Vacation rental minimum days question

[Dean Lynch]

I am new to the short term rental market and just purchased our first a couple months ago.  It's up on the usual sites for rent and it's doing well.  My question is, what is the standard rule of thumb about requiring a certain number of nights in prime season.  I see some competitors bump up their minimum nights to 3 or 4, up from 2 in the off season.  Only one home had a 7 day minimum.  7 days is what I would expect to see for a vacation market like the Poconos.  Leaving the rule a 3-4 nights leaves room for lost days throughout the month.  Should I take the lead of the other homes in the area, or give the 7 day minimum a try?  Are there benefits of a lower minimum that I'm not seeing?

Thanks!!

[Carlos Carbajal]

@Dean Lynch

Here is the system I use:

Default = 4 or 5 night minimum for high season

The general idea is the further out in the time the higher the number of minimum nights.

So, using the above as a guideline any vacancies I have in the next 14 to 30 days I drop to 3 night minimum

Any vacancies I have less than 14 days out I drop to a 2 night minimum.

If you have a default 2 night minimum you will see a lot of your weekends getting booked up far in advance leaving you with weekdays to fill at lower rates.

I do not recommend allowing 1 night rentals.  Too much trouble and too much risk of partiers.