How to Prepare Your Short-Term Rental for New Year’s Eve

Start 2019 on the right foot – with elated guests and a rave review, we’ve compiled a list of a few easy ways to prepare for New Year’s bookings.

1. Take Down Holiday Decorations

The start of New Year’s officially marks the end of the holiday season. While Christmas and NYE are less than a week apart, consider taking down any decorations that celebrate holidays that have passed.

Old holiday decorations give the impression that you don’t keep your rental updated and fresh. Take down anything that is specific to recent holidays such as Christmas or Hanukkah but feel free to leave up decor that celebrates the generic ‘Season’s Greetings’ or ‘Happy Holidays.’

Here are some ideas to spruce up your New Year’s-themed home:

• Festive cocktail napkins
• Set your dining room table with champagne glasses
• Decorate with gold and silver streamers

2. Do A Deep Clean

If you’ve just had guests celebrating Christmas, and you’re preparing for another round of guests for New Year’s, consider doing a more in-depth cleaning than your usual scheduled services.

Feel free to download our cleaning checklists to help you guarantee that you don’t miss any of the corners and crevices of your rental that need cleaning.

Think about it. Holiday travelers spend a good amount of time in the rental, so you might want to spend some extra time cleaning the living room and kitchen areas. Our checklists can help you clean your property between guests.

3. Have Your House Rules in Order

Many homeowners make the mistake of only providing a short list of house rules for their guests. During the holidays, it’s important not to make this mistake.

You don’t want to deal with late-night calls from upset neighbors or come home to an excess mess at your property. To avoid these types of issues, it may be a good idea to revisit your rules.

Here are some guidelines we suggest:

• Quiet hours
• Cleanup expectations
• Neighborhood rules
• Maximum occupancy

4. Provide Travelers with Locations to Celebrate

One of the many reasons travelers love vacation rentals is to have the local’s experience. They would be grateful to get an insider’s look of where to celebrate the holidays.

Provide a list of places to celebrate New Year’s, including local parks or community pools, a list of your favorite restaurants and bars, or a list of the best places to spend time with those you love.

You can compile all of these suggestions and include them in a welcome book. 

Feel free to download our free, editable welcome book template for your property!

5. Provide Entertainment for Those Who Are Staying In

Many New Year’s travelers want to ring in the New Year by staying in and spending time with loved ones. To ensure that they have a memorable NYE, supply entertainment options that they can enjoy from the comfort of your home.

Consider providing in-home entertainment such as:

• Board games
• Streaming services such as Netflix and HBOgo
• DVDs
• Gaming consoles

6. Gift Your Guests

Giving your guests a little something to welcome them to your property is a great way to show your travelers how much you appreciate their business. It also improves their stay, brightens their day, and even can lead to a good review or two.

Let the New Year inspire your gift giving and spread more of the end-of-the-year holiday cheer by providing gifts that encourage guests to celebrate at your property.

Here are some ideas:

• Champagne
• 2019-themed party favors
• Sparklers

If you want more ideas for how to gift your guests, you can view our guest gifting guide here.

When it comes to preparing your rental for the holidays, a little can go a long way. Anything you can do to show your guests that you care about their stay at your home, but also care about their holiday, will improve their experience greatly.

Give your guests the gift of a great holiday and earn some well-deserved reviews by paying a little extra attention to your New Year’s guests!

Evolve helps owners prepare for every holiday season — and beyond — bringing over a decade of expertise and exclusive industry resources to your business.