the most important thing for a vacation rental – what to clean and when
4.    Where to buy supplies for your vacation rental
5.    Taking great photographs of your vacation rental
6.    Top websites to promote and get bookings for your vacation rental: What differentiates Homeaway from VRBO from AirBnB?
7.    Social media marketing for your vacation rental
8.    Leveraging AirBnB
9.    How to promote your vacation rental on VRBO and Homeaway
10.    FlipKey and Tripadvisor Tips
11.    Managers and management fees for your vacation rental
12.    Remember your please and thank you – communicating with your vacation renters
13.    Amenities that book – and which ones to to include in your listing keywords
14.    Running the numbers – what to expect to spend to run your vacation rental


If there are other topics you’d like to see covered, please leave me a comment! 

Visit the vacation rentals that we own or help manage here:
Seascape, Classic Beach House at Olivia Beach, Lincoln City Oregon Coast, United States: http://www.vrbo.com/558197
Villa Abela in Syros, Cyclades, Greece: http://www.vrbo.com/558178
Beach house on Waiheke Island, New Zealand: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3477111 

Disclosure of Material Connection: All opinions are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer. This blog may contain affiliate links and advertising. When you use the links in this blog, I may receive a small commission to help fund my blogging efforts. It costs you nothing extra and I greatly appreciate your support! If I review products or services, I will disclose if I have been provided any discount or free items in exchange for my review. In either case, I give my opinion honestly.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  

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