Best/favorite things to add to listing to increase STR bookings

[Shiloh Lundahl]

We have 4 short term rentals. Well 7 if you count the additional houses on 2 of the properties.  Anyway, I got started last year with our first Cabin in Lakeside, Arizona.  This is a semi-luxury cabin with 7 bedrooms that can sleep up to 25 people. 

The next property we purchased and listed as a short-term rental was the property we bought in Costa Rica.  This property has a main house, a guest house, a tiny house and a caretaker's house.  The whole property can sleep up to 24 people.

We then turned another cabin that we purchased last year that is less than a mile from our other cabin into another short-term rental.  This property has more of a cozy feel to it.  It has the capacity to sleep up to 26 people if you include the barndominium that we converted in the backyard. 

Lastly, we close on another property in Costa Rica near the beach in Playa Avellanas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.  This property will end up being a 6 bedroom 6 1/2 bathroom house that can be rented out altogether or separately by the room.  

I'd love to hear from people that have larger short term rentals in destination locations what they do in order to improve their listings and drive more bookings to their short-term rentals.  

Thanks in advance.

[Nathan Gesner]

I believe there has to be an attraction nearby or your home needs to be an attraction itself. If it's just a house that sleeps a lot of people, what's bringing them there? If it's near the beach, I would ensure they have toys they can bring with them (paddle boards, floaties, shovels and buckets, beach chairs and towels, coolers, etc.). I would have an outdoor shower, foot rinse, and place to store beach items so people aren't dragging sand inside.

No attraction nearby? Include activities at the rental with games, separate living rooms, outdoor space for adults and kids, etc.

Looks like you're killing it!