High-quality beds (and sleeps) will give renters a reason to return.

We recently purchased a vacation property at a popular ski resort. In order to defray some of our costs, we’re planning on renting it out every other weekend. Since we’ve had our share of nightmare rentals, I want our guests to be surprised — pleasantly surprised.

“If you currently rent out your summer cottage or are considering doing so to help cover some of the costs, one of your major goals should be to establish a regular clientele — guests who come back again and again, book a year in advance, and rent for out-of-season weekends,” states Heather Bayer, author of Renting Your Recreation Property for Profit and co-owner of CottageLink, a cottage rental agency in southern Ontario. “These wonderful families that come back year after year will look after the cottage as if it were their own, even down to fixing things that break. Lawns get mowed; gardens are tended,” says Bayer. “The key to attracting renters, and to keep them coming back, is to make the first experience so memorable and special that they won’t want to go anywhere else.” In short, it’s all about creating a “wow” experience.

To read the full story, pick up the May/June issue of Cottage magazine at your local newsstand. To get more great articles like this one delivered conveniently to your doorstep, subscribe now.