Management

10 ways to increase rental income from your vacation property

February 7, 2021.

Both interior and exterior updates increase your property value and profit from renting your property. Whatever your budget is, always choose the upgrades that give you the best returns of investment. We’re sharing 10 clever tricks to upgrade your property without breaking the rental rules.

Repaint

A new coat of paint modernizes your property and makes the property appear well-maintained, clean, and luxurious.

As a vacation rental owner, you should choose neutral paint colors. A neutral interior palette draws in a variety of guests. We suggest painting one feature wall with luxury effects, or if you want to add colors in the room, use changeable accessories such as pillows, rugs, vases, and artwork.

If you paint your vacation rental property yourself you will save money, but you won’t save your valuable time and nerves, especially if you have no experience. The rates for a professional painter are between 3€ – 6€ per square meter excluded preparations and repairs of the walls.

One feature wall with luxury effects costs between 200€-300€ per wall depends on the size of the wall and effect. We highly recommend using effects. Your house will look in the photos more expensive and more luxurious and can increase your renting price or you will stand out among the many similar holiday homes offered on the market.

Renew The Bathroom & Kitchen

An outdated bathroom or kitchen can decrease the value of a vacation rental property. The benefits of updating your bathroom or kitchen are worth the investment, you can charge more per night if you have a beautiful property.

But, you might not have the money to do this type of renovation. Here are some simple updates that increase your properties value:

Kitchen:

  • Replace light fixtures: Lighting influences mood. Lighting fixtures add character to your vacation rental property. Put the LED lighting under the cabinets, change the ceiling lights.
  • New tiling or backsplash: A simplistic way to add color. Backsplash and tile can update a space.
  • Change or repaint cabinet fronts, it is much cheaper and the kitchen will look like new!
  • Add Kitchen Appliances: Renters book vacation rental properties over hotels since they have kitchens. Use this to your advantage. Draw in foodies by purchasing extra culinary tools, such as coffee makers, mixers, or an icemaker.

Bathrooms:

  • Update the showerhead, sink, or towel racks for a sleek look.
Hire a Professional Cleaning Service

After you have updated your vacation rental, it is important to clean thoroughly. A dirty property detracts from the updates and changes you have made. Potential guests will focus on the cleanliness of your property first.

Thus, you should hire a third-party professional cleaning service. A professional cleaning service ensures that every part of your property is ready for guests.

Style Your Rental House

 Just because you’re renting doesn’t mean you need to settle for someone else’s design style. Here are our top decorating hacks for rental properties:

  • The more plants the better – choose the plants that are hard to kill. Artificial flowers and plants don’t smell like the real thing, but they’ll give your home a real boost.
  • Buy beautiful bedding – there’s nothing quite like slipping in between the satin sheets in bed. The bed makes up one of the largest surface areas in the bedroom so a new quilt and cushions will have a dramatic impact. For the photoshoot, decorate the bed with at least 4 pillows and 2 cushions for a luxurious look
  • Curtains – if you want to add luxury to the interior, you can easily achieve it by choosing 2 sets of curtains on one rode – one transparent and one blackout curtain. Install them near the ceiling to get real luxury looks.
  • Show off your art – it doesn’t have to be expensive, it should be beautiful and match the colors and style of the room.
  • Invest in the perfect furniture – if you can’t change the rooms, buy furniture that is durable and will boost your space.
Renovation-Mayren
Villa Emma Maria – before and after
Extra Values

The easiest addition to your vacation rental property would be adding everyday items. For example, provide a collection of DVDs, books, or board games. Or have a stereo/gaming system in your vacation rental property. These are simplistic items that renters use throughout their vacation especially during bad weather.

To stand out among the competition, find the room to put table football, darts or billiard.

Provide a “Welcome” basket or tickets to local events. This will surprise guests. Your generosity will be the added value for your property.

Landscaping

Choose greenery that does not require a lot of attention. Purchase drought-tolerant, local plants. In Istria, it is lavender, fig, and an olive tree. Yet this doesn’t require large amounts of maintenance.

Sago palm is a good choice because adds luxury to your rental home, they are durable, only in the winter should be covered. If your budget allows, plant a pair of Mediterranean cypress to get the Tuscan look

Bushes, mature trees, and different sized rocks also add dimension to your property, without needing constant care.

Remember, your landscaping should complement your vacation rental property. Overgrown landscaping, particularly if it overshadows the building or home, detracts from your main selling feature.

Create an outdoor living oasis with a gorgeous pergola

Your guests come on vacation to spend most of their time outdoors. Pergolas are designed to increase the enjoyment and comfort of your outdoor living space, and offer respite from the sun for your guests. Investment in the well-built pergola increases your rental value but also the value of your property. Guests are willing to pay top euro for holiday homes that already have attractive, well-designed spaces for outdoor living. After all, you love the shade, style, and sophistication of a pergola — and a potential guest will, too. For more information about pergola designs, costs, or advice please visit: https://kontra-aluminium.com/proizvodi/rjesenja-za-terase-i-zimske-vrtove/

Pergola Kontra Saxun
Pergola Saxun – Kontra aluminium
Walkways & Driveways

For curb appeal and safety, repair any cracks in your walkways, sidewalks, or driveways. If you seal or repave your driveway, you will have a smooth surface that lasts for a longer amount of time. Clean it with a high-pressure washer or hire a professional to do the job. This will also save you money long term, and add to your property’s visual appeal.

Exterior Lighting

Sidewalk lighting adds charm and style to your vacation rental property’s exterior. Above the outdoor dining table should be romantic lights. This provides added value for guests who like to entertain in the evening. Use solar lamps along the path leading to the house – besides the aesthetics, contributes to the security of guests.

Playground

Parents want to rest on their vacation, and the best way is to occupy their children. So, build the treehouse, put a swing, slide, or trampoline. Kids will be delighted!

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to add value to your vacation rental property. This ranges from additions like board games to kitchen renovations. The upgrades you make to your property depend on your budget, target audience, and property type.

If you’re not sure what is the best way to upgrade your rental property to increase your profit, visit our web site www.management.mayren.hr/en/ to see projects that we have done or contact us by emailing majda@mayren.hr, we are glad to help with our advice.

Rentals

Top 8 Things to Do With Kids in Istria

February 2, 2021.
Water fun for kids in Istria

Take your children to the promised land of fun – Istria! Your kids will enjoy it and you’ll remember how to be a child again! You can look forward to a variety of interesting things to do and places to see:

Water Fun In Aquapark

Treat your kids to the best day ever at the Aquapark Istralandia and Aquacolors Poreč! Adrenalin fun knows no age limit and it is available for everyone. With the spray arena, numerous pools for families and children, a wave pool, different slide shapes, closed slides resembling tubes, a steep slide, and attractions, you are in for a day of water fun your family will never forget. Remember that certain attractions require a minimum height of 1m, 1.20 m, and 1.40 m so you can plan.

Zip-Line Adventure In Pazin

Experience an unforgettable experience with the four zip lines of the Pazin Cave. Start your adventure from the gorge below the Hotel Lovac with two lines 80 meters long. Rush at 40 km/h along the 200 m-long third line! You will land in the courtyard of the House of Writers near the castle.
Feel the rush of adrenaline rushing down the last line of 280 m at a speed of 50 km/h! It is also the most popular, as it lets you enjoy the view of the cave and the famous castle above it. End the adventure at the lookout point above the Baba’s House cave. Named after the famous French writer Jules Verne, who wrote about the Pazin Cave and the Castle in Mathias Sandorf’s novel (1885).

Prehistory At The Dinopark

For all Jurassic World fans, the theme park Dino Park Funtana is full of fun attractions making it an excellent destination for a family trip. Set on a journey to the distant past when the dinosaurs ruled the world and get to know more than 80 different dinosaur species in their natural size. Also, let’s enjoy numerous other attractions – from a circus show to a mini funfair and playgrounds. Become an archaeologist for a day and join the workshop on digging out dinosaur bones and studying prehistoric sea creatures

The Amazing World Of Fish

Take a look at the breathtaking underwater world! The Aquarium in Pula gives your children the chance to see up close a variety of sea creatures, to admire reptiles at the Aquarium & Terrarium.

Discover The Castle’s Secret

Magical things have been happening in the Morosini-Grimani Castle in Svetvinčenat ever since the Venetian times.  Unlike classic escape rooms, Escape Castle Svetvinčenat encompasses the whole Morosini-Grimani Castle area, the info point, all three towers, the dungeon, the armory, and the throne. The players must go through all seven knight temptations: loyalty, bravery, faith, justice, caution, knowledge, and persistence to unveil the secret of the castle.

It is an innovative and unique concept based on old Istrian legends and historical texts. The game is adequate for all generations and lasts between 30-60 minutes. A team can vary between two and five players. Get to know Svetvinčenat and its castle in a fun way – we guarantee you’ll have a great time!

Drijade Farm

Take the time for an hour of pure magic! Take a walk through the Drijade farm and get to know the colorful world of animals. Everyone is welcome – from the smallest to the largest. About a hundred popcorn of various kinds (they give us white, yellow, brown, green, and blue eggs), two turkeys, three Vietnamese pigs, a donkey, two horses, five dogs, nine cats, about a hundred adult goats, about thirty young goats, about twenty sheep, and four people they are waiting for your visit. For only a suggested symbolic donation of 5 euros per person, join us on this unforgettable adventure!

Drijade Farm

If you’re ready for a little more adrenaline, join our grazing trip! Venture out on a 3-4 hour adventure with our charming creatures. Equip yourself with water, snacks, and comfortable clothes, because a real little miracle of nature awaits you. After returning to the farm, a delicious snack of farm products awaits you.

After you finish your visit or excursion, you have the opportunity to buy fresh dairy products made from goat’s milk, such as cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt whey, and fresh eggs. Enjoy authentic flavors and support local agriculture!

Starry Experience In Višnjan

Reach for the stars at the observatory near Višnjan! Surrounded by a forest, the modern building of the Tičan hill observatory is situated in the vicinity of Višnjan by the old church of St Panteleon and a replica of an ancient monolithic observatory. The charming town is itself a great reason for a trip. The visit consists of a lecture about the observatory’s work, the tour of the observatory, and the observations of the celestial objects with an amateur telescope outside the observatory.

Return To The Middle Ages At Castle Sanc. Michael

Sanc. Michael Castle is located on a beautiful 26,000m2 estate, only 3km north of Svetvinčenat. The castle is 400m2 big and it is made of wood trunks. Apart from being an impressive edifice itself, the castle offers a children’s carousel, torture devices, the witch’s dungeon, a souvenir shop and, other typically medieval attractions. Visitors can try their luck in archery with a medieval bow and arrow.

The opportunity to enjoy natural surroundings and environment, spend time with animals is an unforgettable experience. Learn to ride horses, see and feed domestic animals like the donkey, goats, sheep, chickens, bunnies, pigeons, and many more. To have a full medieval experience, the visitors can indulge in numerous grilled dishes and drinks from native clay pottery.


If you have some time left, explore other attractions by the sea or in the green of the hinterland and discover more interesting things Istria has to offer. In case you are not sure where to stay, visit our website www.mayren.hr and choose a dream vacation in one of the houses with a swimming pool in our offer.