Vacation rental likes/dislikes

[csgray]

We spent most of our first year here living in a series of vacation rentals for anywhere from a week to 3 months and saw a lot of the mistakes people made with their rentals.

If your place is on the market tell people up front and offer a discount for any days there is a showing. My daughter and friends saved for a year to rent a place in Kapoho and the realtor/rental managers did not tell them it was for sale until they got there. They were asked to leave 1/2 of the days they were there, and not offered a discount. Some people want to be out all day, and other people's idea of a vacation is sitting on the lanai looking at scenery with a tall cold drink in hand, which is hard to do if you have house hunters coming over all the time.

BIG mugs for coffee or tea, maps to different restaurants and grocery stores and maybe even a quick run down on what is cheaper where (i.e. Safeway is 3x the cost for booze as cost-u-less, and farmers markets are better for produce). Keep checking on the kitchen stuff, we stayed in a really beautiful place outside of Hawi where the kitchen had been stripped and the off island owner didn't have a clue, which meant we spent the first day of a 3 day trip shopping in Kona just to have something to eat and drink from. Decent cooking vessels and tools, especially knives. People who stay in vacation rentals often want to actually cook, and it is frustrating to be in a poorly equipped kitchen trying to make a meal. Don't forget to leave room in the cabinets for groceries, it is amazing how many people don't.

Decide if you are going to be kid friendly, or not, and advertise that way. If you are going to be kid friendly a playpen would sell parents of babies or toddlers on a place, I am in central Mexico right now with my daughter and 7 month old grandson and we would pay double for a place with one. Same with safety gates for lanai stairs.

If you stock local products leave a list of where to get them, your guests will appreciate it.

King size beds: couples who have been together for years and honeymooners both will like having the room. By the same token do not cut corners and put in a double or full size bed, they are too small for most couples or anyone taller than 5'6" and a big part of a vacation is getting lots of quality rest.

Be friendly on arrival and then clear out, vacation renters want to feel like it is their home away from home, and that is hard to do with a host hovering. Post when the weed eater or pool guy is coming too.

Stock boogie boards and some of the short fins (novices have a hard time with the long ones) as well as an assortment of cheap snorkeling gear. Experienced snorkelers have their own and beginners don't need expensive gear. Leaving instructions for how to properly sanitize the gear will make most people comfortable with using the gear. Then do sanitize it.

Provide an easy place to charge cell phones, ipods, and laptops without having to rearrange the furniture. Also have good reading lights on both sides of the beds, for some reason many vacation rentals only put in only one bedside light. Don't cover every flat surface with nick knacks, people travel with their own stuff and need places to put it.

It sounds like you want to do this right, bravo for you!

Temporarily in central Mexico with the most beautiful baby in the world,

Carol

[Kapohocat]

The vacation rental I manage supplies:

hand soap, dish soap, toilet paper, paper towels, salt and pepper, and other dry condiments and spices. (we did try using Carrie's lovely soaps wrapped but it didnt gain her any business I dont think! and it just cost us so now we use refilled soft soaps.)

tea and sugar, dry creamer, and starter bag of coffee, coffee filters.

snorkel gear, and boogie boards, beach towels, outside faucet and deep sink and hose.

a BBQ, and an an ice chest. (Good idea on the ice packs! I will add those)

flashlights.

All linens.

binder with maps, house rules and things to do.

a TV, DVD player, CD player, a cordless phone (long distance blocked),clock. Aloha Broadband as not many phones but ATT work down here.

Fully stocked kitchen appliances and dishes, knives, etc as the owner is a superb cook and she stocks it the way she would want if she visited!

Washer and Dryer.

and our latest addition this month - a pack n play and baby sheets for it.


I have been asked for bicycles - no they rust so badly when not used for a short time, like a week or two so no bicycles.

I have given our guests shoyu and oil oil from my kitchen when they arrived late at night. Rides from the airport when they lost their ID and couldnt rent a car. and lots of other things.....

But overall not a bad deal and we have met some lovely people. and of course a few pain in the arses that ask for things that would be more appropriate in a hotel setting. But we have tried to accommodate all we can.

[rbakker]

Thank you all for so many great ideas, lots to read through. Keep 'em coming!
The dislikes are also very useful. I intend to have a Complaints section in the Guestbook.

[Bullwinkle]

good pricing, clean, easy to find, wifi

worst experience - little bits of broken glass in the shower, on the counter and floor - caught it too late - (Hyatt)

[Kapohocat]

quote:

---

Originally posted by rbakker...
The dislikes are also very useful. I intend to have a Complaints section in the Guestbook.

---

Strike that Complaints and make it "Suggestions".

[TheodoreJay]

As a frequent renter in lower Puna last time out the new bed looked great but the mattress sagged....then I went to the futon sofa by default. So a nice firm mattress and really nice pillow and sheets are a must!!!!

If you have any exclusions such as a laundry on premis but dont' want your guest to use it make sure that is noted when you list the property.

To avoid late arrivals make sure you advise your guests of typical traffic delays...such as heading into Pahoa during a late afternoon traffic jam (not fun).

Plentiul hot water for the shower is a must along w/ peace and quiet. If you have dogs on the property make sure they are inside at night when you have renters so they don't bark all night for no good reason, ha....plus roosters crowing all night is pretty annoying. Not to mention trim back bushes around the rental so the coqui frogs are not right at the window croaking all night.

A small kitchenette to do coffee and light breakfast is definitely needed.

For me pet free and smoke free is a must due to allergies, although I wanted to take home one landlord's cat was so cute

If you have free internet vs. your competition that will be enough for me to decide given equal properties. Checking my e-mail and entertainment at night means I won't have to go anywhere vs. too many road trips. My job means I have to stay connected and can't afford to just ignore e-mail on vacation :/

It is helpfull for Landlords to pretend they are the renter (actually stay in the rental a couple of nights) and get feed back comments from their renters. For example one place has a nice breakfast bar but the stools are so high you can't sit at it.....something you might not realize if you don't acutally use the breakfast bar.

[KeaauRich]

I wouldn't put a "complaints" or "feedback" section in the guestbook, where they will live on and be examined by all future guests (and reenforce/magnify any previously insignificant issue...) . However, what we do is send a thank you note to all our renters asking that they post a review on our VRBO page and if they have any suggestions for us, to email us directly. But even before that, we always touch base with our renters while they are in residence asking if there is anything we can do to make their stay more comfortable - that way we can correct any deficiencies ASAP. In our experience, vacation rental renters don't have the same expectations as hotel guests, so they are a bit more patient and understanding when problems arise. By the same token, they are more impressed when their problems are resolved quickly -- and frequently give kudos on the website for "owner responsiveness."

[csgray]

I can second Rich's comment, the owner of the rental we are staying in here in Guanajuato called to make sure everything was OK and when I mentioned a door that wouldn't stay latched offered to come over and fix it (we told him not to bother).

Much better customer service than I ever got anywhere we stayed in Hawaii and it impressed me. He also met us at the Jardin, paid for the taxi to the road above the rental (30 pesos but it is the principle that counts) and helped us haul our luggage down the million steps to the rental. I was very impressed.

Carol

[terracore]

I've stayed hundreds of nights in rentals. Mostly for my job, but I expect the same things on the road for vacation that I do for work:

A fridge, microwave, and a coffee maker. In the room. I hate having to put on clothes to go to a common area for coffee. Night time tea (example chamomile) is appreciated but not a deal breaker. I usally bring my own tea. If the room doesn't have a way to make hot water, I'll probably never come back.

Quiet. I (and most business travelers I know) also like white noise. We'll do things like leave the bathroom fan on so we can fall asleep to the droning. Most hotels don't have bathroom fans so we'll do wasteful things like run the A/C with the window open to generate the sound. Or leave the TV on. I eventually found a white noise generator program and put it on my laptop, but then the security admin removed it because it wasn't a company approved program. One very fine hotel I stayed at had white noise and environmental sound options on the radio alarm clock- probably the "greenest" way to lull people to sleep.

Living plants. Nearly non-existant in hotels but some rentals have them.

Spotless. I hate finding used coffee filters in the coffee maker.

Private bathroom. I don't want to see or smell anything the other guests have excreted.

One thing most places don't do is to make sure the alarm clock is off when they are cleaning the room. Imagine your first morning in the rental and you can't wait to sleep in after a long trip to paradise and the alarm clock goes off at 4:00am because a previous guest didn't know how to turn it off properly and the maid didn't check it. As a frequent traveler myself I know to check that, but even worse is the alarm clock going off in the empty room next to you at 4:00am for 59 minutes.

Quality mattress and pillows, with extra pillows stashed somewhere in the room. Conversely, most places are putting an insane amount of decorative/useless pillows on the top of the bed to decorate it. I guess some designers thought it looked great and was a fine idea, but travelers hate them. I'd rather have a plain looking bed than try to find a place to stash a bunch of useless decorative pillows. Usually the only place for them is on the floor, which only reminds me thats where the previous guest put them, and now I have floor filth on the bed. Don't sacrifice practicality or function for appearances.

[missydog1]

I put a HoMedics sound spa sleep machine in the rental.

I never used the majority of the sounds, but all I needed was one that worked. I liked the Ocean Waves, although I could have done without the seagull.

It cost about $25, and it will help counteract coqui frogs and traffic. Roosters, I dunno. []