As a vacation rental owner I feel empowered to choose my advertising, take my own inquiries and reservations, keep all the revenues and handle all problems.  On the flip side I have to handle all of the maintenance and field any and all guest queries or complaints.  As a vacation rental owner with several newer properties my maintenance issues are fairly easy, however, renting weekly in peak season keeps me hopping with cleaning and turning homes, responding to rental inquiries,  and handling all arrivals and departures.  To help determine if you should rent by owner or hire a manager you should answer two simple questions - 1. Do you have the TIME to attend to the duties of managing your own property? and 2.  Do you enjoy the process? 

Many vacation homeowners are retired or self employed and can handle managing their rentals by owner.  Many rent by owner because they truly enjoy the process.  Yes, some of us really do enjoy vacation rentals by owner.  You can meet new friends from all over the world and from many different walks of life.  There can be great satisfaction in offering and delivering a fantastic vacation rental experience to your guests.  

Others discover that managing by owner is just too challenging and demanding for their lifestyle.  You may (or will eventually) come across people that can’t be pleased, not often, but enough to let you know that you really prefer to have a professional manager handle the rental of your home.  

Utilizing the services of a professional property manager may be your best option if you have limited time to spend on day to day operations or you prefer to not have to talk to visitors.  Many managers know their rental markets and rental seasons inside and out.  Experienced managers have systems in place to market to new and existing client bases, systems to handle complaints, maintenance, experienced cleaning crews, precise records keeping, time tested rental agreements and much more. 

Property Manager or VRBO?  It’s all good….you just need to see which option will work best for your lifestyle.  As a VRBO you may increase income, however, you will have increased responsibilities, which is just fine if you have the time and prefer to “do it yourself.”  If you use a property manager you may have less rental income (not always), but you will have considerably less rental owner responsibilities.  You can always try it both ways to see which option suits your needs best.  One thing is for sure….we all have to advertise!

Property Managers and Vacation Rentals by Owners - We all need to advertise!  Free 6 months trial listings!

It is a free online service to find reduced green fees for golf courses near your destination.These are tee times that would otherwise go unused - similar to hotel rooms that are offered at reduced rates on Priceline and other hotel sites. Golfnow requires a simple registration and this enables them to email you available tee times. If you see a tee time that you want just purchase the spot online and show up at the golf course!

Save money on Golf Vacation Rentals worldwide - Coming to Arizona for Golf? Visitors check out this listing at Arizona National Golf Course - Casitas at Sabino Springs!

Vacation Rentals by Map?

Maps are popping up on most of the top vacation rental websites. Why? Because they are a tool that travelers are asking for and they really help vacationers decide where they are going to spend their money and time. No matter if it is your first visit to Disneyworld, San Diego or The Grand Canyon you will gravitate towards “knowing where are we” and “what’s nearby” ?

Many travelers have a similar experience when staying in a new city for the first time. I call it the “Next Time I come Here” revelation. This revelation occurs when you are on vacation and you have a chance to settle in and find your way around. You walk away from many vacations saying “The next time I come here I know where to stay or not to stay” based on the condition of your vacation rental and most importantly it’s location.

Most vacation rental directories help you to narrow your search by country, state and then city. Some allow you to click on a “map this property” button and you can see the general location. Finding vacation rentals on the Furnishedhomes.com vacation rental website allows you input text searches for landmarks, hospitals, theme parks, addresses and even zip codes. For example, if you type in 32801 in the text box you will see the auto suggest tool load - “Orlando, Florida”. If you select the auto suggestion and search your Google Map view will be Orlando, FL and all vacation rentals within 100 miles!

A recent inquiry from a traveler to a vacation rental homeowner illustrates how helpful the “auto suggest” and zip code search can be. The inquiry to the owner went something like this - “I found your listing on the Furnished Home’s map. It appears that your rental is about 2 blocks from my 97 year old grandmother’s place. Would like to visit for a week or so and your place looks great and we can walk to my grandmother’s residence…..”

The Furnishedhomes.com website is powered with Google Maps and will be adding new features to help travelers and vacationers find vacation rentals by map and nearby attractions. Look for some very cool traveler resources to help market your vacation rentals more effectively.

Vacationers search Furnishedhomes.com maps for Free and Owners/managers list unlimited properties FREE for 6 months.

Be sure to note in your welcome book or a place a magnet on the refrigerator with recycle and trash pick up days or directions to the dumpster or recycle bins. Many condo or townhouse associations offer a recycle bin for paper, plastics and cardboard. You may want to encourage guests to remember to conserve water, turn off lights and air conditioners while gone, and offer “green” laundry detergents for your washing machines.

A recent guest to some of our vacation condo rentals left some very cool “re-usable” shopping or light carry bags. They can fold up very small and zip up for easy travel. They appear to be great for very light shopping or day trips to museums and galleries. We found the KIVA Key-chain Totes at Amazon.com for around $10.

Today’s travelers may find the Kiva Design light weight totes and luggage to be very economical, stylish, functional and GREEN! We would love to hear your ideas about staying green at your vacation rentals and cool travel gear! Leave us a comment!

When it comes to furnishing vacation rentals you need to ask yourself a few qualifying questions before you start furnishing or updating your furnishings.

1. Will this home be primarily my vacation getaway and will I only rent to family?

2. Am I looking to maximize rental income and what furnishings attract visitors?

If this vacation rental will be your private getaway and rental income is not of concern, then you should furnish the vacation home to your “personal tastes” and comfort. The furnishings will most likely be higher quality as you will be personally caring for and enjoying them.

On the other hand, if you can only afford to operate your vacation rental if you receive rental income from travelers and vacationers, then you may want to take a different approach to furnishings. Many owners who want to maximize rental income will rent weekly and steer clear of high end furnishings. Weekly revenue adds up quicker than revenue developed from monthly visitors. You should be looking for durable furnishings with good construction and fabric patterns that can withstand wear better. In other words - no white linen couches!

If you are in a super “hot” destination and you are consistently booked with visitors, you may be able to get away with low grade furnishings. Often these furnishings include furniture that you assemble yourself, are pressed wood construction and your main tool will be the “Allen wrench”. These furnishings are completely acceptable but durability becomes an issue. Pay me now or pay me later. The “smart” money spends on what visitors value the most. Visitors love quality mattresses, well stocked kitchens, and modern electronics.

As visitors are viewing listings a big turn-off can be “out dated” furnishings. Visitors are now asking when was the home built, has it been remodeled and if your pictures show bland and dated furnishings they will move on to the next listing. Of course every vacation rental has it’s price point. Again, if your location is fantastic you may be able to get away with dated furnishings. Location, location, location. But if your competition has modern, clean and attractive furnishings at nearly the same price most visitors will opt for the slightly higher price.

Can your furnishings be too nice? YES! If you are renting for revenue then you want to have quality lasting furnishings like metal base tables and chairs vs. wood, wrought iron patio furniture with solid steel supports and not vinyl straps that can sag, and tiled or solid wood table tops and minimal glass tops. You can find very tasteful and nice art to decorate your vacation rental at very affordable prices. It is advisable not to have many breakable figurines, antiques or original art in the home. A good rule of thumb is “If this art or item goes missing or is damaged, can it be easily replaced and would you be heart broken?”

Specific furnishings that will boost reservations and rental income -

Sofa Sleepers - A sofa sleeper is slightly more expensive than a standard couch and will accommodate smaller children or the occasional over night visitor. More grandparents are traveling with grandchildren and sofa sleepers are great for children. If you are in an area that caters to vacationing families this can put your rental ahead of the competition.

Flat screen TV’s and Video Games- prices have come down substantially on flat screen and plasma tvs. You can mount them on the wall and people really do notice them when looking at vacation rental images. It is not very expensive to have an Xbox or Playstation with a few games.

Pool Table, Foos Ball or Air Hockey - not all us have room for these items, however, if you can make it work these are huge draws for families. Vacation rentals with these fun furnishings typically receive more inquiries.

Outdoor, Patio Furniture or Gas Barbeque - most visitors want to kick back and relax outside on your deck or patio and offering patio furniture with ample seating is a big draw. If your homeowners association allows for BBQ grills it is a very nice feature to offer your visitors. Vacationers like to grill at home and save money over dining out.

If you will be furnishing a vacation rental home remember who you are furnishing it for? Are the furnishings for you or are they to attract visitors and maximize rental income?

Furnishedhomes.com - Vacation Rentals by Owner

Many travelers are staying closer to home this year due to rising fuel costs, increased food costs and airfares. Perhaps it is time to rediscover your own home town or a nearby destination. Maybe you live in the city and want to venture out to the country or mountain areas. Some of us live in rural areas and yearn for a little more of the city and night life. If you are considering a close-to-home vacation be sure to check out vacation home rentals in your area.

With a little research you can find a vacation rental nearby! It may not be the extended vacation to a super popular and exotic location, however, it can truly be a great vacation. Often just a brief getaway can break the everyday grind you’re stuck in! Chances are you can vacation in your own home town! Think about it - we are creatures of habit and most of us “run on the same track” day in and day out. When is the last time you visited a new area of your city or a nearby suburb? Some of us have lived in resort areas and popular destinations for years and still have not done “everything” there is to do right here!

Perhaps you can take a short drive up to a cabin in the mountains, plan a romantic weekend in the city, tour a winery, visit your areas zoo and museums. Rent a vacation condo for a week and relax by the pool. Grab a great book or take a great hike! For families you may want to find a vacation condo across town and hit the water slides! Stock up the refrigerator, fire up the bbq’s, pop in a dvd movie and save some money. A plus for parents will be the “Are we there yet’s?” will be greatly reduced with your destination so close!

A great vacation getaway does not always require you to travel half way across the world! Enjoy a “Staycation” at some of your hometown’s fine vacation rental condos and homes. Remember many people spend a fair amout of money just to get to your hometown! Do you have some good “Staycation” promos or ideas? Share a comment here for our readers to see!

Ancient SECRET - One can’t start with a small picture file and make a big clear picture file! One can start with a big clear picture and make smaller clear pictures. It’s kind of like you can always cut your hair shorter but you can’t add it back on. That should be clear as mud!

We discussed this important topic earlier this year and if you need additional image tips just click here. The biggest culprit in bad or FUZZY images is the size of the image file. When you upload images in the Furnishedhomes.com owner panel for your vacation rental be sure that you have higher resolution files. The optimal demension to upload is 800 x 600 JPEG images and the size of the file should be at least 30 KB.

Here is where everything gets FUZZZZZZY. If you grab or copy your photos from your other vacation rental website listings or your personal website they are often very small and 2nd or 3rd generation. Then when you upload them in your Furnished Homes listing they are way too small. Your best images are probably saved on your computers hard drive. These are the images that you most likely downloaded directly from your camera and will work best.

Check your listings and see how your images look. You may see that some images are awesome and some are not. It takes just a minute to upload fresh and larger files in the Furnishedhomes.com owner panel. Better images will greatly enhance your visitors experience and pay handsome dividends in inquiries for your property. Travelers are pouring over many listings and you need to WOW them with your photos.

If you are having trouble uploading images just send us an email (customercare@furnishedhomes.com) with your images attached. We will re-size your images and upload them to your listing! Just be sure to send us big image files up to 1 MG. We’re working on some exciting enhancements to the Furnishedhomes.com photo gallery and will share them with you soon!

Find vacation rentals in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This slide show is a representation of several properties listed at Furnished Homes. Contact owners and managers direct and view all properties on the Santa Fe, NM vacation home map today.

This Vacation Rental video moves fast! Lots of photos of many vacation rentals and beach houses in Southern California’s best vacation spots. Find your summer rentals right here on Furnishedhomes.com

Review Luxury Blue Ridge Georgia Cabins today at Furnishedhomes.com. Just type in Blue Ridge, Georgia in the text search box.