Lake of the Ozarks Vacation Rentals: condo rentals at the Lake of the Ozarks

Monday, November 16, 2015

Beds, Beds and More Beds

One of the more frequent questions that I am asked is what size beds should the vacation rental home or condo at the Lake of the Ozarks have how many? The answer to that question is not as simple as you would think. The bed situation in any given home or condo can make a big difference in the number of rentals a property receives.

Beds Can Make or Break Your Rental Success

Our research over the years has shown that most guests want at least one room, preferably the master bedroom, outfitted with a king bed. Our properties in the past that did not have a king bed or our properties that currently do not have one can see their rentals reduced anywhere from 15-40% compared to similar properties. While there are exceptions to every rule, a king bed definitely can attract more rentals. Additional beds in bedrooms can also increase rentals. If the room is big enough, you might consider putting two queen beds in the second bedroom or a queen and a twin bunk bed. You want to appeal to the widest variety of guests, and by having additional beds, you can sleep people separately when the need arises.

Beds to Avoid

You should avoid using full/double beds unless you can fit two into one room using two double beds instead of two twins or if it is the lower bunk of a bunk bed giving you a twin on top and a double on the bottom. Otherwise, use a queen instead of a full/double bed. When it comes to a sleep sofa or air mattress, we have found that our guests prefer a nice queen, self-inflating air mattress to a sleeper sofa. They are also about ten times cheaper and that much lighter! You could purchase about 10 air mattresses for the price of a good sleeper sofa. If the guests need additional sleeping you have it and if not, you have saved a bit of money.

Russell Burdette is owner of Your Lake Vacation, a professional vacation rental management company at the Lake of the Ozarks since 1986. If you would like more info on renting your home or condo as a vacation rental, please give us a call at 573-365-3367.

For more information please call us toll free at 1-877-284-0267!!

YourLakeVacation.com

4571 Osage Beach Pkwy, Suite A
Osage Beach, MO 65065
Local - 573-365-3367
Fax - 573-365-5076

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Saturday, November 7, 2015

What Makes a Great Rental Home?

My family and I recently went on a vacation to another destination here in Missouri. Therefore, I got to see what the other side of the phone is like and I was the one asking the questions about our rental home, location, amenities, etc. It was actually kind of weird, but I also learned a few things, so it was a good experience.

Great Location

Location was our first priority, as we have season passes to a certain theme park and didn't want to drive a long way to get there. We could have stayed in town and the five mile drive could have taken almost an hour or we could stay 14 miles from the park and have a scenic 20 minute drive with minimal traffic.

Plenty of Space

Once we decided on our location, we needed enough room for nine of us. We found a number of four, five and up to seven bedroom homes near where we wanted to stay and we found varying price ranges. We settled on a five bedroom, three bath home with two levels and a family room on the lower level that included a pinball machine.

Just Like Pictures

The home was awesome! Most importantly, when we arrived, it looked just like the pictures on the internet. Sometimes you worry that you are seeing the home 20 years ago when it was new. That is why at our company, anytime an owner updates their unit with new paint, new furnishings or new appliances, we take new pictures. All of our properties look just like they do on the internet.

Added Amenities

It was comfortable for all of us. There were flat screen TVs in every room but one, with 6 TVs in all, plus an X-Box system in the family room. However, the hit of the weekend was the pinball machine. We only stayed two nights and most of one whole day was spent at the park, but we managed to play around 40-50 games of pinball. (I had the high score for the weekend, but I'm not very competitive, so it wasn't a big deal).

What's Missing?

The only thing the home didn't have that would have been nice was a dresser in one of the bedrooms. That was our only complaint, if you could even call it that. We had Wi-Fi, plenty of room to relax, a well-appointed kitchen, good appliances, soft beds, nice pillows and a great location. All those things together make for a great vacation!

When you have a home or condo that you're planning to rent out to people, make sure it have everything that would make someone feel comfortable. Games for a rainy day, maybe some books or magazines and a pool table, Foosball table, pin ball machine or card table. All of those things can set your property apart from the rest of the crowd and make for a great vacation rental property at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Russell Burdette is the owner of Your Lake Vacation, a professional vacation rental management company at the Lake of the Ozarks since 1986. If you would like more info on renting your home or condo at the Lake of the Ozarks as a vacation rental, please call us at 573-365-3367.