Saturday, February 28, 2009

Advertising Your Vacation Rental Property

By Trevor Albers

What can you do with your second home to generate extra income? Turn it into a vacation rental. Many people rent out their secondary, tertiary, etc. properties as vacation rentals, and depending on where your property is located, you may end up with more demand for your rental than you expected. Of course, this all depends on the effectiveness of your advertising.

The first thing to do is to make sure that you are familiar with the short term rental laws for your state, city, and HOA, and that you sign and mail in any paperwork that may be required. You should purchase an insurance policy for your vacation rental home and create a rental agreement that includes basic information such as the amount of monthly rent, the duration of the tenancy, any utilities and services included in the price of the rent, the amount of security deposit and other clauses.

Vacation rental ads need to be concise and to the point. Dont waste your time with unnecessary words, since your space will probably be limited. Instead, include a few colorful photos, and focus on the basics: a clear headline, a property and location description, duration of tenancy, and of course, the price. At the same time, be sure to highlight the best features of your property. Is it steps from the ocean? Was it recently remodeled? Are pets allowed?

One way to increase the number of people who find your ad via the search engines is to add keywords at the bottom. These should be focused on the specifics of what you are offering, i.e. vacation rental (your area) and should be separated by commas. You should plan on posting your ad on several different sites to increase exposure and to help you reach different demographics. Certain sites may offer features and options that others dont.

Advertising your vacation rental property is a process of trial and error. In other words, dont get discouraged if you arent flooded with responses at first. If the first ad that you post isnt getting the kind of traffic that you want, consider rewriting the copy, including different photos and, also, advertising on another online listing site. Eventually, and probably very soon if your rental property is located near or in a popular vacation destination, you will find your perfect renter.

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