During our Hawaii Seminar Series, we were extremely impressed by the properties we visited and the hospitality of all the owners we met. Beyond the usual amenities, many provided local treats and bonus services for their guests, plus unique touches in their décor. The problem, though, is that they weren't featuring their amenities prominently in their listings, their special touches weren't advertised at all, and on the whole, their photos and descriptions really didn't do the homes justice.

Now that you're reading this, you're probably thinking about all the little (or not so little) things you do for your guests that aren't featured prominently enough or perhaps aren't in your listings at all. While this is all fine and dandy once the guests arrive, how are potential renters supposed to know how much they'll get for their money if you don't tell them?

If you consistently hear that your home is much better than your guests expected, it could mean that your listing needs some work. So put on your thinking cap, and start looking at your vacation rental more from a business perspective. What are the services you offer? What are the extras you provide? What are your competitive advantages? And most importantly, what's missing from your listings?

List Every Amenity

The best place to start is with your obvious selling points. If you have a pool, hot tub, pool table, flat screen TV, Jacuzzi tub, wrap-around deck, outdoor kitchen, etc., highlight these amenities more than once in your listing. Take advantage of your headline, property description, amenities table, and photo captions to reiterate the best features of your home. Remember, you never know where a traveler will focus his/her attention, so the major selling points of your home should be sprinkled throughout your listing.

Then you want to work your way down to the less-obvious amenities. You may not consider your coffeemaker or full-size ironing board to be true amenities, but if you provide them, you should advertise them. Plus, if those types of items are not listed in your ad, a traveler might assume you don't have them and then move on to another home. Even items like mini bottles of shampoo or starter packs of coffee could make a difference for some travelers.

Sell Your Extras
Now that you've got your major selling points and your less-obvious amenities down, it's time to consider those little extras that can really make your home stand out (as evidenced by our trip to Hawaii.) One owner in particular, Bernie B. of Volcano, HI on the Big Island (HomeAway #162411), really impressed us with her special touches – that have since been added to her listing.

When we first saw her listing, her home seemed like an average bungalow. What we didn't see or read about were all the extras, like fresh flowers on the towels in the bathroom, antique and vintage artwork on the walls, novels on lace-covered nightstands, and local travel books on the coffee table, which really add to the authenticity of her home. (We also didn't know about her 5 layers of luxury linens atop feather beds, or else we might not have left.)

We were equally impressed by her welcome package: a continental breakfast, which includes croissants and breakfast pastries, fresh fruit, and an entire pineapple. She even supplies a special pineapple cutter and instructions for the proper way to cut. Furthermore, Bernie makes sure her guests don't leave empty-handed. She provides local jams, jellies, coffee, and honey and also sends handwritten thank you notes after checkout, including a package of macadamia nuts or a local calendar.

When we learned about all these treats, we knew this was an active owner who really cared about her guests, and chances are travelers will feel the same way. The good news is she's a very quick learner and has now raised her listing to the standard of her home.

If you're looking for new ways to stand out, try localizing some of these ideas for your area and advertising them as part of your own vacation rental package. And once your guests arrive, these surprising treats and inexpensive extras might be enough to turn a first-time renter into a repeat guest.

Improve Your Photos
Pictures tend to speak much louder than words, so it's time to shift your attention from your descriptions to your photos. Again, if your guests tell you that your home is much nicer in person, it probably means you need new photos. Take a look at the pictures that are currently on your listing. Could the lighting be improved? Can you see the entire bed or all the furniture in the room? Do you feature photos of your main amenities? Are the pictures well-staged and clutter-free?

Before:	After:

Keep in mind, if you're struggling to come up with 12 photos on HomeAway or 16 photos on VRBO, you might consider taking photos of the “extras.” A fruit basket might seem insignificant, but when the caption says “Fresh Basket of Local Fruit, Croissants, and Breakfast Pastries Upon Arrival”, it might just be compelling enough for a traveler to choose your home over another.
 
The bottom line: Feature your main selling points in more than one portion of your listing and include details about all your extra touches. And don't forget about your photos – if you have high standards for your home, don't let your photos sell your property short.

What are the special touches that you offer at your vacation rental - that may or may not be in your listing? "We go all out to get dog rentals so we provide a lot of goodies - fully fenced area, bowls, kennel, dog blankets, sofa covers, dog cookie packages and on top of it we invite people to take photos of their dogs at out house and pin them on our notice board. people love doing it and other visitors love looking at them. We also pop them onto our website as a "Friends of Treetops" page. All good fun for dog lovers and our guest comment on all of our extras and the picture board all the time. Happy renting, Sibylle Treetops Wye river on the Great Ocean Road, Australia." - Sibylle, Victoria, Australia.

Welcome Baskets and Gifts for Your Renters Gather some great ideas for gifts and treats for your vacation home guests.   10 Ways to Quickly Improve Your HomeAway Listing Easy fixes for your vacation rental listing.    4 Quick Steps to Improve Any Photo Using Photoshop Elements Tips to quickly and easily improve the quality of your property photos using Photoshop Elements.   Amenities Checklist for Vacation Rentals What amenities are expected and which will help seal the deal?

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