Do you have regrets?/How many weeks do you book?

[Musetta]

so...firstly...so sorry if I am driving you all crazy with my questions this week! You have all been such an invaluable resource to me!!

I have posted on a few other sites and asked peoples thoughts/feeling about listing a vacation rental...pros/cons, etc. Trying to figure out if it is worth all the work and stress to starting renting (!) I'm not lookinig to make a ton of money...just was hoping to cover my utlities, insurance and taxes and maybe have a bit left over to spend when I get to go over for a break

I've gotten quite a few negative private messages and now I'm starting to loose my nerve (!) Basically, I am being told that unless I have a villa with 3+ bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a heated pool and luxury amenities, I am never going to be able to rent it out and not to bother becasue I will not end up even making back the cost of my advertising. So...I know that one was a bit harsh...but that was the general idea of responses.

I don't have a villa.
I don't have a private pool.
I don't have 3 bedrooms.
I don't have 2 bathrooms.
I don't have a state-of-the-art kitchen with all the high-end appliences.

What I have is a cozy, renovated, medieval village house...which I intend to price well (i.e.300-400euro/week)

So...please, please be honest with me...I KNOW there are SO many variables and differences in homes and areas, etc....but just looking to get some sort of average number of weeks I can hope to rent out my home...even if it is a best-case senerio

Once again, thank you!!

[Stu]

Musetta,

We don't have a villa.
We don't have a private pool.
We don't have 3 bedrooms in any of the gites.
We don't have 2 bathrooms in any of the gites.
We don't have a state-of-the-art kitchen with all the high-end appliances.

We have 35 weeks let in the gites this year so far. We have a full campsite from mid-May to mid-September. We're almost full for next summer, with 4 weeks booked in the gites already. It's hard graft, but very, very rewarding!

There's a market out there for you. All you need to do is be honest about what you have, enthuse about, not apologise for what you have and market, market & market again.

Make sure you meet & greet with a smile and a handshake. Always. Give out the best information on your area, and some snippets that people will feel 'special' in knowing.

Courage girl. It'll come.

Meanwhile, have a glass of your favorite tipple and a bar of chocolate. The world seems a far better place then.

[enid]

We aim to get revenue equal to 20 weeks at high season rate across 2 gites and we have managed that up to now. I'd like a few more but it isn't a make or break problem. I need to get a few marketing tips from Stu

If you think that you have a good proiduct and it is reasonably priced then go for it - then you can give me some tips on increasing my bookings

[la vache!]

We've had a good year, no idea why, but at to date have around 75 weeks across the 3 gites booked this year. We don't offer luxury accommodation, there is a shared pool and we are in a pretty good location, only around 45 mins from the coast and not far from popular tourist attractions such as Mont St Michel and St Malo.
If you have a good location and target your market accordingly, I'm sure you will be OK with your rentals.
Good luck!

[Guest3]

What I have is a cozy, renovated, medieval village house...which I intend to price well (i.e.300-400euro/week)

Musetta...that description makes me want to book!

There are many owners on LMH that don't own villas with heated pools etc and they still get fully booked!
I agree with La Vache's advice...if you have the location, advertise with the right listing sites and you will get the rentals.

[Bellywobble]

I have a fairly basic, bog standard, one bed apartment. It is in a lovely location and we do (usually) have a pool to offer.
This is our third year of renting, second year of trying hard and we have been amazed at the number of bookings we've had.
We put as much effort into marketing this place as we would if we had a luxury villa.
We'll never get rich, but we do cover some costs and enjoy the challenge.
I'd say, go for it. There's enough good advice on here to see you right. Have fun, we have.

[vrooje]

I don't believe we have a villa (what is the definition of a villa again?).
We don't have even a semi-private pool.
We don't have three bedrooms.
We do have 2 bathrooms (ok, one bathroom and one "shower room").
We don't have a state-of-the-art kitchen -- although the appliances are decent, on the lower high-end, if you know what I mean. But the kitchen is very "old country" charming, not modern-looking.

We have 16 weeks booked so far this year; it's slower than the past few years, but it'll still be enough to pay all the bills and pay for a trip to stay in the house ourselves! That is, if we can manage it with our schedules -- we haven't managed to visit the house ourselves in about 18 months.

When we were first deciding if we could make real money renting, I went onto a bunch of listing sites and tried to find properties like ours in our general area. I checked their prices as a way of setting my own price, and I checked their availability calendars as a way of estimating how many weeks I could expect to rent. So after collecting the poll data here and hearing our testimonials, I suggest you do something similar!

[gh]

Just googled your area and this was the first result- 'The region of Campania faces the Tyrrhenian Sea and includes one of the finest coastlines in Italy' .

Sell this to enquirers, and as for 'I've gotten quite a few negative private messages' ignore this type of deflationary poop.

Italian food is one of the best culinary delights in the world, be positive, sell positive. As Brooke said, look at your direct competitors and act accordingly.

Wishing you all the very best.

Helen

[gpck]

I don't have a villa.
I don't have a private pool.
I don't have 3 bedrooms.
I don't have 2 bathrooms.
I don't have a state-of-the-art kitchen with all the high-end appliences.

What I have is a cozy, renovated, medieval village house...which I intend to price well (i.e.300-400euro/week)

So...please, please be honest with me...I KNOW there are SO many variables and differences in homes and areas, etc....but just looking to get some sort of average number of weeks I can hope to rent out my home...even if it is a best-case senerio

Once again, thank you!!

We don't have a villa.
We don't have a private pool - just a large communal one in the resort.
We do have 3 bedrooms.
We do have 2 bathrooms.
We do have a modern kitchen, but by no means stae of the art.

We've got 21 weeks booked so far this ear.

Obviously, we are in a completely different market to you, so don't know if our experiences will help you.

But good luck with your rentals...

[Hells Bells]

I hope the negative comments weren't from LMH's. Personally I have a one bed chalet apartment, new, so quite nice, but still small. As a couple with almost grown uo kids, what do we need a 3 bedroom villa for? There is a market for your place.

[KathyG]

Can we have some pictures of your place Mussetta?

Kathy

[Mouse]

Mussetta, just like Crystal, your place sounds ideal to me!
And is certainly the type of place we look for when holidaying. We're more interested in architecture, cuisine and history these days and if you're house is quite close to amenities then wallah!

There are lots of different holidaymakers out there - its just a case of researching your market and seeing if you match their requirements.
Italy is a lovely place and not everyone wants to be in a place with a sea view or on a large estate! Sometimes its nice to stop somewhere real.

We worked out how much profit we wanted and went from there - so we currently let 15/16 weeks and that enough for us to pay a lump sum off the mortgage.
Hopefully next year, we'll pay it off and then we're free to choose how many weeks we let. We will probably end up renting for only 10 weeks in a few years.

As Stu said...you go girl!

Mousie
x

[Stu]

Mussetta, just like Crystal, your place sounds ideal to me!
And is certainly the type of place we look for when holidaying. We're more interested in architecture, cuisine and history these days and if you're house is quite close to amenities then wallah!

Mousie
x

Mouse, you've been spending far too much time with that Wossy type out there in the sun! I believe that's something she'd say? A bit like her priceless 'Fopar'?

I think it's 'Voila' that you're looking for? If not, slap me when you catch me?

[Musetta]

I am, honestly, overwhelmed by your support, enthusiasm and encouragement. Your help and advice is appreciated SO much! Thank you. I'm not nearly as spooked as I was a few days ago! Starting to look for terrific photos to use and check out rental listing sites and make lists for my houskeeper of things to take care of beforeI have guests !!

To answer some of your questions....

no WAY...not even ONE of the negative comments was from the LMH community!! In fact, they were all so different from what I have read on this site for the past year....that is what prompted me to ask you all directly!! I suspect most of the negativity cam perhaps by people who do NOT actually rent out their properties...or maybe by a few that had such an unusually bad time of it, they felt compelled to tell me?!

as for my location...that was actually one of the things I am worried about...we are in the region of Campania...but...we are in a hill town in the middle of S.Italy..it's a perfect base to explore Campania, Basilicata and Pulia (we border them)...but...Campania is known for the Amalfi coast...and we are not on the coast...so there is very little to compare in the area. We are about an 1-1 1/2 drive to the Amalfi coast, about the same to the Galgano coast, Pompeii, Paestem, Naples. Lots of castles and other hill towns to explore right around us and the town is wonderful with shops, a market, restaurants, etc.within walking distance...but...like I said...not usually what people are looking for when they search for Campania/Amalfi coast (that said, we are also certainly not priced like Amalfi either!) I think it may take some creative marketing on my part to get people to venture inland and explore the area.

as for photos...yup....just looking through them to see if any would work out for a listing...what's the best way to include/post them?

Again, thank you. I hope in a few years, I will be able to learn enough to do the same for someone else just starting out

[Hells Bells]

Maybe you could post them on Flickr or Picasa and give us a link?