Ready for your vacation rentals?

When preparing your vacation home for rentals, there are a number of things to consider, and finding where to start can be troublesome. The best place to begin is by ensuring the most important amenities in the eyes of the guest are present in the home. Forget the pool; if you don’t have the top three most important amenities, you will be hard pressed to find a guest who will appreciate your offerings.

According to tripping.com and other online sources, the number-one most important amenity in a home is WIFI internet. WIFI is important to travelers for a number of reasons beyond staying connected to the office back in New York. Many experienced travelers know that when they get to their final destination, their cell coverage may be limited and they will rely onWIFI to stay connected. In addition, these travelers do play-by- play updates on social media, and if your vacation home lacks WIFI, your guest will be unable to share experience with friends far away. Travelers will also useWIFI to access information that makes their stay more enjoyable, such as searching for the closest Italian restaurant or best nightlife.

The second most valued amenity is a “full kitchen.” Many travelers choosing a vacation rental as their lodging option will be traveling in groups and will maximize the value of their stay through the utilization of this amenity, saving money on dining out. While these guests are willing to give up the convenience of eating out, they typically are unwilling to sacrifice the quality and setting of the meal. Therefore it is important that adequate place settings, dishware, glassware, cookware, and stemware are available to the guests. In addition to table settings, non-perishable food items such as spices and condiments will be a welcome addition.

The third most important amenity is climate control or central heat and air conditioning. In my experience, most guests assume there will be central refrigerated air as an amenity as this is something standard in the hotel industry.

Once you have the amenities that matter most, you can focus on bringing the value-adds, such as hot tubs, BBQ grills, and comfortable outdoor-living areas. Once your vacation home is set with all these amenities, do not raise your price. The return you will see will be through the increased occupancy and demand for the great digs that you have created. Raise your price only when you have high occupancy numbers to justify an increase in the price due to demand on the property.

Ryan Goodman is chief marketing officer at Kokopelli Property Management (9821013, 877-496-4989) and has been in the business all his life. Ryan’s backgrond is in small-business management and entrepreneurship.