I know what you’re thinking, but even though I’m no Joanna Gaines, I know beach rental properties. Not to toot my own horn or anything (but, toot-toot), I own Ocean City’s #1 vacation rental management company. I have seen the results of a properly-staged and furnished beach home – and by results, I mean: more money, increased occupancy, and better care.

The first thing to consider when starting your planning is this: expect the same level of care from your renters as you’ve put into the home. And that doesn’t mean you need to buy top-of-the-line decor and furnishings—mostly it means things need to be clean & in good condition. If a renter enters a property with torn & tattered furniture or stained carpets, for example, they’re going to see that little care has gone into the property and that will absolutely influence how they treat it.

 

Rule #1

Your guests should know they’re at the beach whether they are outside or—you guessed it—inside your beach home

 

While everyone’s taste is different, there are certain expectations from weekly visitors about the property they’re renting. Bright colors, beach-themed decor, de-cluttered & flowing spaces. It’s also important that they can easily “move in” to the space and, for the duration of their stay, it feels like it’s theirs. This means there aren’t personal items of yours displayed in the home, such as family photos.

 

Rule #2

If you love it, lock it up

 

Whether it’s something sentimental, or just a piece of decor you really love that would be difficult to replace, keep these things locked inside your owner’s closet. It’s not that renters are destructive—it’s that they’re trying to cram as much as possible into a week or weekend, so they’re always in a rush. And often times they have small children. Accidents happen. Dishes will chip, decor will break, things will spill… that’s just life on vacation!

I tell a lot of my clients to buy decor from Roses—believe it or not, Roses has some really cool stuff but, more importantly, it’s very inexpensive & easy to replace! Many of my clients even get their bed & bath linens, kitchenware, and small appliances there, because it’s so affordable and convenient (no matter where you are located in Ocean City, Roses is always ‘just up or down the road’).

Pro tip: don’t wait until May or June to replenish your stock; everything will be sold out! We also have a TJ Maxx in-town now and you can get great, higher-quality items at discount prices — but again, don’t wait until May or June.

 

Rule #3

You can’t please all the Goldilocks’ in the world, but you can sure try

 

When it comes to beds, everyone has his or her preference for a soft or hard mattress, so we recommend going with something in the middle. But beyond that, what size beds you have is really important. In the master/primary bedroom, you should have at least a queen size bed, but having a king will make your guests even happier.

Beyond that, the bedding layout is specific to how many bedrooms you have overall, but here are some general rules-of-thumb:

• Don’t have too many twin size beds (honestly, none would be great) – only very small children will be comfortable in a twin size bed, and it’s better to have beds that are ‘too big’ than it is to have beds that are too small

• If you have a 2BR condo, your 2nd bedroom should have 2 double/full size beds and a queen sleep sofa in the living room

• If you have a 3BR condo, your 2nd bedroom would do well with a queen or 2 double/full size beds, your 3rd bedroom should have 2 double/full size beds, and a queen sleep sofa in the living room

• Even if you don’t advertise it, a quality sleep sofa is always appreciated

Ultimately, however, you can turn to your vacation rental manager for guidance. But trust when I say there is hard evidence that properties with twin size beds book slower and for less money than comparable properties that have full/double beds instead.

 

The final & best piece of advice I can provide is to leave your beloved beach rental home in the hands of a locally owned and operated vacation rental agency. While I can’t speak for other vacation rental markets, I imagine they’re much the same — those of us who choose to live in a seasonal town that comes to life only a few months a year — we’re incredibly passionate about this place. There is just something truly special about Ocean City, and some generic Jane or John sitting at their computer on the other side of the world booking your property doesn’t understand that — and, moreover, doesn’t physically have the ability to run up the road to check on your property.

But those of us who live here and rent your property for a living? Not only do we have the ability to check on your beach home in a matter of minutes, but we actually do it routinely & we care about your property as if it were our own. We take great pride in, and recognize what an honor it is, to be part of every family’s beach vacation memories that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives — they’ll remember this magical town, they’ll remember the friendly faces who greeted them at arrival, and they’ll remember the charming place they got to call home for the week.

 

We hope you found this helpful and informative.   We're here for all your beach real estate needs.   Reach out with any questions you might have.   We'd love to help. 

 

Grant Fritschle  Grant@GrantF.com

Jon Barker   Jon@GrantF.com 

 

 

 

#BeachRealEstateExperts  #OceanCityRealEstateExperts   #TopAgentOceanCity   #BestAgentOceanCity