How to Prepare your Airbnb For The Summer Busy Season

2024 List of Airbnb Summer Vacation Essentials

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How to Maximize your airbnb rental summer potential

Getting the most out of your revenue potential starts as soon as your summer dates are open for booking in your calendar.

If you work with a 6 month booking window, that means you should have your summer rates already set up in October before your calendar opens from May onwards for the following year, if your window is 9 months, you are basically planning your next summer by the end of your current summer.

Here are a few ideas to try and help try to maximize your rental income in your summer season or any peak season for your location.

Start by setting your base rate for the season for all dates May through the end of September
Immediately modify all holiday weekends/weeks to a higher rate (check comps for your area by doing a search or by using tools such as AirDNA
Increase the minimum night stay to 3 or longer for all long weekends (your cleaners may charge you extra or may not be available for turnovers during a holiday so keep that in mind too when setting your minimum nights)
Look for festivals, concerts or any events that may increase demand for any dates and increase your rate for those dates
Review your stats from last year, what were your best weeks and the rates, go a little higher this year
Start with a longer minimum stay early on to try and get more bookings that are 3+nights instead of just one or two, it’s much less turnover and management for you to have longer staying guests. If you are not getting bookings, then look to adjust your minimum stay before changing rates
If you start getting a lot of bookings really quickly, increase your rates for remaining dates and only drop them closer to the stay dates
Offer lower rates for midweek days if you typically only get booked on weekends, but try the other steps above to try and get longer stays before your summer begins
Ensure your best SUMMER photos are at the front of your listing, remember the guests only see your cover photo when scrolling from the App so the first photo is very important to get them to click on your listing, especially if you are waterfront, on a golf course or attraction, or have a pool
Refresh your amenities! See below for more tips about making your rental family friendly or offering better value for your potential guests.

Family Friendly Airbnb Supplies

Think indoors and outdoors for both playtime

and after dark hanging out time.

Games, evening lighting, outdoor dining supplies, beach items…

yard games like cornhole, bocce, badminton, ladder ball, etc
beach towels and beach mat
a portable cooler or outdoor drink cooler/fridge
Iced-Tea Drink Pitcher and plastic glassware
board and card games,
soccer and rubber play balls (nothing too hard that could damage your house like baseballs)
beach toys and water guns,
plastic dishes for dinner and outdoor use,
colouring supplies and activity books for indoor relaxation
a space dedicated just to kids in the yard or in the rental itself with a little kids decor
Books for all ages
A mini toy box with durable plastic toys like animals and dinosaurs
scavenger hunt game printouts
a mini play tent indoors
smores kit if you have a fire pit
popcorn maker and supplies
Outdoor fire pit or campfire space
outdoor folding chairs or adirondack chairs in adult and kids sizes
a hammock or swing chair
cafe lights or ambient lighting to enjoy the outdoor space in the evenings
cheap outdoor throw blankets to sit outside in the cool night air or on the grass
tower fan in bedrooms if you don’t have A/C

keep in mind that all of these things will attract families to choose your rental over some other places that may not be as well equipped, so you can charge slightly more for all of these value-added items.

Many of the toys and games will get some hard-love from your guests so don’t splurge on anything too expensive, just consider missing pieces and damage to toys as part of the cost of doing business. If many items are missing, try contacting the guest right away before filing a claim to Airbnb.

As a reminder VRBO does not cover any damage or other issues from guests unless they buy optional insurance. Read More about what you should know as a VRBO host.

Beach towels are one of the top items that disappear from vacation rentals, so you’ll want to have a good supply of extras that your housekeeping team can lock up and replenish as needed.

It’s also a bonus to mention in your guidebook where the closest places are to get things like sunscreen, bug spray, bathing suits, or rentals and activities for nearby water sports and recreation.

Good luck with your summer season & happy hosting! Please check out some of our recent blog posts below for more great tips and info.