This week on our blog, we’re absolutely delighted to bring you some thoughts from another of our homeowners.
Eric owns two fantastic family-friendly homes on Kissimmee’s Indian Point resort. It enjoys a fabulous location, just a half mile drive from Highway 192 and close to the Orlando theme parks.

Like most of our homeowners, Eric has seen his bookings slow through the pandemic and, especially, through the various lockdowns. As a result, he’s had to adapt some of his booking strategies. We’re really grateful to him for sharing his tips here.
How to maximise booking revenue during the pandemic
I’m not a huge proponent of short stays but realise that the short-term rental guest base has changed with everything going on.
I am getting many rentals from local Floridians and folks from nearby states.

Guests are now booking with shorter lead time. Many of these guests are looking for weekend family getaways and prefer to stay in a cosy private home instead of a crowded hotel.
This trend should be good news for vacation-home owners as it could actually lead to an increase occupancy rates. The days of staying in a 500-room hotel are over for the foreseeable future.
I’ve changed my policy on minimum stays
I chose to limit weekend stays to three night. Three seems to be the magic number for me.
By limiting weekend stays to minimum three nights it reduces the number of party guests. At the same time, it provides the opportunity for guests who may want to book longer stays. By doing so, I’m also seeing bookings of 4, 5, 6 nights.

When I tried a two-day minimum on the weekends, the calendar was filled up immediately – and often with less desirable guests. However, when two-night gaps become available in the calendar I then allow two-night rentals for those specific days.
One big pro for short stays is the opportunity to accumulate many more guest reviews. Potential guests like to see properties with many reviews.
While we would all love to have five-night or seven-night stays, we must realise that this is a transitional period in the short-term rental marketplace. Things are very different to how they were 12 months ago.
During this time, we must do what we need to do as owners to press forward. This time will not last forever and better days are ahead of us.
I am already seeing more guests starting to return from other parts of the country. This is a positive sign. With a COVID-19 vaccine hopefully being available in the spring, occupancy rates should surely improve.
How to book Eric’s homes

Eric owns the fab Summer Point home, which you can view here. It’s recently been refurbished and has a lovely south-facing pool.
His other Orlando property is Lake Point, which you can view here. This one is a great choice for families and has a fantastic lake view from the pool and lanai.

Share your thoughts!
We’d love to publish more homeowner viewpoints on our blog. If you’d like to write for us, we’ll credit your homeowners account with $30. If you would like to be published on this blog, please get in touch with our team in your usual way.
We at White Rose Villas are constantly searching for ways to increase those valuable bookings for our owners; particularly in these unprecedented times. We’ve previously discussed altering your cancellation policy and rate flexibility to encourage wavering potential bookers; today we want you to take a look at the many positives to be derived from making your home pet-friendly.
Many of you may, for different reasons, have never considered such a move: property damage, extra cleaning, allergies etc. We certainly wouldn’t wish to advise you to take a path you’re not entirely comfortable with. We would, however, ask that you take a few minutes to consider the many benefits of offering your home to pet owners (and their precious animals).
We at WRV have a selection of pet-friendly homes and experience very few issues; in fact, these homes are renting and filling up first, plus the renters tend to re-book!
You may, if you prefer, make your home dog-friendly only, and specify the maximum weight of canine you’re happy to welcome. This may remove concerns about huge, unusual or exotic creatures inhabiting your home! Provided you make any such policy clear in your T’s and C’s, you should have no concerns.
Looking at the US: in 2019 there were 44% of households owning a dog and 35% a cat; an enormous potential market. According to a recent TripAdvisor survey, 53% of pet owners take their beloved animals with them, only 25% of rental homes are willing to accept them. 64% of dog owners plan their trips specifically with the ability to bring their pets with them, and 53% would pay extra ($100 or more) to ensure this. On average, pet-friendly homes have between 10-20% higer rental income and higher occupancy than others. Switching to accommodate them could be a further weapon in your armoury, and provide the competitive edge we’re all searching for.
You can charge more to cover extra cleaning costs; require a deposit against possible damage and make it clear that any and all damage will be charged for. Any responsible pet owner should be happy to accept this. The WRV professional cleaning team are well-versed in cleaning our pet-friendly homes, and will ensure your home is sparkling clean between rentals. Guest reviews show no difference in the cleanliness or condition scores of these properties.
To sum up: you may earn more, you’ll encourage repeat bookings, your property condition won’t be affected and your overall occupancy level should increase.
These are all positive reasons to consider when formulating your rental policy; offering a pet-friendly home may not be for everyone, but it’s something we advise you to seriously consider.
White Rose Villas are constantly on the look out for pet friendly homes, if you would like to discuss this option or are interested in us managing your home, please email us at admin@whiterosevillas.com or complete the form below and we will get back in touch with you.