How to Make Your Furnished Short Term Rental Feel Like Home for Military Families
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Military families move often (also referred to as a PCS–a Permanent Change of Station), and moving can be complicated as they must quickly find temporary housing. But you can help this unique market! Here are some tips to help a military family feel welcome in your short-term furnished rental.
1. Tell them what to expect.
Due to how quickly the military works, most families will decide on a rental without seeing it first. Reassure your future tenants by telling them what to expect. This means going beyond the short-term rental listing and including high-quality photos of your property and its features. Include some unique home characteristics, like an interesting piece of furniture or something about the neighborhood.
2. Give clear directions to the property.
While it may seem obvious that Apple or Google maps will do the job, it doesn’t always work out. Tell your future tenants how to find your property. This is a new area for them, so they will most likely need more than just directions from an app. Include step-by-step directions to getting to your property from a car, the airport, train, or bus station. Give them a warning if anything might make it more challenging to find the home, like a missing street sign or spotty cell phone service.
3. Have a neat and tidy home.
Due to the fast nature of moving in the military, many military families decide to rent quickly. This usually means they want move-in ready, clean, and in good shape. If you have those three qualities in your property, you’ll already have a successful listing! A good tip is to have neutral paint colors and furnishings to blend with your renter’s already existing items.
Another tip is to keep the home inspection ready if the military commands a home inspection at a moment’s notice. This means the home should be neat, tidy, and all safety issues are addressed. You can also go a step further and offer pest control or lawn services if you want your property to stand out.
4. Provide the basics.
This is especially important for military families as they usually only pack and travel with the necessities. It looks like including toilet paper, towels, soap, cleaning supplies, and kitchen utensils. The goal should be that your tenants should be able to move in with their clothes and some toiletries, and that’s all they’ll need. Think about what you would need if you stayed at your property for a few days or weeks.
5. Provide a user guide.
The area will be new to the military family, so welcome them to the area with a guide. As a local, they’ll rely on you for a smooth transition. The guide should include how to work appliances, turning on and off the television and troubleshooting any common issues, how the air conditioner and heating works, where the garbage goes, etc. Think of anything unique about your home and explain it in the guide with solutions. This will help the military families settle in while also making it less likely to receive emails or phone calls about how to work something.
Another aspect of this is providing a neighborhood or local area guide. Help them become familiar with the area by providing them with a welcome packet full of tips and information. It can include maps, restaurant menus, directions to the local grocery store and market, the locations of parks, gyms, salons, and pharmacies, recommendations of where to bike, walk, to find outdoor activities, and information on interesting local places and sights. This will also help your tenants settle in.
Military families are a perfect niche audience for your furnished short-term rental property. If you have questions or if you need help listing your property, contact us! Email us at concierge@milhousingnetwork.com.
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