Maine sees around 15 million visitors each year.
If you're looking to invest in Maine real estate, you'd be remiss not to consider turning your investment into a vacation rental. The Windham area is ripe for short-term rentals, so it's a great opportunity to bring in significant rental income in the short and long term.
That said, renting out a home won't necessarily be easy. With plenty of other vacation rentals in the area, you'll have plenty of competition. Attracting guests to your vacation rental requires you to put in the work.
Keep reading and we'll tell you what you need to do to make your rental stand out to Windham visitors.
Rental Marketing Tips
An attractive rental listing will help your property stand out to potential renters, but first, you must turn your property into an ideal vacation rental. To do so, you should:
- Depersonalize the space by removing personal flourishes
- Add unique amenities to make your rental more appealing
- Stage the home to make it more attractive
- Perform preventative maintenance to avoid any issues while guests are present
When you're ready, write up a thorough property listing that describes the property and the local area's amenities. Take plenty of detailed real estate photos that show the property in the best light.
Once your listing is ready, list it on the short-term rental site of your choosing. Think about using digital marketing tactics, like SEO and paid ads during the busier seasons to help your listing stand out.
Use Competitive Pricing
A great listing alone won't guarantee bookings. More established vacation rentals with plenty of positive reviews will get the attention of vacationers first. You'll need to offer competitive pricing to pull eyes away from those listings.
Keep your rates lower than other rentals and you'll increase vacation bookings almost immediately. When you've secured positive reviews of your own, you can slowly bring your rates up and work on increasing your ROI.
Sliding scale pricing based on the season will help maximize vacation rental success as well. When it's slower in the fall leading into the winter, bring your nightly rates down, then bring them back up when it's busy season again.
Optimize the Guest Experience
Lastly, we mentioned above how important guest reviews are in securing more bookings. One of the best guest attraction tips we can give is to put a lot of effort into the guest experience. When you nail this part of your vacation rental, obtaining reviews will be easy.
Always ensure they have everything they need and know they can contact you with any questions or concerns. Other than that, try to give your guests their privacy. When they check out, kindly ask for a positive review.
Get Help Attracting Guests to Your Vacation Rental
Attracting guests to your vacation rental can feel daunting, but follow our guide and it can be easy. The more guests you secure, however, the more work your rental will be. If you're finding it to be overwhelming, a great property manager can take a huge load off of your plate.
PMI Vacationland is Windham's top vacation rental management service, offering marketing, maintenance, and guest management services. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.