Add value to your home with these tips to get more bookings!

When you decide to add value to your home to get more bookings, you not only increase your income but also return on investment in the long run. Keeping this in mind, and with years of experience in the holiday rental industry, our team is finally sharing the dos and don’ts of renting out your holiday home for the short term and which amenities you should offer to attract more guests to your holiday home.   

So, read on and find out the top tips by our seasoned professionals on how to add value to your holiday home and get more bookings! 

Good Wi-Fi 

Free Wi-Fi and a strong internet connection throughout your property is the perfect answer to the question: How can I add value to my house quickly? 

With remote work on the rise and families travelling with increasingly teach-savvy children and teenagers, good internet connection is a must for everyone on vacation. Good Wi-Fi enables guests to easily access their work and is also a blessing for those with young ones who cannot live without their social media.  

Happy.Rentals property: ID 4550, with Wi-Fi throughout the property 

Modern holiday homes  

Modern furnishings are also important. Guests do not want to stay at a home that feels as if someone already lives there. They want to live in a place that feels like an actual holiday home. So, outdated or worn things like carpets and coverings over an old couch should be replaced or removed with sturdy, no-fuss furniture. As part of the modern home improvements, make sure that to have good quality furniture and minimalist interiors to make it spacious and airy. For example, mattresses, and sofa beds especially, must be good quality, as sofa beds can be very uncomfortable.  

Happy.Rentals’ property: ID 7023, minimalist and airy yet stylish 

For unique properties like a traditional Karst homestead, you may want to keep its special charm intact, which will appeal to some guests. But even in these cases there are certain mistakes you should not make while furnishing your holiday homes. Our experienced property managers also highly recommend that the owner use their property, if they don’t use it at all, to understand its functionality and make sure that things like the toilet seat, wardrobe doors, kitchen knives, shower lever etc. work properly. 

The traditional dining room of Happy.Rentals’ Vineyard Homestead Vrtin: Property ID 5215 

Make your kitchen the hero of the interior 

Guests book holiday homes rather than hotels because they want to experience living like a local in a new place. They want a house where they can cook, relax and enjoy themselves as if at home. This means that the kitchen becomes one of the most important amenities to ensure a completely stress-free, self-catering holiday.  

Pro-Tip: A top tip by experienced property managers is to reinvest the money that you earn through renting in home renovations to make it more appealing. 

Your home’s kitchen must have all the appliances a guest needs: a proper hob, kettle, coffee machine, toaster, microwave, oven and a fridge with a separate freezer. Also, depending on the maximum number of guests your property can host, the kitchen should have an appropriate number of cutlery and utensils. 

Happy.Rentals’ property: ID 6231, with dishwasher, microwave and oven 

Clean and hygienic interiors   

Maybe most important of all is to ensure that the property is absolutely clean and hygienic, with no cobwebs, no humidity and especially no mold! One should also avoid carpets or dust-creating objects to make cleaning and maintenance of the holiday home easier, particularly in cases where the homeowner lives far away and cannot visit regularly. 

As well as Happy.Rentals’ property managers inspecting the property for cleanliness and hygiene after every guest stay, our services also include professional cleaning in collaboration with trusted partners. You can reach out to Happy.Rentals’ property managers for more information. 

Create a welcome book 

A short-term rental should be a comfortable base where guests can easily navigate both the property and the surrounding area and truly explore it on their own. This can be done at virtually no additional cost by making a Welcome Book which includes useful information regarding the holiday home (where to find the head switch for the electricity, boiler and other important instructions) and the surrounding area. 

If you do not have a Welcome Book, our property managers can create a personalised Welcome Book for you as part of their services! 

Happy.Rentals’ welcome book for our guests 

Private parking 

Guests coming with their own vehicles want a secure place to park their cars. If you have a detached house or a villa, then offering a private parking lot facility is one of the essential ways to add value to your home. If you have an apartment, then consider offering reserved parking on the complex/condo premises. 

Open-air lounging or dining 

An outside area attracts guests instantly: it can be a garden or even a balcony, either is fine as long as the outdoor area has ample space to sit, eat together and spend quality time with loved ones. This addition is especially preferred for homeowners looking to attract more families. Just make sure that the outdoor area has enough seating for the maximum number of guests that your property can accommodate. 

Happy.Rentals’ property: ID 6012, with terrace with lake view and seatings for alfresco dining 

Additional tips: based on property location and type 

How to increase the value of your vacation rental property depending on the location?  

If your property is a summer destination, it’s good to leave a sun umbrella or beach mats to bring to the beach, and if it is a winter destination, like the Alps, then have a ski boots heater or sledge. You can find the best ways to make your mountain home more attractive right here! 

What increases house value the most according to your property type?  

What differentiates villas and independent houses from other kinds of holiday homes are the external spaces, which can be made more attractive by adding outdoor facilities to relax outdoors. For example: badminton or a net for volleyball etc. for groups with children! If you are renting out studios and other types of apartments, then adding cost-effective entertainment amenities is perfect as it will not take up a lot of space and significantly improve the experience of the stay. For example: an inclusive library with books in different languages and genres (detective stories or novels etc.) 

The welcoming living room of Happy.Rentals property ID 5471, with a small library and reading desk 

If you want someone experienced to take care of your holiday home renovations and listings, then Happy.Rentals property managers can help you with them all. Reach out directly to our property managers! 

If you want to know more about the benefits of hiring a property manager? Read about the top 5 benefits of hiring a property manager.