When it’s time to think about your next grand investment, consider a cabin vacation rental property. These properties come with a lot of work, time, and energy, but with the right team and guidance, you can be on your way to the adventure of a lifetime as a property owner. In this article, we discuss a few dos and don’ts of budgeting for the property to ensure you’re on the path with the most success and award-winning renter experiences.
The Dos for Your Vacation Rental
Designing an ideal budget for your vacation rental can be challenging. How do you decide what is worthy of your hard-earned money? We rounded up a great list of things you should consider without hesitation to ensure you optimize your rental and maximize your profits. These things are flexible on your wallet, so you can invest as you deem necessary, or as it pertains to the cabin itself.
Do Invest in a Property Management Company
Investing in a property management company is one of the best things you can do for a cabin vacation rental. This ensures a smooth transition between guests and allows you to enjoy the fruits of your asset from a distance. If you love the area but don’t live across town, the management company is your liaison to ensuring the cabin receives the immediate attention it deserves.
Additionally, a trusted management company like Nevaeh Cabin Rentals remains on-site to maintain overall guest satisfaction. Still, it acts as your voice and partner when anything inside the cabin needs addressing. In most instances, you hold the power as the property owner, but Nevaeh bridges the gap between the renter and the owner.
Do Consider a Small Marketing Expense
Your management company will handle a lot of your listing details and play middleman, but it’s advantageous to consider a small marketing expense. This is something you can manage on your own that will help showcase your cabin’s vacancy and best features. But you will need to maintain strict oversight to ensure you are displaying accurate information from an availability standpoint.
You don’t need to overpay for the marketing experience, but you should set aside just enough to meet your needs. Another way to do this is through social media. Nowadays, a lot of your growth can happen organically through a social platform. Consider using the platform that your ideal audience uses the most. If you don’t have a specific targeted audience, use the platform that benefits your reach.
Do Consider the Local Attractions
The Blue Ridge area is an incredibly unique, niche location that is worth every second for tourists. The fortunate aspect is that as a cabin owner, you can charge what your cabin is worth and include any upcharges for the area. If you know of events for the area and local attractions drawing in guests, consider charging for those experiences.
In contrast, you can decrease your cabin’s price for a specific event or period if you feel you will receive increased bookings. Always charge what your cabin is worth as a baseline, but do consider local attractions, events, and the area’s features to ensure you are receiving adequate compensation on overall guest experiences.
The Don’ts for Your Vacation Rental
There are also a handful of things you must not do when budgeting your cabin rental. These things can dramatically impact your overall retention and expenses. Not every part of your cabin rental will need money; some things just need your time. As a vacation rental owner, you know that time is money. With this list of don’ts, you can allocate your resources accordingly to ensure overall guest satisfaction and optimized bookings.
Don’t Neglect the Property
Hiring a management company does not mean you can sit out on the property. Neglecting the property can lead to a host of issues, including a disconnect in communication, upkeep demands, maintenance needs, and landscaping preferences. You must remember that you are the owner of the vacation cabin, and how it looks will reflect your taste—and not that of the management company.
Consider visiting the vacation cabin at least once a month if your bookings are full. This way, you can spend time walking through the property to make lists for updates and repairs or simply enjoy the asset. Routine visits are an opportunity to fine-tune your offering and ensure you deliver the best vacation experience possible.
Don’t Overspend on Furnishing Features
You want to make your space appealing, full of character, and unique to your offering. But if you don’t set a firm budget for furnishings, you may overspend. The problem with overspending on furnishing features is how much you care about them, as well as the risk of damage.
Chances are, when you invest a lot into a specific object, you will care greatly about how it is used in the space or if damage occurs. Try to find the item you love in a less expensive version, so it’s not difficult to replace or repair in a pinch. It’s good to remember that each furnishing element can see hundreds of guests, so it’s not intended to be what you like, and it should serve a functional purpose instead.
Don’t Overbook the Cabin
With a proper and reliable management company, you can avoid this issue altogether. But there may be times when you book the cabin for friends or family, causing you to potentially overbook it. Overbooking creates chaos for all parties and can hinder your ability to secure future guests.
You must remember that your cabin is subject to public review after each stay, so any scheduling snafu can dramatically impact these outcomes. Coordinate all bookings with the company you hired to run the vacation rental and ensure there is a clean, concise process for managing the overlap. Try to avoid booking check-ins and check-outs too close together, and be mindful of those guests who requested an early check-in on a stay if there is already an existing guest.
Our log cabin builders in North Georgia are Blue Ridge’s leading supplier of cabin vacation rentals and builds. Partner with our team to begin planning your dream cabin and let Nevaeh manage the property.
