Hotel vs. Short Rental Perks
The hotels are great! They used to be all the rage because you could stay in a hotel for business, vacation, or a weekend getaway. It wasn’t until the Airbnb industry took off that hotels became more obsolete than they used to be. Now, short term home rentals offer a wider variety of perks than the classic hotel rooms. While hotels offer the pools, gyms, key card access, and even some pretty suite views (ha, see what I did there?), short term rentals tend to offer more in the departments of space, privacy, price, and amenities.
Space
Let’s talk about space. We all want it when we travel, especially if you are traveling with a family or a larger group. It’s nice to be able to escape to your little secluded area within the rental. This allows for a better overall experience in the home as well. Additionally, short term rentals are usually founded in a home of some sort, which means home spaces. This includes bigger bathrooms, full kitchens, laundry, living space, and plenty of bedrooms. Hotels only offer a couple of beds, a bathroom, and maybe a half kitchen. Most of the time, guests are only provided with a smaller sink. This isn’t conducive to a full family vacation where you are wanting to save money on take-out and just cook from home. Short term rentals can usually offer this to guests. This way, everyone can have their space to eat, sleep, binge watch, and hang out while on vacation.
Privacy
One of the best things about vacation rentals is the privacy you’ll have when on vacation. Sometimes greeting staff in a hotel can be a bit tiring, and in a vacation rental, you can just come and go as you please, without rules about entry times or having to make small talk. If you’re not feeling in a social mood, you don’t have to speak to anyone at all.
Vacation rentals have private common areas, which means you can spread out and feel like you’re much more at home than when in a hotel. You’ll have total privacy without having to interact with other guests or abide by hotel rules. If you want to stay up drinking and chatting with friends in the living room area, you can do so until the sun comes up.
Amenities
Amenities should be the standard convenience of a guest when staying in a place. As a vacation rental homeowner, you should be able to understand that you need to make your property stand out from the competition, such as hotels. To maximize your revenue, you need to offer amenities that wow guests. Entertainment & Recreation is one of the amenities that you can provide your guests to stay connected. Wifi, HDTV, or entertainment platforms such as Netflix or Hulu is a great way to start. Some hotels have limited entertainment amenities provided in each of the rooms, but they do have an entertainment area or a lobby where guests can gather and enjoy their time. It’s great but it’s not really private unless you have a VIP room or the luxury room. The kitchen is next because it’s a primary consideration for renters. Being able to save money eating in, is one of the benefits that leads travelers to book a vacation rental, rather than staying at a hotel which costs a lot more, especially if you order room service or eat at those dine-in restaurants that the hotel has.
Price
Pricing plays a huge factor when it comes to the guests and the business itself. It usually works out a lot cheaper to rent a vacation home than it is to stay in a hotel. You can sometimes rent a whole house for half the price it would be to stay in a hotel room — which means a lot of extra cash for fun activities on your vacation! When staying in a rental you can stock up on food supplies and cook for yourself, so you don’t have to rely on eating out and spending more. Doing a mixture of cooking at the rental and eating out can save you money, without impacting on the vacation experience. If you’re really counting every last dollar, you can also stay in a room in a vacation rental.