Marketing Your Home as a Luxury Property

 
Although owning a vacation home is a luxury in itself, let's face it: not every second home is truly a "luxury property." We don't mean to hurt your feelings or diminish the “niceness” of your home. (There are still plenty of properties out there that would be a treat to visit and are probably nicer than many travelers' primary residences.)

However, coining your property as a “luxury” vacation rental could lead to disappointed guests upon arrival if they conjured up some other kind of image of what luxury means to them.

If you choose to market your home as luxury, you have to realize that travelers have certain expectations when it comes to that term. When perusing a vacation rental website, there are tons of high-end options to which they can compare your home. If you're going to compete with the big dogs, you need to make sure you (and your home) get your game face on.

Here are some tips for equipping your home and updating your vacation rental listings to portray a luxury image:

Decorate with high-end furnishings and fixtures. Some owners choose to go the Ikea route for the practicality and durability of the furniture. However, if you have decided that you want to splurge or spoil yourself when you visit your property yourself, go ahead and hire a professional decorator or furnish your home with top-of-the-line furniture and fixtures — just make sure you say so in your listings. And, if you purchase anything from a prestigious or well known company, go ahead and include the brand names in your ads. Your guests will enjoy the bragging rights after they book their stay.

Provide your guests with quality linens. Once you've set the standard for the luxuriousness of your home, don't disappoint your guests with towels that don't cover their entire bodies or sheets that chafe. Invest in 400-thread-count sheets (or higher) and plush towels, and be descriptive in your listings.

Equip your home with the latest technology. High-end electronics can also add to the luxury feel of your vacation rental. These items might include:

• Flat screen, high definition, big screen or Plasma TV with cable, satellite and/or movie channels
• DVD or BluRay player with DVD library
• Video game system like PlayStation or Wii
• Computer with Internet access
• Surround sound stereo system or Ipod docking station
• Remote-control-operated fixtures, such as lights or window shades
• High-end kitchen appliances like Wolf or Viking brands, unique appliances like a wine refrigerator, or even appliances with electronic features (like a refrigerator with HDTV and DVD connection, if you really feel like splurging.)

Offer special services. Travelers that are looking for a luxury vacation experience will appreciate services like airport transfers, grocery stocking, or a concierge service that includes dinner reservations, catering arrangements, spa services or excursion arrangements. You can even handle some of these services yourself from afar, or you could enlist help from someone else, like your housekeeper.

Set your rates accordingly. If you are trying to convey a luxury image but your rates place you among the least expensive properties in your area, your prospective guests might not believe that you are as luxurious as you say you are. Your guests might actually be left wondering what's wrong with your home. Don't be afraid to price your home in the top 10% of the other homes in your area if you feel like your amenities back it up.

Hire on-site staff. Nothing conveys luxury more than being waited on. If you feel your property attracts guests that would appreciate (and pay for) on-site staff, try hiring help like a driver, chef, or on-site concierge that can provide recommendations and arrangements for restaurants and area activities and also meet-and-greets or turn-down services.

Use other words in addition to “luxury”. Because it might seem that the word “luxury” has been overused in vacation rental ads, you can try calling attention to the luxuriousness of your home by including more specific details about all the upscale amenities you offer and leaving out generic adjectives.

There is definitely a market out there for luxury vacation rentals. If you truly want to set your home apart and target this niche, try employing some of these tactics to boost the extravagance factor of your vacation home.

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What have you done to boost the "extravagance factor" of your vacation rental?