Gas and food prices reached record highs this summer, leaving a huge dent in a lot of bank accounts. Gas prices are lowering, but not by much. Would-be vacationers are having to trim their budgets significantly. But many are tired after the height of the pandemic, and still want a change of scenery after months of staying put and isolating. As a result, staycations are on the rise, and a newcomer has entered the ring: the nearcation. 

What is a staycation?

A staycation is very loosely defined as a vacation that stays close to home, often in the town or city in which someone lives. Instead of traveling long distances, staycationers will stay at a local resort or vacation rental and explore the hidden gems of their area. Sometimes they stay home and just rest and relax. Little to no actual travel is involved. 

What is a nearcation?

Similar to a staycation, a nearcation is a trip that involves more travel than a staycation but not as much as a vacation. Nearcationers will travel short distances to nearby towns, cities, or states, but they tend to keep the distance to less than 300 miles. Like staycationers, nearcationers stay at resorts or vacation rentals to relax and enjoy a change of pace, sometimes exploring the local area if they want to. 

Marketing nearcations and staycations

If you haven’t already, now is the time to revamp your listings and highlight the local area! Include drive times to popular areas, such as stadiums, shopping, downtown, and other districts if your city has them. List popular nearby attractions: water parks, malls, theme parks, arcades, restaurants, entertainment, etc. Include some photos of local attractions in your listing(but not too many). Include them in your property binder as well, and send them to your guests upon booking to give them time to make travel plans before they arrive. 

Vetting local guests.

Many AirBnB and VRBO hosts tend to shy away from local guests for a variety of valid reasons, but with the current state of the economy, local guests may become the main market of vacation rentals until gas and travel prices lower. There are a variety of things you can do to screen out potential problematic guests:

• Turn off the Instant Booking feature on AirBnb so you have extra time to vet guests.
• Check the potential guest’s history on AirBnB and VRBO, and see what other hosts have had to say about them. You can always cancel a booking if you don’t like what you find. 
• Make sure you have an automated door lock with a code as opposed to a key. You can monitor them remotely and if need be, change the code. 
• Ask the reason for their stay. If they give a vague answer that’s usually a red flag. 

Pivoting your marketing during this new, unusual time to capture a new market goes a long way to making sure your properties stay booked, and that guests have an outstanding experience! 

Short Term Rental Manager is locally owned and operated. With over 15 years in the industry, we’ve built a solid team of realtors, in-home assistants, maintenance and communications team combined with marketing expertise. We handle it all, from the purchase of your vacation rental to maintenance, cleaning, and guest booking and communications. Visit our website to learn more!