Tips for Making Your Vacation Rental Feel Like Home

There’s no place like home. Some avid travelers would disagree with this statement. But for the average guest, while they are excited about their vacation, home is where the heart is. This feeling of home is why many travelers choose a vacation rental instead of a hotel room. Here are a few ways to make your vacation rental feel like home.

Keep the amenities in your unit simple, but more importantly, predictable.

One perk about being at home versus being away is the fact that you know where everything is and how it works. You have worked out where everything goes and works and it’s like second nature. But this is your guests first time in your home, and they don’t know where anything is.

Your guests will have a much easier time if everything in your rental makes sense. Things like keeping the remotes close to the TV. Where do people usually keep extra paper towels? Where is the first place people usually check when looking for silverware and plates? Sometimes shower knobs are tricky, so keeping them simple is key. It’s pretty frustrating spending 15 minutes trying to figure out which direction is hot. The less your guests have to fumble around looking for things or figuring out how things work, the more they’re going to feel like they own the place. As a matter of fact, get a label maker and label everything. Label makers can be fun!

Add character to make your vacation rental feel like home, but don’t overdo it.

Unless you have a background in interior design, achieving the sought-after essence of ‘hygge’ can be harder than it sounds. Your guests aren’t interested in a generic cookie-cutter room with basic furniture and a bed. That’s why they didn’t rent a hotel. Adding tasteful, local decorations can really go a long way to please your guests. Try adding some interesting art on the walls or some candles in the kitchen. Don’t go overboard. Some niche tastes or overdone decorating can be distracting and could make your guests feel like they’re in a total stranger’s house. They are, but that’s not the point.

Leave guests the option to clean up after themselves.

Accidents happen. Even if you have an on-call cleaning staff, they aren’t always available. Don’t leave your guests without a way to clean up that late-night broken glass or accidental wine spillage. Make sure your property has the cleaning basics needed for small messes. A broom, dustpan, surface cleaner, carpet stain remover, a Swiffer and a plunger are all necessities that every guest will go looking for when an accident happens. There’s nothing that says ‘this doesn’t feel like home’ more than the panic of a stain on the carpet with no way to clean it up.

Guest choose vacation rentals because they want their vacation to be comfortable and feel more like home. A little planning and small touches can make a big difference in making your vacation rental feel like home. They may not be deciding factors when guests are booking your short-term rental but it could make the difference for getting a 5-star review.

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