BiggerPockets

I'm looking for some advice on how to increase the occupancy rate of my vacation rentals. During the summer, they are booked solid, but I need to figure out a way to attract guests in the fall / winter. The properties are in northern Michigan.

Thoughts?

Are other similar properties in the area booked in the fall and winter? What activities are possible in the slow times?

Its a problem here in CO, too, but the timing is reversed. Properties are heavily booked during ski season, and somewhat during the fall, but summers tend to be slow. The have built golf courses and heavily promote hiking and biking to try to fill the rooms during the summer. what can you promote that would make people want to visit during the winter?

Most vacation areas have high and low periods. Probably not really too much you can do to change that. You just need to account for that in your valuation calculations and be sure you can get through the slow times.

I've used several services over the past 10 plus years to rent my Cancun rentals. There are many available like Home away or VRBO. I don't know whether there is demand for your area during winter, but go check these sites for your area and you'll see what others might be doing. Good Luck. Rich

Hey Steve, I have a bunch of vacation rentals in an area with high demand in the summer and very low demand for the rest of the year. In the low season I rent my vacation rentals as a monthly "furnished rental" for about $300/month more than I would if they "un-furnished". This works out very well for me as they're pretty much fully occupied for the whole low season and then I get possession again for the summer and charge the high nightly rate again. Hope this helps.

In Victoria, BC Canada and I also have some oceanfront cabins in a rural area about 1 hour away. I also have 1 vacation rental in La jolla, California. Furnished rentals works out well for and I have section dedicated to furnished rentals on my website www.apartmentsrus.ca