Specializing In Vacation Home

Property Investment

What are the most important things in a vacation home rental?

I have hosted people from everywhere: Hawaii, Germany, France, China, Brazil, Canada (Calgary, Montreal, and lots of parts of BC). Here are the things that I observed it makes for a successful vacation home rental.

VISIBILITY. I chose Airbnb to advertise my rentals and I never tried anything else. Why? Airbnb sends me great guests, OFTEN. Their platform is amazing. I cannot tell enough good things about it. It’s complex and they really improve all the time and try to make it easier for the guests and the host. So choosing a platform where you can have visibility is important, as everything else depends on it.

DECORATION. I choose soothing colours for my rentals. A calm space is good for everything: relaxing, romance and even working if your guests need to check their work from time to time. The colours and the furniture in the space are warm and inviting. I worked over the years to make the spaces less cluttered than in the beginning. We might overdo it predicting guests will need more things around than they actually need. You can always review and streamline a bit. So clean, tastefully decorated, and uncluttered spaces.

That’s brings me to the next point: CLEAN! My little suite here at home is cleaned by myself as I am PICKY! I clean everything for each guest, including drawers, dishes, and baseboards. I wash all the beddings, including throws and pillow covers (accent pillows, too). I know that most people don’t do that, even the hotels. But I feel that’s one of my strongest points.

Now, for a bigger rental, like the Log House for example, we have to trust the cleaning lady. We chose a wonderful cleaning lady for the Log House and she is amazing. She does all the beddings and we have two sets of duvet covers for each bed, so they get changed. From time to time we need to request the pillow covers and throws to be washed or to wash them ourselves. We also go there at least once a month.

Of course, aside from beddings, the washrooms and the kitchen need to be SPOTLESS. Remember to clean the fridge and microwave, every time. Yep! Every time.

LOCATION. Some places are chosen because they are really convenient, close to touristic attractions and transportation. Some places are chosen because they are away from the city, at a peaceful location. Depending on your guests profile, you might need public transportation access. In your listing, you need to have clear directions and a description of the area as well. If you have attractions close by, or at least easy to get to, it’s a great point. You need to highlight the benefits of your location.

UNIQUE. Our Log House is constantly booked and I think the biggest attraction it’s because it’s a LOG HOUSE! Also because it is only 2 hours from Vancouver and also because it is located in a beautiful area, close to the water and parks. When I see the recommended places or the featured places on Airbnb, they show different places. A tiny house, a tree house, a log house. They also show places on a waterfront, and places on a farm. Different buildings, landscape, and views. There are also city places, which are more common outside but very convenient. These “common places” are very nicely decorated and often a suite in a house where you have a little garden view, or somethings else that makes it attractive, like quirky decor. And also ultra modern condos, clean and sleek.

Here is where you need to think out of the box, if you are buying a place to rent. And if you want to transform the place you have, think on how you can make it stand out through your decor.

The last thing is the PRICE. Airbnb really helps in giving suggestions on listing price and they help constantly so you can change from season to season according to the demand.

Please do your own research: check Airbnb, Craigslist, VRBO, and even just Google it. Some vacation rentals have their own website. It’s important to research your prices before you decide to do the vacation rental because you need to calculate if all this works and it’s worth it.

The price is important because if you are priced too high or even too low, your place won’t be booked.

As a plus, I have to say that a GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE is key to your success. Our guests always compliment us in our customer service and I feel very happy and proud of it. Once guests confirm their booking, they have our emails and cell phones. They can text or call us anytime. I am also very fast at responding booking requests and questions. I think that’s a plus for our guests. I LOVE helping and also have lots of fun communicating with my guests.

Client Love

I can't say enough how helpful and productive it was to have Claudine come and help us with our rental suite. She took the guess work out. She took the time and evaluated the suite in details and looked at our lifestyle holistically. Then in a very kind way gave us the truth, what we needed to do, different options, and how to do it. The information we received was not candy coated but at the same time it wasn't overwhelming as she broke it down to small doable actions. We were not sure of long term rental or short term. Looking at our lifestyle, she told us the amount of work for each option and gave us her opinion of what she thought would work best for us. It was a great experience for both my husband and I and I'm glad he was home that day to listen to Claudine. What she said and did was way more clear than what I would have explained later. We had trouble renting our basement suite for about 3 months. After the conversation with Claudine, we worked on the suggestions she gave us and rented the place within 3 weeks.

Anahita Sharvini

What an interesting and rich journey it has been working with Claudine. Her enthusiasm for real estate was without a doubt, the major catalyst for us to invest in a property and become business partners. She happily shared with us her experience in real estate marketing, as well as a lot of valuable information she acquired over time. Without that information we would never had invested and bought our beautiful cabin. We are thankful that she is very resourceful. One year later, we can say that we had a great time together, complementing each others’ styles and interests. Her integrity and handwork are an essential part to our successful partnership.

Kika & Rescio Souza

Claudine has been our entrepreneurial diva and a source of encouragement for several years. Most recently, her enthusiasm and guidance (through her own experience of buying a rental property) helped to spark an old passion of ours... real estate investment! Almost a year after our conversation, we managed to reach something we wouldn't dare to imagine even in our wildest dreams! We bought 2 rental properties within 6 months and we are currently planning to secure the 3rd one. We know how to perform feasibility studies, risk mitigation strategies, worst case scenario assessments, breakeven studies, etc... but sooner or later "you need to jump". Claudine has been instrumental in helping us see possibilities from a different perspective. We will forever be grateful for her support, coaching, and never ending guidance.

Edison Reis

Claudine advised us to give short term rental a try after having rented our basement suite for 20 years to long term renters. We are extremely pleased with the outcome and cannot imaging going back.

Ellen Walde

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