Connecticut tourism generated upwards of $17 billion in 2022.
These massive tourism stats should raise eyebrows among homeowners all over the state. If you're looking for a bit of side income, renting your home out as a vacation property is a great option. Whether you have a basement apartment or a second dwelling you can go to, sharing your house can make you a load of money.
It takes a bit of maneuvering, however. In today's post, we'll give you a few home sharing tips to make your transition from Niantic homeowner to vacation homeowner more seamless. Keep reading and get ready to capitalize on the state's thriving tourism industry.
Prepare Your Vacation Rental
The first thing to do is get your property ready for renters. Turning your home into a vacation rental requires you to de-personalize the space. When someone rents out your home, they want something that feels like their own until they leave.
If you've got a vacant apartment in your basement with all of the right amenities, you're in good shape. Otherwise, you'll need to make your main living area more inviting by cleaning it up and making it more inviting to strangers.
Create House Rules
You'll want to set a few ground rules for your vacation renters. Not only will this protect your home, but it'll give the renters some guidelines on how to behave while they're occupying your home.
For example, you'll have to decide whether or not you want to allow pets in the home. How you want your guests to leave the property is an important ground rule as well. If you're not hiring cleaners, you may want to void the cleaning fee if they leave the unit how they found it.
Create Your Listing
Next, it's time to create your listing. Take plenty of professional-quality photos and write a detailed description of your home amenities and the part of Niantic you reside in.
When marketing your property initially, you don't have reviews to lean on. Be as descriptive as possible and price your unit competitively to attract the most guests. Once you have bookings, make sure to ask them to leave a review upon checkout so that you can bolster your reputation and gain more bookings.
Prioritize Guest Experience
The guest experience is crucial to your reputation as a vacation property owner. Guests are almost always going to have questions about your property, whether it's asking about local restaurants or how to use the washing machine.
You need to be available to answer these questions. The more available you are, the more seamless your guest's stay will be. If all goes well, they'll leave a good review and even tell family and friends to stay at your vacation rental.
Taking Home Sharing Tips to Heart
Take these home sharing tips to heart and your Niantic home will become a lucrative vacation rental. When you have a successful vacation rental business on your hands, it can start to become a lot of work.
That's where property management comes in. At PMI East Lyme, we're a full-service vacation rental management company that can handle all aspects of vacation rental management discussed here, and more. Contact us today to learn how our services can help you launch this new endeavor.
