New Year's Resolutions for Property Owners

It’s a new year, and while guests might be making resolutions to travel more, property owners and property managers should be making a list of resolutions as well. How can you improve your vacation rental experience as a property owner this year? Keep reading to find out what we think should be new year’s resolutions for property owners:

New Year’s Resolutions for Property Owners

Here are some New Year’s Resolutions for 2023 that should be on every vacation rental property owner and manager’s list for the upcoming year.

1. Keyless Entry Locks

If you have yet to install a keyless entry lock on your vacation rental property at the Lake of the Ozarks, then you are driving prospective guests to your competition. The convenience of not having to pick up or return keys, of not losing keys or of having to keep track of multiple keys makes keyless entry a no-brainer, and it’s what vacationers want!

At Your Lake Vacation, we use a Schlage system because it is durable, looks great and is easy to use for the guest and programmer alike. There are now systems available that allow you to change codes via the internet, to set times that the codes will work and won’t work, and that will even allow guests to use their own phone to unlock the door. Technology has come a long way from using an old-fashioned key!

2. Flat Screen Televisions

If you still have a box TV in your vacation home or condo in Osage Beach, your property looks very dated (and your property’s looks are what set you apart from the competition). The price of flat screen TV’s are now so low that there is no excuse not to have them. In fact, the first generation of flat screens, the ones that weighed more than 20 pounds, are now outdated too! The newest TVs are light weight, have great pictures and plenty of options. Something else to think about, make sure the TVs in your property have streaming capabilities. If the TV itself isn’t smart, you can add a ROKU stick to your existing flat screen TV for an inexpensive upgrade!

3. DVD and Blu-Ray Players

With the advancement of streaming technology, even DVD and Blu-Ray players are becoming outdated. While you can still purchase DVDs fairly inexpensively, and even get a DVD player, the technology is growing leaps and bounds. Streaming has now overtaken renting DVDs. However, if you choose to still have a DVD player at your vacation home or condo, make sure that you have a DVD library available there as well.

4. Digital Thermostats

Today, there are so many options for digital thermostats, including those that you can control from your phone via Wi-Fi. A digital thermostat will help you save on your energy bill and, if you have one that you can control remotely, even better. Using an old, outdated thermostat, when you can hardly read the temperature or determine what setting it’s actually on, can be frustrating.

5. Wi-Fi Availability

If you don’t have Wi-Fi available at your vacation rental property, you are definitely sending guests to another property that has actually joined the 21st century. Vacation guests have grown to expect free wi-fi to be available at their rental property. Today, 100% of the vacation properties on our Lake of the Ozarks vacation rental management program have Wi-Fi. A few years ago, our lone property that did not have Wi-Fi, experienced 84% less rental nights than our average comparable property. After looking at that statistic, it seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, some people are still penny wise and pound foolish as the old saying goes.