May 23rd, 2007

6 easy money making ideas for renting your condo

1. Whether you have a ski condo in Breckenridge or a home in Frisco, if you use “rent by owner” websites like www.vrbo.com or www.homeaway.com, you can successfully rent your condo on the internet and save the 35 to 50% you now pay your management company. For just a couple of hundred dollars you can post your listing with photos and generate lots of rental income yourself. These are the two best, and homeaway actually puts you on 3 websites. Vrbo is probably the oldest and generates the most traffic for me. I have a Copper Mountain condo; a small one bedroom unit.

2. Use a flat fee management company. The one I use is www.bookbyowner.com. They charge a flat fee and handle the confirmations, cleanings and keys. The cleaning is an extra fee, but they arrange it. Other companies charge a percentage, but I prefer to know how much it will cost me.

3. Put a calendar and the rates on your site. The calendar is free from www.rentors.org and easy to use. When I book vacation homes to stay at other ski resorts, I bypass ones that I have to ask for rates and availability. It will also eliminate a lot of incoming emails asking if your condo is booked or not. I will not post my condo on websites without a calendar as it takes too much time to check dates and respond to the emails.

4. Use a guestbook on your site. Also from www.rentors.org and also free. I was wondering why my rentals had increased so steadily over the last couple of years until one day, while filling in the guest book entries, I noticed the guestbook counter. I was amazed that over 1200 people had viewed the guestbook. Every couple of months I take my guestbook, which I leave in the condo, and enter the comments of the people that have been nice enough to leave some. They are always good! The worst negative comment I had was that we didn’t have a rubber spatula in the kitchen. When I entered that comment I made an owner note that I had corrected that deficiency! It makes it more real to include something negative and explain how you have fixed it. If lacking a spatula is the worst one can come up with, it must be a great place to stay.

5. Have weekly rates. In Summit County, we are close to the Denver metro area and get a lot of people wanting to book the weekends. By offering weekly rates I encourage longer stays and it saves me money as I don’t have to pay to clean it as often. It still costs me $65 to clean my one bedroom condo whether someone has stayed 2 days or 7. I offer a midweek linen change for $35 and the guest pays for that if they want it. Booking too many weekends will block your week long stays and cost you money in the long run.

6. Encourage people to pay by check. I take a reservation by check at the time of the booking, and request that the remainder be paid 30 days prior to their visit, which gives time for the check to clear. I email out reminders at about 35 days as people will forget. If they take too long to send the check, or want a last minute booking, I will only take a credit card. My management company no longer handles credit cards, but www.vrbo.com will do it for you or you can set up an account with paypal. It is my understanding that google checkout will not handle lodging. Credit cards are expensive to take as many places now charge a flat fee plus a percentage.

7. (I know, I said 6, but this is a bonus!) Make sure your photos look great and if your condo has added features, mention them in your listing, as most condos at Copper or Keystone are very similar to each other. Many of them are just old enough to be getting pretty tired, and any sprucing up you can do, and point out in your copy or photos, will be appreciated by your guests. You can even charge a little more and they will gladly pay it. You can see my Copper Mountain condo listing at www.vrbo.com/17598. Note that I have included a photo of the view and the hot tub, and I mention the name of the condo complex and how far it is from the slopes. I have also stressed that we have granite counters, fresh paint and upgrades. I will be posting new photos this summer when we add a new leather sofa and a flat panel tv. Anything you can do to be better than the competition will pay off.

If I have missed anything that you do that works well for you, please comment below and share with us. Short term rentals of our investment properties and vacation homes are important for income purposes and allow us to enjoy a ski condo or summer getaway with much less expense.