Comments on: The Five Most Common Mistakes Made by New Vacation Rental Owners http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/ Rental Resources for Vacation Home Owners Wed, 02 May 2012 09:52:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Accommodation near Bath http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-4539 Accommodation near Bath Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:34:26 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-4539 Your list is great, and we do most of your list already, however I would have to agree with Kendal Cottages above and wonder if the damage deposit doesnt over complicate matters? Your list is great, and we do most of your list already, however I would have to agree with Kendal Cottages above and wonder if the damage deposit doesnt over complicate matters?
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]]> By: CottageGuru http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-3008 CottageGuru Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:41:18 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-3008 Hi Bruce - thank you for your comment. It's always interesting to hear different viewpoints and methods of doing things. No one- size- fits- all in this business. I think your situation of living on site makes a big difference to how the rental is managed - it's almost like a bed and breakfast where they supply their own breakfast and have more privacy. Hi Bruce – thank you for your comment. It’s always interesting to hear different viewpoints and methods of doing things. No one- size- fits- all in this business. I think your situation of living on site makes a big difference to how the rental is managed – it’s almost like a bed and breakfast where they supply their own breakfast and have more privacy.

]]> By: Bruce Gillett http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-3006 Bruce Gillett Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:23:14 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-3006 As a "violator" of 4 out of 5 of your rules I'd like to offer a second opinion. First, we agree on the insurance issue completely. I looked long and hard for a policy and found many companies considered our vacation apartment as a "boarding house", requiring absurd pricing. I finally found one with premiums only a little higher than our homeowner's policy. Now for the other rules: 1) Like others with properties off the beaten track, we can't afford refusal for short stays. We compensated by increasing our short term stay prices so that they approach weekly rates. 2) We take 1/2 down 6 weeks before arrival and the second 1/2 on arrival. We have never had a problem. We will explain to future guests if we have to change this that it was because of a bad experience and give them details. 3) The same for damage deposit. So far so good. We are on site and figure that the guest behaves better knowing the owner is a few feet away. Rambunctious people seek isolated lodgings. 4) We offer a lease for the guests benefit, but few ask. We are very specific in our emails and let them serve as receipts and agreements. People are put off by legalese and I've seen landlords treat leases and deposits as automatic extra income. The only exception is the use of our kayaks. For this we want the signer to read about all the risks and responsibilities, and to sign the agreement. <em>Bruce Gillett's last blog post..<a href='http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AffordableAcadia/~3/qX6LT0viapY/' rel="nofollow">Bar Harbor’s Bugs</a></em> As a “violator” of 4 out of 5 of your rules I’d like to offer a second opinion. First, we agree on the insurance issue completely. I looked long and hard for a policy and found many companies considered our vacation apartment as a “boarding house”, requiring absurd pricing. I finally found one with premiums only a little higher than our homeowner’s policy. Now for the other rules: 1) Like others with properties off the beaten track, we can’t afford refusal for short stays. We compensated by increasing our short term stay prices so that they approach weekly rates. 2) We take 1/2 down 6 weeks before arrival and the second 1/2 on arrival. We have never had a problem. We will explain to future guests if we have to change this that it was because of a bad experience and give them details. 3) The same for damage deposit. So far so good. We are on site and figure that the guest behaves better knowing the owner is a few feet away. Rambunctious people seek isolated lodgings. 4) We offer a lease for the guests benefit, but few ask. We are very specific in our emails and let them serve as receipts and agreements. People are put off by legalese and I’ve seen landlords treat leases and deposits as automatic extra income.
The only exception is the use of our kayaks. For this we want the signer to read about all the risks and responsibilities, and to sign the agreement.

Bruce Gillett’s last blog post..Bar Harbor’s Bugs

]]> By: Grant Hammond http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-2227 Grant Hammond Tue, 04 May 2010 22:35:11 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-2227 @ Judy - Sadly, Nashville also just got slammed by what officals are calling, 'The Great Flood'. The Army Core of Engineers have confirmed this is a 500 year flood event. I wish I had read your comment earlier! <em>Grant Hammond's last blog post..<a href='http://www.granthammond.com/2010/market-news/nashville-market-post-flood/' rel="nofollow">What Happens to the Nashville Market Post Flood?</a></em> @ Judy – Sadly, Nashville also just got slammed by what officals are calling, ‘The Great Flood’. The Army Core of Engineers have confirmed this is a 500 year flood event. I wish I had read your comment earlier!

Grant Hammond’s last blog post..What Happens to the Nashville Market Post Flood?

]]> By: Kendal Cottages http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-2098 Kendal Cottages Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:20:16 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-2098 Hi there I'm an owner just starting out and am aware of most of these pitfalls. However, I'm not sure about the necessity to take a damage deposit. Isn't this what insurance is for? Hi there

I’m an owner just starting out and am aware of most of these pitfalls. However, I’m not sure about the necessity to take a damage deposit. Isn’t this what insurance is for?

]]> By: BulgarianVillaRenters http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-1391 BulgarianVillaRenters Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:47:17 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-1391 From our experience it is always good to have strict policy when renting out you place. A significant problem we have is the maximum occupancy. We have several 3-bed villas all with the capacity of 6 people. Groups of 7 people (and above) are not welcome but the tenants insist all the time it is not a problem for them to sleep on the couch/floor etc. We had once a family with 9 (nine) children coming from Netherlands. They said they could sleep in a tent in the garden!!!!! Of course we declined, but as our destination is not very popular for vacation rentals we have to accept some of these 7-people bookings. I wish we didn’t have to… You are very right about the insurance. We have a very very expensive insurance just in case someone forgets to switch off the oven. This could end extremely expensive for the owner. Although we are onsite, we (try to) collect damage deposit from our guests. It is not much but it covers the damages the guests cause - broken doors (!?!), broken chairs, broken garden furniture… Not worth mentioning the broken glasses and plates. <em>BulgarianVillaRenters's last blog post..<a href='http://www.bulgarianvillarenters.com/travel-guide-bulgaria/cheap-car-hire-bulgaria-reviews/' rel="nofollow">Car Hire Bulgaria - cheap and reliable</a></em> From our experience it is always good to have strict policy when renting out you place. A significant problem we have is the maximum occupancy. We have several 3-bed villas all with the capacity of 6 people. Groups of 7 people (and above) are not welcome but the tenants insist all the time it is not a problem for them to sleep on the couch/floor etc. We had once a family with 9 (nine) children coming from Netherlands. They said they could sleep in a tent in the garden!!!!! Of course we declined, but as our destination is not very popular for vacation rentals we have to accept some of these 7-people bookings. I wish we didn’t have to…
You are very right about the insurance. We have a very very expensive insurance just in case someone forgets to switch off the oven. This could end extremely expensive for the owner.
Although we are onsite, we (try to) collect damage deposit from our guests. It is not much but it covers the damages the guests cause – broken doors (!?!), broken chairs, broken garden furniture… Not worth mentioning the broken glasses and plates.

BulgarianVillaRenters’s last blog post..Car Hire Bulgaria – cheap and reliable

]]> By: Rob Hyndman http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-1215 Rob Hyndman Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:30:51 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-1215 I was wondering whether you know of insurers in Canada who will provide insurance for the cottage when it is going to be rented (in our case, only occasionally). I was wondering whether you know of insurers in Canada who will provide insurance for the cottage when it is going to be rented (in our case, only occasionally).

]]> By: Julie Roberts http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-1196 Julie Roberts Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:09:11 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-1196 Hi Heather Your list of the 5 most common mistakes vacation rental owners make has been very well thought out. I guess it all boils down to the little "if" word. ie: if a catastophe happens etc. It is always better to have all things in place for your own protection just in case something does go wrong. We were so lucky for 12 years of renting in West Maui, because we never took a damage deposit, and never had a contract for people to sign. I do it differently now. Also we had a flood that started in our unit last Oct. and damaged 3 below us. We were so happy that we had adequate insurance to cover everything except the $1000 deductible. The unit below us had $40,000 worth of damages. Believe me it was a stressful time for us. So Heather is absolutely right. Protect yourself!!! <em>Julie Roberts's last blog post..<a href='http://mauivacationguide.blogspot.com/2009/04/maui-revealed-best-maui-travel-guide.html' rel="nofollow">Maui Revealed - Best Maui Travel Guide</a></em> Hi Heather
Your list of the 5 most common mistakes vacation rental owners make has been very well thought out. I guess it all boils down to the little “if” word. ie: if a catastophe happens etc. It is always better to have all things in place for your own protection just in case something does go wrong. We were so lucky for 12 years of renting in West Maui, because we never took a damage deposit, and never had a contract for people to sign. I do it differently now. Also we had a flood that started in our unit last Oct. and damaged 3 below us. We were so happy that we had adequate insurance to cover everything except the $1000 deductible. The unit below us had $40,000 worth of damages. Believe me it was a stressful time for us.
So Heather is absolutely right. Protect yourself!!!

Julie Roberts’s last blog post..Maui Revealed – Best Maui Travel Guide

]]> By: CottageGuru http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-1158 CottageGuru Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:49:43 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-1158 Hi Margaret If you are able to be flexible, and achieve maximum occupancy then that is great. In our situation, cottages in Ontario have no problem renting in July and August for complete weeks and being flexible in that way would mean empty times as our domestic clients generally expect a week or more. Outside the high season, flexibility is king, because there are a ton of properties chasing a significantly smaller number of renters. Thank you for your contribution which is valuable as always! Hi Margaret

If you are able to be flexible, and achieve maximum occupancy then that is great. In our situation, cottages in Ontario have no problem renting in July and August for complete weeks and being flexible in that way would mean empty times as our domestic clients generally expect a week or more. Outside the high season, flexibility is king, because there are a ton of properties chasing a significantly smaller number of renters.

Thank you for your contribution which is valuable as always!

]]> By: Margaret Leach http://cottageblogger.com/2009/04/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners/comment-page-1/#comment-1157 Margaret Leach Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:24:30 +0000 http://cottageblogger.com/cottage-rental-basics/the-five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-new-vacation-rental-owners#comment-1157 From experience, I think it is better not to set too many rules from the outset. We started out with a fixed changeover day, accepted the first booking which came along (we had no idea whether it would be our last - our location was totally unknown) and have never regretted our immediate change to flexible changeovers - if you are on site, it is one of the most guest-friendly things you can do, in my opinion. If you are on site, you can also do without the damage deposit - we have never taken one and rarely had a problem: mutual trust between owners and guests goes a very long way. From experience, I think it is better not to set too many rules from the outset. We started out with a fixed changeover day, accepted the first booking which came along (we had no idea whether it would be our last – our location was totally unknown) and have never regretted our immediate change to flexible changeovers – if you are on site, it is one of the most guest-friendly things you can do, in my opinion. If you are on site, you can also do without the damage deposit – we have never taken one and rarely had a problem: mutual trust between owners and guests goes a very long way.

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