Hi everyone!

I'm back from my trip to wine country in California. It was a wonderful trip - we relaxed, ate great food and had some awesome wine!

But even though this was supposed to be a non-work trip (AKA vacation), I couldn't help but notice something having to do with my job...

We stayed at a vacation home of course, and while the home was impeccably clean (I'm a tough critic on this one and they got an A+++)  nicely furnished, and well-equipped, our first impression was not so good. 

What most owners think of as the first impression is the moment when the renters drives up, sees the house, and walks around. But let me tell you - my first impression began before we got to the house because we couldn't find it using the directions given to us by the owners!

Now, just to be clear, I am what you'd call a very seasoned traveler. I travel to seminars in around 20 different cities per year, plus a few family vacations and other business related trips. So I know how to use a map and can typically find my way around in an unfamiliar city.

We got lost because the homeowner didn't give us written-out directions with landmarks.  They only gave us the address of the home and instructed us to use Google maps to find the house.

The problem was we came in late at night, it was tough to see on the back country roads and none of the shops or businesses were open for us to stop and ask for directions. Many roads in the area were actually unmarked or signs were hidden by trees. And to further complicate things, Google gave us a route numbers when the signage had just street names, or visa versa.

If the owners would have given thorough directions with landmarks, I don't think it would have taken us an extra hour and a half to find the home!

So when I arrived, we were exhausted from our long trip and pretty frustrated. Our first impression was made even before we stepped foot in the house -  simply by the directions.

Despite the above, we did enjoy our stay, but easy to follow directions would have made it much better.

Now go and check your directions to make sure someone unfamiliar with the area can easily find your home, day or night!

Happy Renting!

Christine

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Submit a tip, share your experiences or comment on Christine's blog. "I always start our detailed directions from the moment guests leave the airport car park. This is when they can get confused the most, especially if it is dark.Knowing which lane to get in to is a great help. Plus we give them several maps, one with different colour coded routes, so that they can choose the route that is best for them. All important road numbers and exits we print in red, so that they can be seen easily by tired eyes! It is safer to make sure that your lock box number is on a different page to the directions.If the directions get lost, no one else will know the number to your lock box and will not beable to get into your house." -Beryl, Clermont, FL. (VRBO #155967)

Guidelines for Communicating with Renters Learn how to create thorough rental agreements, directions, and inquiry responses.   Sample Directions for Your Vacation Rental Guests Learn how to make your vacation rental directions clear and thorough.   The Importance of Clear Location Information Don't miss out on potential guests by omitting important location information in your listings.   10 Less-Obvious Things to Include in Your Vacation Home Directions Help renters be fully prepared for their stay at your home by going the extra “mile” for your vacation home directions.

© Copyright, Christine Karpinski 2008