facilities will command a higher rate than those where additional driving is involved. In very popular tourist areas, vacation homes are more sought after than in quieter, less well-known locations.
If your property is located on good waterfront, this will clearly benefit your bookings in the summer months. However, if you are on or near a river offering canoe routes, you might expect additional bookings in spring and fall. Many European visitors, or those with young children, may prefer a swimming pool to open water, so if your property has a pool instead of (or even in addition to) waterfront, this could have a considerable impact on the potential rental value. Chapter 9, Marketing Your Vacation Home, will show just how you can boost your off-season income through reaching special interest groups with targeted packages and deals.
Interestingly, one Canadian rental agency infers on its website that cottages on rivers are virtually unrentable. However, as an owner of a riverside cottage myself, this is certainly not my experience. Indeed, visitors from the UK are happy to be near any water, despite the fact that no part of the UK is more than 112 kilometers from the sea! It is the fact that it can take three hours to get there (on a good day!) that prevents them from traveling, so water-based vacations of any type are what they are seeking. They don’t bring boats so don’t need marina or docking facilities, and, in general, demand less in terms of location than the home-grown Canadian market. So if you do have a charming riverside property, just find a more enlightened agency or adjust your marketing to target the guests who would find your home to be the right one for them.
Size
Most rental agencies would agree that larger properties tend to book up first for the high season and command higher prices. Many families or groups of friends like to vacation together, so a large vacation home sleeping ten people or more offers a more attractive and economical prospect than independently renting smaller properties. However, the market for smaller properties grows off-season when there are fewer families taking vacations. Rental guests in fall, winter, and spring will tend to be couples, either on their own, or two to three couples renting together. Whereas a large property sleeping eight to ten may achieve a high rent in the summer, it may remain largely empty in low season as the target audience at this time of year is unwilling to pay the price. A smaller, perhaps two-bedroom property, while yielding lower rents in high season, is more likely to rent additional weeks throughout the year. It’s also worthwhile considering this if you are planning a renovation. Adding a sleeping cabin to offer additional summer sleeping space may be more cost-effective than spending a lot of money on additional bedrooms in the main residence.
Cottage owners Jan and Chas Clark have made the most of their renovated three-bedroom property and two-bedroom self-contained guest cottage. They find these facilities offer very flexible rental opportunities as both can be rented to larger parties in the summer, but either or both can be offered in out-of-season months, depending on demand.
Amenities
Location and size alone don’t set the rental price: people will also expect certain levels of comfort and quality as the price rises. Yes, there are still a great many recreational homes across North America advertised as “basic and full of rustic charm” that fetch a bare minimum per week in high season. If you don’t want to spend much time or money in making your property attractive to the higher spending market, you could easily achieve a reasonable return. However, if your goal is to make a substantial profit, you need to present your property in a way that will attract renters willing to pay a little more for that extra comfort and quality. Even a small property can command a good rent if it offers a high degree of ambience and comfort. Added features need not cost a large amount; the expense of refurbishment will pay off in the long run.
“We bought our lake cottage for $200,000 in September 2003. It was OK for rental — we could have just done a few minor alterations and it would have been ready to go and we could have easily got about $850–$900 per week in high season. However, we want to use it ourselves and it was in need of some loving attention. We ended up stripping it out, fitting a new kitchen and hardwood flooring, tiling the bathroom, redecorating throughout, and furnishing it with hard-wearing and durable materials. The total cost was just over $20,000 and we are now charging $1,350 per week — and this may turn out to be on the low side. It may take a couple of years to recoup the cost, but the value of the cottage has also increased by upgrading.”
Think about how you can add value to your property. This could mean purchasing additional appliances, installing satellite TV and a DVD player, making sure the furniture and fittings are in good repair, etc. Purchasing attractive and matching furniture can require a considerable outlay but will reap rewards in the higher rental fee you can command. Offering air conditioning in summer and installing a good propane fireplace for winter warmth can both add significant value.
Think too about the décor. Grandma’s hand-crocheted throw she made 40 years ago may have sentimental value and be quite functional over the old couch, but it won’t go down well with the guests who have paid a premium price for their week’s stay. Take a look around your property as if you were a renter about to pay $1,200 per week. What would you expect for that? Certainly not cracked and chipped dishes, or a 1970s-vintage single-channel television. You would expect the place to be well furnished, attractively decorated, and to have all the comforts of home. This attention to detail is all-important, and is explored further in Chapter 5, Getting Ready for Renting.
An inspector for a rental agency recalls arriving at a property one late May afternoon to value the property for inclusion in the agency’s portfolio. He reports:
“The outside of the cottage was just gorgeous — lawns leading down to sparkling water, flower tubs on the deck — I just had great feelings about it. Then I went inside. What a letdown that was, although it could have been so different. There was cherry wood flooring, cedar and pine surrounds, with huge picture windows overlooking the lake. But the furniture was ancient and mildewed, the appliances looked like they were out of the ark, and a very unpleasant smell pervaded every room. The owner seemed unaware that there was anything unusual about this and chatted about how much he could make on rental. He was already renting ad hoc to friends for $1,000 per week, but was hoping to achieve more through our agency. My report was clear: If he was willing to upgrade throughout, have the place thoroughly cleaned, and employ a service to undertake rental turnarounds, he could expect to increase his rental income by as much as 75 percent. Outlay on the upgrades and maintenance would be recouped over the first summer.”
If your property is on the waterfront, what watercraft are you prepared to offer to guests? The minimum should be a canoe or pedal boat, although some owners offer a rowboat, sailboat, or windsurfer. Allowing your guests the use of a boat with a motor is not recommended as this has greater inherent risks and subsequently higher insurance premiums. In general, it is far better to have details about the local marina, with daily and weekly rental rates.
Do you have launching facilities for guests’ own boats? Is there a marina or public boat launch nearby? Are there bicycles available for guest use? Do you have a pool/billiard table? All of these features add value and help your cottage to stand out in an overcrowded off-season market.
For year-round rental, think about the attractiveness of fall and winter vacations at your cottage. Is there a wood-burning stove, a Jacuzzi, perhaps a hot tub? Satellite TV is definitely an attraction for out-of-season guests, so it is worth the cost of installing it. Some owners of cottages attracting quality renters offer computer and modem connection for those who need to be in constant
