It is almost THAT time of year for the world’s most famous golf tournament to happen in our town!
I grew up in Louisville, Ky., the home of the Kentucky Derby. It always happens the first Saturday in May, so I have always been used to a popular and famous Spring shindig coming to my town.
There are thousands of people that will come to Augusta and I spend a lot of time from January through March helping people get their homes ready for guests.
Some of my clients host friends coming to town and some people rent their homes to companies as they take the rental income and pay for an extravagant vacation themselves!
No matter if you need to prep your home for Masters guests, have a vacation AirBNB you rent, or simply want to make a guest room in your home comfortable for a friend or family member coming to visit, I hope this weeks column will help to assist you.
The first thing I always ask my client is what do they expect when they rent a vacation home or even a hotel room? It is usually a simple answer; they want a clean space that isn’t cluttered. Everyone wants to live in a clean space, but the word “clutter” can mean a variety of things to people.
I begin with removing personal items from the entire the space.
Things like photographs, greeting cards and paintings the kids made in school that are hanging on the fridge need to disappear. When a stranger is in a home with these sorts of things, they can feel like they are intruding and don’t feel comfortable. Take these personal items and place them in a box that can be stored in an owners closet that you can lock.
After you return to your home, you can easily place them back where they came from and reclaim your space.
You will need extra bed linens as your housekeeper will be changing beds every day. Keep everything white, that means your bath towels too. After all, this is what you find even in the best hotels. Toilet tissue and paper towels need to be furnished. I also like to have a blow dryer in every bathroom.
Each sink should have a liquid soap and every bath tub or shower needs to be stocked with unopened shampoo, conditioner and shower gel.
Homes that are renting for the Masters are either a sleeper home or a host home.
You should get paid accordingly. If you are a sleeper home, your chores are a little easier than being a host home. A host home could have a chef preparing meals each day and this means you have to supply dinnerware and cookware. There will likely be a party or two held at your home, so move odd furniture out of the way to accommodate your renters.
Everyone loves coffee. Make sure to have some sort of coffee maker and coffee (or pods) with sweetener and cream. Other than cream, your refrigerator should be empty. This chore is usually a pain. Unless you have a secondary fridge in the garage, you may have to throw out some things.
You have to make room in your closets for your guests. Maybe even a drawer in your dresser or nightstand and even in your bathroom vanity cabinet.
I suggest having a tray on each bed that has the daily newspaper, a snack and a bottled water placed on it each day by the housekeeper. TV’s are usually no longer required in each bedroom, but it is a nice idea.
Outdoor spaces are equally as important.
The weather can be very nice this time of the year, so your renters may very well be entertaining themselves and colleagues in your patio space. Make sure your furniture is solid and clean. Offer landing spaces for cocktails. A fire pit or fireplace can make for a nice place for a group of executives to smoke a cigar after a long day at the Augusta National. Make sure to stock up on firewood!
After all of the details are taken care of, make sure to do a deep clean. Maybe hire extra housekeeping help to do this. Rental companies expect housekeeping services daily to change sheets and do light cleaning, maybe you hire this housekeeper to also get your home ready for your renter?
Nothing can be overlooked; baseboards, ceiling fans, windows and bookshelves all need to be shiny and dust free as well as the corners and railings of your stairs. It is a great time of year for a spring cleaning!
You will love coming back to your home all spic and span!
Some of these details may seem trivial or seem overdone. But, there is a LOT of money to be made when renting your home.
Competition is fierce and if you want your renters to come again, you have to stay ahead of the game and offer something extra special. It is all in the details and it is so worth the effort!
And did you know that your weeks rental for Masters is not taxable income?!
