Over the past 8 years, we have learned what secures the most rental income for vacation rental property owners. I strongly suggest reviewing the very valuable tips below and heed the advice to land as much rental income as possible. Our mission is to provide our vacation rental property owners with a huge return on their investment and I am here personally to help in any way that I can. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me with any questions or concerns.
DON’T GET CAUGHT IN THESE TRAPS!
1. NOT HAVING AN ATTENTION GRABBING LISTING TITLE [& MAIN PHOTO].
Try to give your listing title a catchy phrase to grab the viewer’s attention. If you are offering a discount, be sure to include it in your title. Here are a few examples “Hurry, Book Now and Save $200”, “Enjoy Beachfront Luxury at its Finest” or “Affordable Beach Block Home with Pool”. I also cannot stress enough how important it is to have an appealing main photo as well.
2. BORING PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS.
Great ads have a lot of visualization. They make the renter envision what it would be like to stay in your vacation home. Which description sounds more appealing to the potential renter – “Imagine enjoying a relaxing dinner while enjoying gorgeous sunsets from our private deck on the bay” compared to “Great views of the bay”? Be sure to really stress what makes your vacation home unique. Let the reader know what you love about your property. Also, be sure to include all of your home’s amenities and features in your ad. If you have a 42 inch plasma TV, be sure it’s in your property description and not just listed as TV. Does your property have a pool, elevator, handicapped accessibility, easy beach access, etc? Be sure it is in your ad or you could be missing out on rentals. Please remember that most renters do not physically see your property until check in so you need to be very detailed in your descriptions, features, amenities, etc. If you are close to the boardwalk, beach, etc. then say that in your descriptions. Here is an example of a very successful ad - Listing 3049. Notice how the owner does a great job of making the renter visualize what it is like to stay in their condo.
3. DARK, BLURRY AND/OR UNAPPEALING PHOTOS.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to display SEVERAL appealing photos of the interior AND exterior of the property, especially the main photo. Bright photos are very important. Again, if you are close to the desired locations like the boardwalk, beach, mountains, lake, etc., show that in a photo. Do not upload dark or blurry photos, statistics show that ads with blurry or dark photos are viewed 7 times less compared to properties that have great pictures. Again, most renters do not actually see your home until they check in so the more photos you provide them the more comfortable they will feel renting from you. There is a lot of competition and great pictures are a must. If you have a Deluxe membership, your ad can have up to 30 photos. I offer photograph services for only $75 and that includes driving to your property, taking several wide angle photos of the interior, exterior, beach shots, bay views etc. and uploading them onto your ad. Feel free to contact me if would like me to update your photos.
4. NOT DISPLAYING RATES AND CALENDAR NOT UPDATED.
Please take note that we have developed and implemented the ability to search properties by rates and availability. Renters can now search to fit their budget and travel dates. It would be in your best interest to make sure you have rates posted in the Rate Table broken down week by week. Please be warned that just putting rates in your descriptions and not in the rate table may actually hurt you because when someone searches for a property by rates, your ad will not show up as our database searches the rate table. Same goes for the calendar. Please check your ad now to make sure you have your rates listed in the actual Rate Table week by week. Please note that the Availability column is not tied into the actual database calendar (yet) so if you have the word 'RENTED' in that column that does not automatically update your calendar. You need to click on Edit Calendar and block off the dates, weeks and/or months.
5. NOT OFFERING PERKS IN VACATION RENTAL HOME.
The renter is looking for a vacation where all of the “comforts of home” are provided and more. Things to consider for your home would be:
- Wireless Internet - people cannot live without the internet anymore!
- Digital Cable or Satellite
- Library of books, movies and board games
- Video Game System with games
- Boogie boards, beach chairs, umbrella and a cooler with wheels
- Beach Caddy that carries everything to the beach in one easy trip
- Beach tags included for towns that require them
- Bright colors on walls and table accents entice renters
6. NOT HAVING THE SPECIAL'S PACKAGE.
Need a competitive edge? Supplement your ad by adding it to up to one or all of our 8 (16 including both sites) wildly famous Special's pages. Owners who take advantage of this great opportunity secure 30% more income than they would without so don't forget to take advantage of the Special's Package. You may have a vacant week coming up in the next couple of weeks or just want to post a special to give your property more exposure. You may also want to rent your property monthly in the WINTER months or seasonal in the SUMMER months. If you have this package attached to your ad, make sure you are posting your ad on the appropriate Special's pages. If you posted a special and it is not showing up, your Special's expiration date is more than likely expired. You will just need to login to your account and click on Post Specials. That is where you can update the expiration dates. Again, having a Special's Package attached to your Main Membership will put your ad on the most popular 16 additional pages of our sites. This small yearly fee of $50 has provided a huge return on investments for all my owners who take advantage of this package. Login to your account now to purchase the Special's Package and start receiving more cash NOW!
7. ONLY PURCHASED THE STANDARD PACKAGE.
If you purchased a Standard membership and need more exposure then you should strongly consider upgrading to a Deluxe membership for only $50 additional per year. A Deluxe membership gets an average of 7 times more exposure rotating randomly at the top of the search results with other Deluxe members UNDER the Standard membership as well as randomly displaying as a Featured Property throughout the websites. You can also post up to 30 photos of your house as opposed to 5. I highly recommend the Deluxe Package for any property that is located in a town with a lot of competition (more than 25 properties).
8. NOT WILLING TO RENT PARTIAL WEEKS DURING THE PEAK SEASON.
There are a substantial number of renters that are just looking for a mini vacation. Their jobs or budgets may only allow them a short vacation. If you are willing to rent partial weeks/weekends during late June to the end of August if you still have the weeks vacant as the date approaches, we have a Partial Week Rental’s page that is included when you purchase the Special’s Package in addition to your Main Membership and this will give your property a TREMENDOUS amount of additional exposure not to mention additional rental income!
9. NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR FREE RENTAL SIGN FOR YOUR PROPERTY.
Your membership includes a FREE professional “FOR RENT” sign on your property. View a picture of sign. In certain towns, you are only permitted to hang one larger sign (18' x 24') or more than one smaller sign (6' x 24'). We provide wire ties with the sign to hang on railing or decking. The sign will have your phone number and rental id number on it. This has been very successful in securing additional rentals. By having the id number on the sign, the renter will be able to pull up your property on our website to view all the details of your property or call you on the spot. Please do not request a sign unless I have access to hang it on your property or you will be down in the next week or so to hang it yourself. The signs are costly and have been dropped off to several property owners in the past with owners never hanging them. If you have a lock box with a key to your property or someone in the area who has a key, I would be happy to pick up the key so that I can hang the sign for you. Signs will be tied to decking. If you require a sturdy stand for the lawn, there will be a cost of $20. If you would like a sign for your property, fill out a Request a Sign form. Fax to 609-677-1590, e-mail or mail form to P.O. Box 55, Somers Point, NJ 08244.
10. NOT SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT US.
Get Paid for sharing ShoreSummerRentals & VacationRentals2U with your friends! You can easily earn up to $75 for each referral! There is no limit, you can earn as much as you want. It’s easy, when your friends join us they just need to put your name in the customer referral box at registration. We will take care of the rest. Your friends will get both sites for one low price and you get paid quickly.
Sometimes a few small changes can make a big difference in the amount of rentals you will receive! Good luck and remember we are always here to help you. I hope this information is useful and that you take the time to review your ads to make sure that they are being advertised as best they can. Click here for Editing Ad and Posting Special's Instructions.
Happy Renting! 
