Top Ten Amenities That Will Attract Families with Small Children
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1) A Porta-crib.
2) Plastic “sippy” cups. Bonus: Fewer spills.
3) Plastic plates and cutlery designed for little hands and mouths.
4) Children's videos.
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5) Easy-to-clean flooring like ceramic tile or hardwoods. Parents of toddlers will enjoy peace of mind knowing that their tot isn't crawling around on mildewy carpeting.
6) A high chair.
7) A PlayStation or Nintendo game system (kids are very adept these days).
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8) Play equipment such as a basketball hoop, a badminton net, or a horseshoe set.
9) Sand toys if you're in a beach locale.
10) A kid-sized chair in the living area.
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How to Convert Inquiries into Bookings Tips to help if you get inquiries, but are not booking.
Sample Vacation Rental Cleaning Checklist A quick rundown of the things your housekeeper should clean between each guest.
Mortgages for Vacation Rental Homes Questions to ask yourself when getting a mortgage for a vacation home.
Sample Deposit Refund Letter Example of a deposit refund letter to be sent with the refund check.
Second Homes vs. Investment Properties When buying a vacation home, you must determine whether you are buying it as a "second home" or as an "investment property."
Sample Emergency Information Sheet It's important to have certain emergency contact information readily available to your guests.
How to Look Up Area Codes and Time Zones When calling a potential renter, it's important to know where they're located and what time it is there.
Sample Vacation Area Tips for Your Guests Example of vacation area tips that you should write up for your guests.
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Question of the Month
Christine recently had some of her worst renters ever. They called at 6am to complain that the windows were “not clean enough” even though Christine had just had them cleaned. Then when she sent window cleaners out to the property, they wouldn't let the cleaners in.
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Have you had renters with unreasonable complaints? Send us your worst renter complaint stories and we';ll share them in next month';s newsletter.
Last month's question: What amenities or extras are "must-haves" in your area?
“I would say that in our condo location at Keystone, CO there must be access to a pool and hot tub.” -Kay, Keystone, CO, HomeAway listing #151485
“We now have 11 vacation rentals in Maui. The most commonly requested amenities are listed below. They are in no particular order: A/C, Wifi, Pool, Ocean View, Sandy "Swimmable" Beach, Parking, Boogie boards and beach items, Towels and linens.”-Grant, Maui, 6 VRBO listings
“Playstation (2) Game console and Free Wireless High Speed Internet Access
Hot Tub if no pool.” -George & Eileen, Southern Shores, NC, The Flip Flop Inn
“Since our property is near the ocean in SC, beach “stuff” is a great amenity to have.” -Anthony, Folly Field (Hilton Head), SC, HomeAway listing #165130
“On the Isle of Palms, SC (near Charleston) a private swimming pool is a must-have amenity.” -Tom, Isle of Palms, SC, HomeAway listing #311347
“High speed internet is starting to be a highly desirable amenity. We have also found that by having a high chair and porta-crib in our unit - we get lots of interest from families....and not spring breakers!” -Dee, Playa Del Carmen, HomeAway listing #136793
Local Rental Alerts
June 25, 2007: Wildfires Threaten Tahoe Homes
June 5, 2007: Attack on VRBO by Harvesters
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