Vacation Homeowner How-To Archives - Page 2 of 2

Free “No Smoking” Printable

As a vacation home owner, you are prepared for a lot. You choose furniture you can bear to part with. You ensure that your linens are replaceable and that nothing in your home is so precious that you will cry if it’s destroyed. Every devoted rental owner has to walk that fine line between providing a wonderful guest experience and acknowledging they have to be tough, because accidents and inconsiderate guests are bound to happen.

For non-smoking families, however, there is really no preparation for how upset you are going to be when a guest breaks your policies and smokes in your home. Beyond the emotional distress of finding your beloved house smelling of of smoke, there are many cleaning tasks that become necessary and which also come at great cost.

Make Your Policy (Politely) Clear

Even though I have always emphatically stated in our listings and in our rental contract that smoking is not allowed, I wanted to find a way to remind our guests of our firm non-smoking policy, even while they are staying at the house. With that said, there’s no reason to settle for a boring “No Smoking” sign when you can make something more entertaining! I had so much fun creating this one that I thought I’d offer it to anyone who wanted to have a similar sign in the beach or coastal (or just New England!) home.

Just click the link at the bottom of the page to download a png of our sign. I created it using a public domain illustration found on vintageprintable.com, which is chock full of fantastic images.

This is designed to print as an 8×10. When you send it to your printer, be sure to select 8×10 as your printing size and make sure the “fit to page” box is NOT checked.

Once the sign prints, you can trim it and frame! Voila.

I hope this entertains you and your guests and that it keeps your home smoke-free for many years to come.

So You Want to Run a Vacation Rental: Cleaning Secrets

When I used to tell people that we were going to buy this house in Maine and manage renting it ourselves (remotely) people kept their opinions to themselves but largely looked skeptical. Certainly, operating Sadler House has been a huge adventure and one I wouldn’t trade for anything. We were ready for much of what came our way, because we did our research. Not surprisingly, however, a few things caught us off guard. If you are planning to undertake this type of project, you have to expect the unexpected, as the saying goes!

One of the biggest fears that kept me awake at night was managing cleanings between guests. If you live in the same town as your vacation home, you have the luxury of checking the home before guests arrive. You can clean it yourself, or you can cover for your cleaning service if they don’t show up or if someone is sick.

We can’t do that.

I knew from the beginning that we would be totally reliant on our cleaning service. That’s why I almost had a heart attack trying to find someone to do our vacation home turnover cleanings. Fortunately, thanks to the recommendations of good friends and local social media, I have been partnered with two outstanding cleaning services over the years.

Be Informed

If you are planning to operate a vacation home, you should do a little research about what cleaning services are available in the area. If you are in an isolated area, or a small town, finding someone to reliably clean your home could be a major obstacle — especially since the majority of weekly summer turnovers all happen at the same time every Saturday! Don’t put yourself in a bad spot by assuming you’ll find a cleaning service and then realizing there is nobody to do this for you. If, due to a lack of cleaning companies, you will need to hire an individual who is local to the area, consider how you’ll find that person and what you’ll require for back-up in case of illness or emergencies. Read more →