Blog
Hello,
Due to the downturn in the economy in 2020 our family decided to rent our Lake House. This was a big step for us as we built the house in 1976 and have used it extensively over the years. It has been a great source of fun and joy for us and we use it a lot for ourselves. We open up rentals about 2 months at a time, as we like to use it ourselves. This does hurt us in occupancy as large groups usually plan further in advance. But we are willing to take the loss to enjoy the house.
Switching it over to a Short Term Rental was a lot of work. Try removing 40 plus years of personal items. Our first year was very profitable with many learning experiences. I was fortunate enough to have 6 friends who were renting their places on Airbnb and VRBO to help me get started. I am one of those people that get a little obsessed with a new project/process. Over the last year or so, I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge through forums, videos, asking friends, etc.
This site is a culmination of what I have learned, and I am adding to it daily. I hope you get some use out of it.
We had some professional pictures taken, and are in need of more. We had issues early on with cleaning as finding a really good cleaning service in a rural area is difficult.
Lessons Learned:
- You cannot and should not try to please everyone. We are a no pets allowed listing, and we have people asking for pets at the last minute. They were quite disappointed when we said no.
- Getting a cleaner is a top priority. Our original cleaner was well recommended. We did not follow up and check cleaning initially, and got some lower reviews because of it.
- We film the whole house after each cleaning. This gives us a visual if there are damages. We have proof of how it looked prior to their arrival. We send a message to the effect. “Hey, we just finished the pre-arrival inspection video, the house is in great shape, we look forward to hosting you!”
- Establishing a rapport with your guests really helps out. Some have no interest in communicating, some are very communicative. We have found the more we get to know them, the better the overall experience.
At the end of the day, this has been a very profitable and fun experience.
This is our rental on Lake Gaston in North Carolina
