“Keeping your property rented during off-peak seasons, such as the cold Australian winter, can be difficult and at times stressful. Especially if you financially rely on rental income throughout the year.
So how can you maintain a steadily rented property, even at off-peak times?
Here are four strategies you can use to keep your property booked in off-peak periods with short-term guests.
1. Get Creative With the Sites You List On
If you list your property on multiple sites, you’ll inevitably create more visibility for it. You’ll reach a wider audience, and increase the chance of bookings.
When you limit your listing to just a few popular vacation websites, not only are you limiting your audience of potential renters, but you’re also entering yourself into fierce competition with multiple other property owners or managers. Everyone’s using the popular sites, and you’ll find yourself up against hundreds of other properties in your area.
Instead, try to list your property on less-known sites. While these listing sources may have less traffic, they’ll also have less competition, increasing your chance of finding a successful short-term renter, as well as one that is reliable and has a good reputation.
Relying on just a few sites means you may experience an increase in vacancies. During these lulls, you still have to pay for all your property’s expenses even if it’s not occupied, which costs you more money over time.
Widening your reach by posting on multiple short-term rental sites means you’ll have more interested renters to choose from, and you can be more selective about the process.
The MaisonNets service automatically lists your property on over 50 different booking sites. We’ve found this approach to significantly decrease vacancy rates, and over time significantly increase rental income for property owners.
2. Create a Seasonal Theme for Your Property
While summer is a much more popular time for renting properties for vacation, you can also market your rental property as a cozy getaway during the off-peak winter months as well.
When selecting a theme, you may want to decorate or furnish the interior of your property based on the season. Tweak the written portions of your listing as well to cater to the specific season, and include a few season-specific photos of your place.
If it’s autumn, then mention outdoor attractions or places to visit where people can see beautiful foliage. If it’s winter, then play up the creature comforts and coziness of the property. If people can see themselves vacationing there during off-peak times, they’re much more likely to be interested.
You may also choose to advertise lower rates during these times since they are considered to be an off-peak period. You don’t want to set prices so low that you can’t pay the mortgage, but lowering your rental price by a few hundred dollars during off-peak seasons can help draw in more renters.
3. Tap Into Key Yearly Event Communities
Surrounding communities may have special annual events that go on at certain times of the year when it’s not prime vacation rental season.
Food and wine festivals, music events, local sporting events, or theatre spectaculars may be going on in your area and attracting potential guests. These are fun options for renters to enjoy while they stay with you. Make sure you play on these things in your listing, or directly approach people associated with these events to let them know about your property.
4. Send Offers to Previous Guests
Those who have had a pleasant experience staying with you are much more likely to come back again in the following years, instead of going through the hassle of finding a new place to stay.
When you extend special offers to these previous renters, it may entice them to rent from you again for an impromptu winter getaway, especially if you’re offering lower rates or some other promotion.
They may remember their first stay with you fondly, and you can rest assured knowing that they’ll take good care of the property and will leave it in a tidy state, just like it was when they first arrived.
Conclusion
Although off-peak renting may be difficult, if you get creative with where you list your property, think about the season, tap into community events, and leverage previous guests – it may not be as daunting as you think!
Hopefully these tips will help you better fill your property in off-peak periods.
If you want to list your property on over 50+ booking sites with MaisonNets, without manually doing it all yourself”
