Also called vacation rentals, short term rentals have certain distinctives that separate them from long-term rentals. Let’s take a look at what they are to help you start and run a successful business.
How long is a Short-Term Rental?
From a few days up to 1 month, a short-term rental is basically where people can be home away from home. It is often used for vacation stays. Many states and municipalities have laws limiting short term rentals. In some locales, people must move out after 29 days or they are become a “resident” of the region. Check with your local municipality to find out what the legal definition is in your area.
Are Short-Term Rentals Furnished?
Short-term Rentals have all the necessary furniture, like beds and couches. Their furnishings go beyond these basics to include things like sheets, curtains, towels, dishes, silverware. Optionally, hosts can make a washer and dryer available. One of desired the benefits of renting out a home instead of a hotel is the extras. Hotels do not always have a kitchen, let alone a private yard. These are some of the things people have come to appreciate about renting a residence for their vacation instead of a hotel room.
Can a Short-Term Rental be just a room?
Short-term Rentals can include everything from that spare room that your in-laws occupy one week per year, to a full unit in a 4-plex, to the pool house behind your main living space, to a complete property. The size depends on what you have available and what you want to commit to.
Where Should I List my Short-Term Rental?
While you may have your own website for your rental property, many guests want to search worldwide listings in one easy place. When their credit card number is saved as a payment option, booking can happen a lot easier and faster. Consider using a rental platform for a Short-Term Rental.
– Airbnb – This is the largest platform with vacation rental listings. It helps people rent out just a room, up to an entire property. With such a large customer base, your property will be sure to get bookings. Also consider that with the high volume of listings available, your property may get lost among the options.
– VRBO, owned by Expedia Group, can help you manage and rent out your vacation property in over 180 countries. HomeAway is now a part of VRBO, so if you were listed on one or the other, guests from either platform will be able to find your property.
– Vacasa and Turnkey are two platforms that do a lot of the property managing for you, including housekeeping.
– One Fine Stay specializes in luxury vacation rentals. If you have a home in a high-end area or want to purchase one to rent out, this is the platform for you.
– Booking.com and Hotels.com are commonly known websites for booking hotels, but they both also include listings for vacation rentals.
– Craigslist has been around for a while and has just about everything available for sale/trade/rent, so it is not surprising that you can list your short-term rental on the website.
What Tools are There for Me to Organize my Short-Term Rental Business?
– Beds24 is great software to blend several of your rental accounts into one place. Do your scheduling, receive payments, and more straight from your smartphone!
– Guesty, formerly known as YourPorter, combines several platforms into one place to help you manage it all from a browser or app, at a reasonable price! Guesty is one of the most popular management tools and includes a website for your business!
– MyVR, owned by Guesty, has the all-in-one Management Service of Guesty, plus Channel management.
If you’re thinking about getting into the rental business, call us at Brass Financial for all of your lending needs to help you get off the ground!