CoastRentals Beach Vacation Blog

We caught an interesting post over at 37signals (give it a read) a few days back that has some great before and after shots of photos for real estate listings. It’s amazing how much of a difference moving a few steps in one direction or moving one piece of furniture can have on the image that photograph portrays of a room or building.

Just like with selling a home, the pictures you list with your vacation rental are the #1 selling point for potential renters when they view your listing. They want to see what they will be getting by staying in your place, and envision themselves there. It’s important to take hundreds of photos of your vacation rental, from different vantage points and during different times of day (usually, early in the morning or right around twilight are the best times).

Remember, you are selling your property each and every time a visitor comes by your listing. Clean it, make it shine, and become a professional photographer for a few hours. While LakeRentals and CoastRentals offer up to 10 photos for all of our listers, you have ample opportunity to show the best sides of your vacation rental. And if you’re amending one of your listings with another site, we strongly suggest anteing up the dough for as many pictures as you can.

I recently stayed in a vacation rental out in San Diego that was equipped with it’s own fully-stocked mini-bar (just like the ones you typically see in higher-end hotel rooms). 15 bottles of liquor, 8 bottles of wine, soda, tonic, candy bars and popcorn, it was decked out. It even accompanied a price list and a little box for us to leave the money in if we used anything.

While I personally had never seen anyone doing this in their vacation rental, I loved discovering it upon our arrival. Even if we didn’t use it (we did consume a few things), it is a great convenience to offer to your visitors and a simple way to get people to remember your rental as a cool place to stay the next time they are on vacation. I truly believe it will end up increasing your return customers.

If you think that the first day people check in they aren’t too familiar with the area and maybe all they want to do is grab a snack, then you’ve got them right there. You don’t have to make a big profit off of it - in fact, I suggest barely charging over retail price - but you can provide a service that shows you’re going a bit over the top to make your visitor’s stay that much more comfortable.

Here’s a picture of the mini-bar:

And if you have any worries about people leaving money for what they use, simply state that you will take an unpaid uses out of their security deposits.

La Jolla, CA is one of the wealthiest locales in the United States. We’ve raved about it before on CoastRentals, and our weekend getaway to San Diego proved once again that La Jolla is one of the most beautiful places around. Lush hills covered in palm trees and large homes all surround a vibrant art community, upscale shopping, great dining, all under a never-ending blanket of sun.

Just a few miles north of downtown, taking the La Jolla Expressway exit west will land you where you need to be. This time around, my fellow travelers and I made a quick right turn after passing Hotel La Jolla and got to experience the northern beach of La Jolla. Talk about the nicest beach I’ve ever seen . . . wow. A great blend of sunbathers, surfers, families and the younger crowd all matriculate here.

After a few hours chilling in the sun and sand, I suggest heading downtown and peering into a few art galleries. There have to be 30+ of them within a few blocks, not to mention the La Jolla location of the Contemporary Art Museum. Grab a chai tea latte at the Living Room (where they show Fox Soccer Channel), and browse around town. You can eat pretty much anywhere and be satisfied, some of the restaurants even look out on La Jolla cove.

No trip to the San Diego area is complete without seeing the best the city has to offer, and oftentimes that leads you right to La Jolla.

News surfaced a few days ago that legislation set on limiting the number of vacation rental properties rented to short-term visitors is gaining steam on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Bill 2204, as referenced here, would effectively place a limit on the number of vacation properties to be used in such a fashion by not allowing anyone who doesn’t currently rent their property to do so in the future.

Current owners who have paid the appropriate taxes for the current year would be ‘grandfathered’, and free to continue to operate their vacation rental as in the past. New owners looking to enter the market would be unable to use their property for other visitors.

This possible ‘ban’ on vacation rentals in the area comes on the heels of countless other similar news stories coming to light from Alabama to Washington State. While many 2nd homeowners desire to rent out their properties to travelers in order to help lessen their financial burdens (or, heaven forbid, make a profit), local residents in close proximity to large contingents of vacation rentals are often miffed by the loud or otherwise unwelcomed behaviors of short-term vacationers.

The battle continues in many parts of the country, and Hawaii is one of those at the forefront of eliminating (or at least putting a limit on) vacation rentals. Property owners would be well advised to stay on top of local news and changes in policies in their city, county, or even associations.

Spring has often been the proverbial default time to do a little house cleaning, why should your vacation property be any different? The weather has heated up, and after surviving the winter most homes, condos and cabins could use a little cleaning. (Do we have cabins on CoastRentals? Guess that’s more of a Lake thing).

The best course of action is to make a simple checklist that lists everything out 1-by-1 that needs to be cleaned and/or checked for maintenance. While it’s obvious that floors need to be swept and scrubbed, and the bathroom probably needs some attention, property owners should also make time to check smoke detectors and to clean out furnace ducts. Do you have a fireplace? Spring is a great time to get all the ashes out of that sucker.

And what about your exterior? Limbs of trees and bushes may need to be checked, paint may have faded or been chipped, and window screens may have taken a beating in the wintertime. As the good weather rolls in, you want all of your visitors to see the best presentation of your property possible - cause hopefully they’ll be coming back next year.

More than anything, there has to be some time of year to make sure that your property is all ship shape. While week-to-week cleaning services are necessary, nothing beats the keen eye of a property owner when it comes to catching the little things. Grab some rubber gloves and get to!

So myself and a few of the other people that help make CoastRentals possible made our annual pilgrimmage to Key West, Florida this past weekend. While this is always one of our most favorite trips of the year (especially considering it encompasses the first weekend of March Madness AND St. Patrick’s Day AND Spring Break), it also provided me with an opportunity to get real, first-person accounts of a feature vacation location here on the website.

‘Florida beach vacation’, which is a big part of what we do here on our website and a key term for our property listers to focus on, can mean a whole lot of different things. Heading down for a weekend of go karting and crab cakes in Panama City definitely is different than clubbing down in South Beach Miami or exploring the Everglades. I bring this up only because I feel like visiting Key West for a Florida beach vacation is a very unique experience, unlike any other Florida trip you may experience.

For one, Key West is out in the middle of nowhere - literally. This is made obvious to all that try and visit and experience the 150+ mile drive from MIA (I just realized our Key West page says it’s a 90 minute drive, that is far from the case), or the lucky ones that grab a flight from a nearby airport directly to the island. I also heard there is a ferry from Miami every day, but regardless, if you want to experience the splendor of Key West then you have to endure a little trouble to get there.

Once you reach the island, you are treated to a look and feel of a town that contrasts typical American life in every way. There are no visible strip malls on the 7 square miles of Key West. I didn’t see a Burger King or a bunch of drive-thru ATMs. No interstates. Just old Victorian houses, coastline, bars, local restaurants (A/B Steakhouse was awesome) and tanned humans. Oh, and a roller hockey rink. Note to self, bring skates next time.

In short, in Key West you’re going to be able to really ‘get away from it all’. Duval Street is up and at ‘em until 4 am every night, so chances are your trip will involve some late night tomfoolery if you so desire. It’s got the look and feel of a Mardi Gras celebration every night, but a bit more low key and spread out. Just a really relaxed atmosphere and perfect weather. What more could you ask for? We’ve got our plans locked in for 49 more years, same weekend, same place, same fun - Key West. Currently showing 14 vacation rentals proudly here on CoastRentals.

Vacation Rental bans are becoming a hot topic in the industry. Recent occurrences in places like Encinitas and in Hawaii have drawn a lot of attention, and tons of isolated incidents of vacation rental owners struggling with their communities over renting out their properties are happening across the country. Why all the fuss?

Well, it’s been an ongoing problem for as long as the idea of renting out a vacation property to short-term travelers has existed. I think a big part of all the recent problems is the success people are having marketing their properties on the internet. More and more people vacationers are both aware and actively seeking lodging in vacation rentals over hotels, and the big websites have allowed them the ability to easily find thousands of potential places to stay. With that, there have been a lot less vacancies and a lot more people visiting these communities.

One of the complaints in the Encinitas filing was that short-term renters were loud and unrespectful of the beach and the community. That was lowering the quality of life for many of the permanent residents. I can understand the argument, but it seems that these are very isolated incidents no matter where you are - Encinitas, Myrtle Beach, Tahoe, or Mexico. Some people are loud and obnoxious and destructive. More often than not, however, these people are not the norm.

It’s tough to punish a vacation property owner by not letting them rent out their property because of a few bad seeds. The Encinitas motion failed, as have most of those around the country. I think there is a responsibility amongst property owners to try and weed out the bad seeds, but they can only do so much. Most have an age limit and do their best to get a ‘feel’ for a person before renting their property - after all, they are more directly affected by unruly behavior (especially if it leads to destruction of their property), so there is incentive there.

Together I think most of the communities that we serve her on CoastRentals will be able to keep allowing vacation rentals on a short-term basis. The fact that this is news is not going away though, as evident by our friends over at HomeAway launching a complete section of their owner community to notifying people of vacation rental bans and news related to them.

A recent report on AL.com states that the Gulf Shores and surrounding Alabama coastal region has seen a big jump in bookings for the 2007 season already, rivaling the business the region saw in 2004 during a boom. Recent hurricane destruction to the Gulf region caused a bit of downturn, but Gulf Shores has always been one of the U.S.’ top beach vacation spots.

With over 14,000 vacation properties available, it’s hard not to find the right fit for your vacation needs in Gulf Shores. White sand, warm weather (and warm water), great seafood, and traditional beach pastimes like go karts and the boardwalk are all part of what makes Gulf Shores a good beach getaway.

I personally visited the area in 2000 and was impressed to see all the development underway at that time. Huge beach homes, some 4 and 5 stories tall were being built up and down the coastline, and the beaches were booming with vacationers. For many people on a budget, Gulf Shores is a better option than many of the Florida beach vacation spots, but that doesn’t mean that Gulf Shores is devoid of ‘upscale’ options either. The dining is terrific (as is most coastal dining options when you live in the Midwest :-)).

If you’re thinking of heading out for some fun in the sun, check out Gulf Shores. From what we’re hearing, it could be a tough season to find an open vacation rental. Start now.

I just finished talking to one of our listers who is in Hawaii (lovely area by the way, she is on Maui) and had been working recently with a property manager.  Now, I’ve mentioned some of the negatives of dealing with property managers before in this space - their lack of good online marketing, their high fees, etc.  I strongly believe that managing your vacation rental “by owner” is the way to go, and not just because I own LakeRentals and CoastRentals, but also because it was a decision I had to make many years ago myself.

This person in particular had come across something I never ran into when dealing with property managers - her property management firm only paid her 4 times per year!  They would rent out her vacation home, collect the money and then only send her checks at the end of each quarter.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Depending on how savvy the property manager is, I can foresee a few different reasons for wanting to do this.  One being that they like to have the cash on hand from all their rentals for their operating costs, etc.  Another, more cynical one, is that they are taking the money collected from these properties and investing it for a return.  Vacation rental owners are having their profits diminished for one, now they only get their money 4x per year?

I’m sure that doesn’t align with the ‘dream’ situation most people have in mind when they purchase their vacation home or condo, especially in a hotspot like Maui.  Maui vacation house?  That should be raking in the dough as long as you market it effectively online.  Don’t let a property manager take 30-45% of your income, and especially do not let them hold your money and earn returns off of it.

Where do people move when they retire? The beach. Where do people go on Spring Break? The beach. Where do all the Corona commercials take place? The beach! If nothing about global warming scares you yet - the massive climate shifts, the spread of disease, food shortages, massive hurricanes and tornadoes, maybe your love for the feeling of the sand beneath your toes will.

That’s right, global warming is going to ruin your vacation. All those dream summers you spent with your family and friends in years past will be but faint memories before you know it. The earth will continue to heat up, the ice caps will be melting while the beaches are eroding, and the $700,000 beach home in Naples that you’ve set your sights on will be well underwater.

Millions of people take a trip to the beach every year, from Maui to Key West, Perth to St.-Tropez, the sun and the sand (and the bikinis) drawing them religiously to hot spots of relaxation and recreation. But what if the predictions of the imminent effects of global warming come true?

The human race will lose out on one of its most treasured international pasttimes, that’s what. No more sipping drinks with little hats in them while the kids jump up and down in the waves. Instead, the waves will be plummeting through and then over expensive beachfront properties, and making 4th street the new Ocean Parkway.

Most of us have great memories of digging through the sand at 4, jumping in the waves at 12, having some drinks at 21, making love at 28, all the way up to the serentiy we will enjoy while staring out across the ocean and relaxing at 70. Truly, the beach is one of the only places in the world where people of all ages can enjoy themselves equally.

So, here’s a two step program to help ensure you take advantage of the beach in there here-and-now, and in the future:

1. Book a beach vacation. Hotels and resorts can be expensive, so try booking a vacation rental. For our money, Maui, San Diego, and Destin are great choices. Pack your bags, your sunscreen, and a book. Enjoy.

2. Do your part to lessen the effects of global warming. Here are some easy, everyday changes that you can make to contribute. Don’t sit back and let our beaches go underwater, where would you go for some R&R?