How to rent out your house as a vacation rental

For years, the popularity of vacation rentals has been skyrocketing and continues to do so. Many of today’s travelers now prefer unique local stays, more space, and more privacy. All things vacation rentals offer that most hotels don’t.

Own a second home and want to get in on the action, but don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place—Vacasa currently manages tens of thousands of vacation rentals across North America and beyond. We’ve outlined the first essential steps to turn your home into a vacation rental easily, legally, and profitably.

1. Understand your local vacation rental rules, regulations, and tax requirements

Before doing anything else, make sure you can legally rent out your home as a short-term rental. Local law—whether that’s at the city, county or state level, or all three—dictates how you’ll own and operate a vacation rental. Or, if you can own one at all. Plus, don’t forget to look into your homeowners’ association rules for renting out your property. Your HOA may have the power to prohibit you from renting your property and levy fines against you for violating restrictions. Do your research now to determine if you're allowed to run your home as a short-term rental.

To make things easier, Vacasa has local staff in all of our markets who can assist you with staying in compliance.

2. Conduct a vacation rental maintenance inspection

Your home should be in top condition by the time your first guest walks in. Now’s the time to do a thorough walkthrough of your entire property. Doing an inspection now can help you spot major issues, then save you time and money on costly repairs. Maintenance problems can also lead to negative reviews—so find that broken pipe before your guests do.

After that initial home inspection (and after taking care of any issues), map out a regular maintenance schedule throughout the year. Items to check up on include:

• Major appliances, like the washer and dryer
• Big mechanical systems, like furnace, ventilation, and air conditioner
• Attics and basements
• Plumbing
• Roof
• Fireplace
• Walls
• Exterior landscaping and decks

Smart guide to vacation rental maintenance >

3. Move all personal items into a locked closet

When guests check in to your vacation rental, they want to see a blank slate for their own experience—not your family photos or framed diplomas adorning the walls. So, round up your personal mementos (yes, even your personal collection of rubber duckies) and valuable items.

Then, move them into a private closet or outdoor shed, which you can lock and mark as off-limits to guests. Clearing your space of personal effects is also a crucial step for staging your vacation home for professional photos.

4. Decorate your vacation home to boost bookings

Design is powerful. It can attract (or repel) bookings and even dictate how much money you make. After all, today’s guests are often willing to pay more for a sophisticated and appealing interior over a home filled with bland colors and mismatched furniture.

Designing to boost bookings requires more than just choosing pretty colors and patterns. Here are some top tips to get you started:

• Consider who you’re designing for
• Anticipate how your guests will use and move about your space
• Select durable materials that will withstand multiple uses
• Stay away from outdated trends

Vacation rental interior design tips >

5. Stock your vacation rental with all the right essentials

Start with the non-negotiables every modern traveler expects—like fresh sheets and towels, a coffee maker, plates and cups, lamps, and WiFi. Then, invest in extra amenities that will help you stand out from the competition. For instance, to attract more families, offer items like break-resistant dinnerware, play pens, and high chairs. Or, purchase beach towels, beach umbrellas, and sand toys for guests to use while staying at your beach house.

When you work with Vacasa, our local teams will stock your home with a complimentary supply of guest necessities—including laundry detergent, hand soap, trash bags, and paper towels—before every stay.

Inventory checklist for vacation rentals >

6. Carefully choose professional housekeepers

A dirty home can spoil a vacation right on arrival, not to mention ruin any chance of a glowing review or a repeat booking. So, don’t skimp on professional house cleaning. In fact, consider a quality housekeeper essential to your success—especially if you plan to manage your vacation home remotely. Most importantly, ensure your housekeepers are cleaning to your (and your guests’) standards by asking them to follow a vacation rental cleaning checklist.

Vacasa directly employs housekeepers, who clean our homes with extra care according to our Vacasa Premium Clean procedures.

Our housekeepers’ favorite cleaning tips >

7. Establish a team of local contractors

Don’t wait until your air conditioner breaks down to scramble to find someone to fix it. Make a list now of local maintenance and repair professionals who can jump in and save the day. Some people you should have on speed dial:

• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Pool cleaners
• Hot tub technicians
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians
• Arborists
• Pest control
• Roof repair

Homeowners who work with Vacasa enjoy the built-in benefit of our team of maintenance techs—and, for bigger jobs, vendors in the area who we’ve thoroughly vetted. We also handle scheduling and coordination of any maintenance and repairs on homeowners’ behalf.

8. Invest in professional photography and a virtual tour

Once you have all your decor, furniture, and vacation rental essentials in place, now’s the time to build up your marketing assets. Professional photos are a bare-minimum item to drive bookings. After all, your home has to first catch someone’s attention among the competition. Plus, you’ll use these photos in several places online—including vacation rental booking sites, emails, and social media posts—so make them too good to pass up.

Drive even more interest and more bookings by investing in a virtual tour of your property, which allows guests to easily picture themselves staying there.

If Vacasa manages your home, we provide a professional photo shoot and Matterport virtual tour of your entire home (at no extra cost) even before you get your first booking.

15 vacation rental photography tips >

9. Write a vacation rental description that sells

While attractive photos can grab a traveler’s attention, it’s a compelling description that will hold it. The best vacation rental listing descriptions (included with Vacasa’s full-service vacation rental management) sell the positives of your home with full transparency—gaining trust, building excitement, and closing the deal.

Some ways to do that: showcase your vacation home’s unique traits upfront, make your headline count, and speak directly to what visitors to your destination want.

How to write persuasive listing descriptions >

10. List your vacation home in the right places

With professional photos, a virtual tour, and a well-written description, you now have the perfect vacation rental listing. Post it in several places online to get the most possible views and bookings. Start with the most popular sites—Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo. Then, fill in the gaps with niche vacation rental sites like American Snowbird and Cottages.com.

That’s what Vacasa does for our homeowners—plus, we go several steps further:

• Sync all of your channels and calendars (goodbye, double bookings)
• Optimize all your listings with keywords and catchy headlines
• Nurture tight-knit partnerships with top channels (like Airbnb and Vrbo), resulting in our homes often being listed at the top of search results and receiving guaranteed dedicated support

How Vacasa handles channel marketing >

11. Hire a vacation rental manager to take it from there

Need help setting up your vacation rental up for success (and keeping it that way)? Then work with a full-service vacation rental manager—like Vacasa, who helps thousands of vacation homeowners just like you. We’ll take care of your guests, your home, and your bottom line by:

• Bringing exposure to your rental
• Replying to reviews
• Adjusting rates based on demand and other factors
• Being there for your guests 24/7
• Cleaning your home to Vacasa Premium Clean standards
• Maintaining your home and coordinating repairs

And so much more.

Turning your home into a vacation rental takes research, planning, shopping, and some elbow grease. But, in the end, the benefits (hello, rental income and tax deductions) are well worth it. Follow this guide to make sure you have all of your bases covered before rolling out that red carpet for your first guest. Once you’re up and running, our homeowner guides will show you how to drive more bookings and maximize your revenue.