Owning a vacation rental in the Coachella Valley is a very lucrative and promising endeavor as the Coachella Valley is a prime destination for vacationers all year long, especially during festivals and large sporting events. But renting out a Coachella Valley home is more than just purchasing a property and then listing it open for business. There is some preparation involved.

Here are five basic tips for preparing your vacation rental for its first guests

Make sure the property is in peak condition

Whether you own a home in one of the most desirable housing developments in the Coachella Valley, or you have a simple condo right next to one of the downtown areas of the nine cities in the valley, you want to make sure that everything is in great working condition and extensively cleaned.

You want to make sure that the home is furnished with quality furniture that will last through many uses as well as other items that may be helpful for those using your home. Most vacation rentals come stocked with towels, linens, cookware, dishes, cleaning supplies, and sometimes even if a few extras like travel-sized shampoos.

It is best not to keep expensive or sentimental items in your vacation rental as it runs the risk of being damaged or broken. Even after doing extensive work to make sure renters are responsible something can always happen. Keep decorative items and linens to a neutral pallet and of good quality but don’t feel like you have to purchase high-end luxury items.

Decide on Management

Taking care of a short-term vacation rental requires a lot of active management. It is a good idea to look at all that this entails, such as overseeing bookings, communicating with renters before/during/after renting, cleaning or hiring and overseeing a cleaning crew, checking the property after every renter, making sure the property is ready to receive new renters, having routine maintenance conducted, getting items repaired, and much more.

If you have the time to manage your property, it can be a great way to save some money on the cost of management, but it can also quickly turn into a part- or full-time job depending upon the occupancy of the property.

Setting a Rental Price and Deposit Fee Amount

To arrive at how much you should charge for your vacation rental it is a good idea to look at similar properties in the area on vacation websites like Airbnb, VRBO, and others. Make sure to specifically look at homes that are the same size with the same features and in the same area. This will help to give you a good idea of what a fair rental price and deposit fee look like. You can also ask the advice of a trusted real estate agent or management company.

Determine rental expectations that should be clearly communicated

Even with a short-term rental, you want to clearly communicate all expectations of renters to ensure that if the property is damaged the right responsibility is taken. Since there is a higher volume of people in and out of your rental there is a higher chance of damage or loss of items on the property. You want to make sure you cover all of your bases to be able to legally charge a fee when something happens so that you are not paying the cost of replacing missing items or repairing damage out of your pocket.

For more information on purchasing properties in Coachella Valley please contact us anytime. We are the experts in Palm Springs real estate, homes for sale in Indio and all Country Clubs in Palm Springs.