Posts Tagged ‘phoenix summer’
Is your vacation rental ready for summer?
Summer months are the most stressful time for vacation rental owners. Not only is it the busiest time for owners, having to make sure that homes are restocked, pools are maintained, and rentals are kept up on, cleaning is a very important aspect during this time. This is the time of year where everyone wants to travel with their family and just have a nice gateway. Since we live in Arizona, we have nice weather year-round so vacationing here is a must. The summer months include May through September. The weather during these months can get up to 120 degrees but hey, it is a dry heat so no worries about all the humidity. This is the time of year where people use their pools the most. Pool maintenance should always be up to date during these months, so it is easy for your guest to use it with no hassle. During summer months we also have a monsoon season (June- September). The temperatures usually start dropping during the monsoon season, but not much. Temperatures usually range from 80 to 105 degrees. This is the season where our rain comes from the most. Rainfall usually averages from 0.66 inches to 2 inches of rain for the whole year. So vacationing during this, it might rain one day which doesn’t ruin your whole vacation.
Getting your pool ready for guests.
Having a private pool for your vacation rental home is a huge benefit while living in Arizona. When guests rent your property out, they want to have their vacation hassle-free, so be sure to get your pool ready for them so they can enjoy their vacation. The first step into making sure your pools are ready, is to get rid of any debris. Even if you use a pool cover, although being located in Arizona, pool covers aren’t really necessary, you will want to make sure you have all the twigs, leaves, and bugs cleared out. Next to making sure that all your pool equipment is working properly is also part of getting your pool ready. Pool equipment includes pool pumps, hoses, filters, diving boards, steps, and ladders making sure that there aren’t any damage or safety hazards. Third, you are going to want to check the water for these three things, total alkalinity, PH levels, and Chlorine levels. If any of these are too high, it will cause your pool to be uncomfortable to swim in. Finally vacuuming the pool is the last and final step to getting your pool ready. Vacuuming will remove any debris that is left at the bottom of your pool. Once you have done all four things, your pool is ready for guests to swim safely. If you arent interested in doing these things yourself we recommend reaching out to a pool company for your pool service needs, one of the companies we know and trust is Aquaman pools!
Restocking your home
Restocking your home for the summer months will help you deal with certain unexpected elements that could keep you indoors including monsoon season in Arizona. Having your home restocked will ensure that your guest won’t suffer from any inconveniences. We all know that when we go on vacation, we don’t want to go to the store right away. You will also have to consider that most guests are coming from different states, so flying makes it hard to bring certain things, so it is thoughtful to have basic amenities on hand when they check-in. Basic amenities include things such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion to get started in each bathroom.
Being a vacation rental owner most definitely has its challenges, but the more you are prepared, the more smoothly your renting season will go. As vacation rental cleaners, we are always up for new ideas to improve and make the next renter’s stay go even more smoothly. You can contact Moxie Girl or STRM to get into contact with Amanda to take about any cleaning improvements that are needed.
One of the biggest “selling-points” of a Phoenix-area vacation rental home is our weather! Now, obviously, we’re not talking about summer – although there are those who claim to enjoy our extreme heat. The rest of the year though is pretty gosh-darn perfect most of the time – at least in comparison to much of the rest of the country.
That perfect – and very popular – the weather is a mere couple of months away, so now is a great time to assess the outdoor living space at your vacation rental home(s). Even if your vacation rental home’s outdoor space “looked great!” last fall, things can sure take a beating in the space of summer here. Take an honest look and ask yourself: Is it appealing to guests? Is it clean? Is everything in good repair? Is the seating comfortable? Is there anything at all that could make it better?
Visitors to the Phoenix area during our beautiful fall through spring seasons are likely to want to spend as much time as possible enjoying themselves outside. A beautiful outdoor living space can be a huge highlight on your property’s rental listing, increasing your potential for bookings and higher rental rates!
Especially if your vacation rental property boasts a pool, it’s outdoor living space is likely to become THE living area for guests much of the year. Your guests should feel as though you put just as much thought in the outdoor space as you did in the rest of your vacation rental, and upgrades will definitely be appreciated.
Comfortable, durable patio furniture with enough seating for the number of potential guests is crucial. Other amenities your guests are bound to use
and enjoy include fire pits, barbecue grills, beverage tubs – even outdoor-appropriate throws or stadium blankets in case of a chill.
Outdoor mood-lighting never hurts, either. There are probably hundreds of options for string lights, lanterns, post lights and solar-powered light features you could add to the outdoor living area of your vacation rental.
Regular cleaning and maintenance of the outdoor area of your vacation rental home are just as important as the inside! Routinely scheduled lawn care and professional pool maintenance are half the battle, but be sure your vacation rental home cleaning crew is making sure everything is guest-ready!
Need help with your vacation rental property? Moxie Girl is the Valley’s vacation rental specialist, providing care to over 100 rental homes throughout the Phoenix area! Click here to find out how Moxie Girl can help make your vacation rental as successful as it should be!
Ready or not, summer is on the way! If you’re a vacation rental home owner there are definitely more than a few things to think about. Summer in the Valley of the Sun does bring some special needs…
Dry or Not, It’s Still HOT!
First and foremost on everyone’s minds in summer here in the Phoenix area is air conditioning! Most people – especially those visiting from cooler climates – would find Phoenix absolutely uninhabitable at it’s natural temperature.
If you haven’t scheduled an annual maintenance service for your vacation rental home, it should be first on your to-do list today! There are oodles of heating and cooling service companies in the Valley, but even the biggest and the best of them are booked solid days – even weeks – in advance.
Regular maintenance of your cooling unit keeps it operating at its most efficient and can identify issues before they become emergencies, extending its life, overall. Extremely important, too, is changing the air return filters in your vacation rental home at least every month. A few crazy haboobs can really gunk up a filter!
For more tips on making your vacation rental home and systems safer and more efficient, check out our blog, “How to Prepare Your Phoenix Vacation Rental for Summer.”
Your Vacation Rental Home Oasis
If your vacation rental property boasts a private swimming pool and/or spa, you probably realize those features have their own set of challenges, year-round. But a vacation rental home with a pool is likely to be considered much more desirable by potential guests, especially in the Phoenix summer, so that’s a plus!
As a vacation rental home owner, hiring a professional pool maintenance service can reduce your headaches tremendously. Moxie Girl recommends Aquaman Pools. Aquaman has extensive experience in all phases of pool and spa care here in the Phoenix area, and services many of the vacation rental homes owned by Moxie Girl clients!
Moxie Girl has posted a plethora of tips regarding your vacation rental home pool! Check them out here:
5 Sizzling Summer Tips for Vacation Rental Home with Pools
Pool Perfection – Fireside Chat with Chad Nikkel of Aquaman Pools
Pool Maintenance 101 (for you DIYers!)
Towel, Please
Summer laundry, believe it or not, can bring some special challenges as well – more so if your vacation rental home has a pool or spa, private or community property. As we’ve previously noted (see our blog, “Laundry 101 for Vacation Rental Homes”) if you’ve got a pool, you NEED pool towels! You’ll also need to make sure they are visible and convenient to your guests.
We’ve also mentioned previously that it’s a great idea to provide your vacation rental guests with disposable make-up removing wipes. Guests tend to take advantage of “amenities” and a few pennies spent making disposable wipes available can really save your linens in the long run.
Since it’s summer, you may also want to consider providing larger, disposable body wipes for your guests to remove self-tanning and bronzing products. If you think a little mascara on a pillowcaseis a problem, just wait until you see what a body or two covered with sparkly bronzer can do to a whole set of towels and sheets! I have and it’s devastating.
Summer Fresh
Changing out a few decorative items in and around your vacation rental home can really give it a fresh look for the season. Summer is also a great time to visit your own vacation rental property and see firsthand what may need updating or repair. Read our blogs for some Moxie Girl thoughts on these subjects. (Yes, we know it says refresh for spring, but you can refresh for any season!)
Visiting Your Own Vacation Rental Home?
Refresh Your Vacation Rental for Spring
Could Your Vacation Rental Property Use a Vacation Rental Specialist?
Moxie Girl has a stellar reputation in Phoenix area vacation rental home care – even offering same-day turns to our valued clients! Find out how to make our caring team YOUR caring team – a FREE CONSULTATION is just a click away!
Phoenix vacation rental home owners often think it’s a good idea to just shutter their property and wait out the summer season – who wants to come to Phoenix in the summer, anyway? Actually lots of people DO come to Phoenix in the summer, even if they are just passing through on their way to cooler temps than we have to offer.
With our vast experience in the Phoenix area vacation rental home market, Moxie Girl can always be counted on for excellent tips for vacation rental home owners. We recently received an email from one of our valued clients, asking for tips to help her boost the summer bookings for her Valley vacation rental home – and we are happy to share our advice with you, too!
Here are a few things we’ve heard from our clients (vacation rental homeowners and professional property managers) whose properties in the Valley stay busy during the summer:
Use Multiple Rental Platforms
List your vacation rental home on multiple sites! Summer tends to have more road tripping guests and they use AirBNB a bit more than VRBO, so using at least both of these platforms to list your property “widens your net” for potential bookings.
Implement Active Tweaking
Rental platform sites all have algorithms that keep a secret eye on your listing activity and will boost more active properties to the top of relevant search results. Simply tweaking your prices on a weekly basis will help show the sites that you want your vacation rental to be listed higher than those of your competition!
Competitive Pricing
Speaking of competition, keep an eye on prices of your competitors – both vacation rental homes AND hotels/resorts in your area. One of the biggest mistakes we see vacation rental home owners make is to refuse to drop their prices in the summer.
Yes, offering your $199-a-night-during-peak-season vacation rental home for $89/night during the summer sounds painful, but if the nearby five-star resort with an amazing water park is offering $99/night, and a competitor’s vacation rental home down the street is listed at $89/night, then your home, listed at $199/night will most likely sit vacant.
It’s also important to think about what a potential guest sees when they look at a vacation rental home listing with a WIDE OPEN calendar – they may second guess if they should book with you based on that empty calendar alone (trust us, it’s a whole social validity/psychology thing.) Consider taking a couple reservations each month at deep discounts to get SOMETHING on your calendar. Having at least a couple bookings a bit in advance should help you attract more bookings, at regular summer prices.
Another thing you may consider doing is to take “last minute” reservations – anything is better than nothing! If your vacation rental home calendar for an upcoming week is empty, drop the price and you may snag the budget road trippers!
Guests Are Guests
In our experience, lower prices do NOT equal lesser quality guests. The interactions that vacation rental homeowners or managers have with guests prior to arrival have far more impact than the nightly amount the guest will pay. Moxie Girl actually sees the most damage to homes when guests stay over 30 days because they really start to LIVE in the home.
Something is Definitely Better than Nothing!
To illustrate what busy vacation rental homes in the Phoenix area CAN do in the summer, let’s look at the 2018 summer season stats for three properties belonging to Moxie Girl clients. Please note that all three properties are professionally managed by local property managers – it really helps to specifically “tuned-in” to Phoenix summer vacation rental market.
Remember, NO bookings equals ZERO income for your vacation rental property. So, even if your rental home is only booked for close to half of the days in each summer month – and even at summer rental rates – that income will go a long way in covering the regular, monthly expenses that come with rental ownership. (Mortgage payments, HOA fees and utilities don’t go away, even if you do “close” your rental for the summer!)
Check out the number of nights BOOKED for each of these vacation rentals:
| Property |
MAY |
JUN |
JUL |
AUG |
SEP |
| 4Bed/4Bath
North Scottsdale |
14 |
21 |
16 |
15 |
26 |
| 4Bed/2.5Bath
Scottsdale |
12 |
11 |
18 |
12 |
10 |
| 4Bed/3Bath
North Scottsdale |
16 |
17 |
26 |
18 |
22 |
Need More?
Be sure to check out our other blogs filled with even more helpful tips for a successful summer rental season!
Summer Vacation Rentals – Moxie Girl Debunks the Myths
Tips for a Successful Summer as a Vacation Rental Home Owner
Poolside Perfection – Chat with Chad Nikkel of Aquaman Pools
5 Sizzling Summer Tips for Vacation Rentals with Pools
Moxie Girl would love to be YOUR vacation rental specialist – just click for a FREE CONSULTATION!
