Vacation rental resources

[Patrick Mortenson]

does anyone have any recommendations for a good book or other resources for information about investing in and self managing a vacation rental?

[Monika Haebich]

Hi Patrick! 

The forums are a great place to start, and I'll copy my answer from another thread:

Blogs:

• Lodgify's blog: Covers everything from marketing to guest experience
• 1chicretreat: Vacation rental blog that focuses on increasing 
• Mashvisor: Great for learning more on investing in short-term rentals (& real estate in general)
• Airdna: Uses performance data from over 2MM vacation rentals to explore how investors can price, optimize, and grow

Forums/Groups:

• SmartHosts: Definitely my favorite site & newsletter. Great place for discussions with other managers & homeowners, and a really good way to stay up-to-date on industry happenings.
• AirHostsForum: Primarily amateur Airbnb hosts. This may not be as useful (there's a lot of venting in there) to you, but if you ever need advice in relation to guest relations, etc., it's a great place to go.
• LinkedIn: There are a number of really great LinkedIn groups, and I've found the the VRMA group & Vacation Rentals group particularly engaging. Here are also 12 others that you might want to join.

Conferences:

• Vacation Rental World Summit: An independent event held in Florence this year, smaller group (attendance capped at 200 people)
• Rezfest: Hosted by HomeAway, primarily for homeowners
• Vrtech: Another one that's primarily European, has a focus on technology
• Phocuswright: Travel conference (not specific to vacation rentals)
• Vacation Rental Success Summit: Another independent event primarily for homeowners, held in Toronto

Finally, the average yearly vacancy rate will depend on a lot—including location, the home, how you're managing bookings, etc. I'd say the average occupancy rate is anywhere from 50-60%, but it shouldn't be difficult to book significantly more than that—especially for urban short-term rentals.