Carlsbad Vacation Rental

Meet Eric and Meagan.

Home owners of a successful income-producing vacation rental

that they also enjoy when they are in town – the best of both worlds!

Eric and Meagan never imagined they would be able to “have their cake and eat it too” when family circumstances called them to move to the East Coast. Meagan had just discovered she was pregnant with their third child and both she and Eric were going to miss their friends, the Carlsbad, CA lifestyle and the proximity their home to the beach. It wasn’t until a common friend mentioned discussing the idea of hiring me to care for and rent out their furnished home to vacationers that they realized this could be a win-win.

Fast forward one year later:

After just 13 months of managing Eric & Meagan’s Carlsbad home as a vacation rental, it is my pleasure to deliver their annual report with the following highlights:

Generated $72,000 in gross income
Averaged a monthly rental income of $8,500
Achieved an average 85% occupancy
Gave their family a familiar, child-safe vacation home for one month in the summer and for the Thanksgiving holiday
Received multiple positive 5-star reviews from guests
Maintained the property to the highest standards

How did I accomplish this?

By engaging my services as their property manager, Eric & Meagan could confidently move across the county and know their home was in capable hands. After our initial meeting and walkthrough, I performed a series of action items to optimize their earning potential.

My First Step was to research the potential income their home could generate as a vacation rental. Utilizing Airbnb and MLS, I identified properties that are similar and comparable to their home currently available for rent or had recently been leased.

The challenge of Meagan and Eric’s gated community is that while it was zoned by the coastal commission for short-term rentals, the community’s HOA rules only permitted 30-day minimum rentals. Therefore, it was important to look at long-term rentals on MLS in conjunction with Airbnb rentals.

The Vacation Rental Prospectus I assembled estimated their home could be rented for $7,500/month.

The Second Step was staging and prepping their home as a vacation rental.

Vacation rentals are most profitable when there are more beds to accommodate guests (“heads in beds”). The fourth bedroom was being utilized as an office/playroom, so we added a queen bed.
One of the bedrooms needed to be transformed from a pink haven decorated for their 3-year-old into a guest room.
Creating an appealing aesthetic and organized to the home by packing up and storing all personal items.
Utilizing my interior design background, I added staging touches that shifts the home from a family-living quarters into an appealing vacation home.

The Third Step was to list their home as a 30-day vacation rental on Airbnb and VRBO. As a Super Host-ess, it is my job to communicate with guests and maintain relationships.