Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Adventure

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“Maybe it won’t work out, but maybe seeing if it does will be the best adventure ever.” – unknown

When we returned from our last trip, one of the first things I did was take a picture of the front hallway. The hooks were all empty, waiting to hold coats and sweatshirts. The bench cushions positioned for someone to sit and take off their shoes. I didn’t know if I’d ever see it so uncluttered again.

That hallway was emblematic of all the work we did to get our house ready for short term rental. Replacing the front door lock with a numbered keypad so we wouldn’t have to give out keys to our guests. Decluttering the shoes no longer worn and the detritus that got hung on the hooks. Emptying the bench that is a favorite dumping spot and actually cleaning under and behind it.

And by the end of 34 non-consecutive days of renting our house out (19 days for the first stint and 15 days for the second), I was grateful to be home. Also, surprised that it worked. When I first thought of the crazy idea to rent out our house so we could afford to visit our friends in France before they moved, I felt that tickle of insecurity. The one that creeps in after you decide to try something and whispers things like, “this will never work, you should have started months ago, all the other offerings look to be listed by professionals.”

When I got the first reservation, I felt a flush of color rise to my cheeks as my heart sped up. It was going to work!! When all was said and done, we had 6 groups that rented out the house. They all came and went on time and left our house in good shape.

Amidst all these coming and goings, my kids and I got to have some amazing adventures. We did a lot of work to clean, patch, repair and declutter our house. We leaned on friends to help with turning the house over, picking up plums from the tree in the backyard while we were gone, and taking care of our pets. And then we had to leave because the guests were coming. So we did.

We arrived home about an hour after the last group left. I exhaled a breath that I didn’t know I’d been holding in. It was a mixture of disbelief that we could pull this off and relief that we could be in our own space and mess it all up again. And gratitude, for the push and pull nature of this endeavor – it pulled us to answer the call of adventure and pushed us out the door.

Happy to be home, I sat down at my computer to write a review for the last group. Then I was going to inactivate the listing. But minutes before I could do that, I got a notice — someone booked our house for a week in July 2027.

The adventure continues…

P.S. For anyone that is considering doing short-term rentals, here are three things I learned in case they are helpful to you:

  • There are a lot of options to consider when listing your house. It’s super helpful to select the option to automatically add a day to turn over the house so that you don’t have a group leaving in the morning and another checking in that same afternoon.
  • Don’t put throw blankets on the beds. All the bedding has to be washed every time a group leaves. Throw blankets end up being an expensive way to get a color pop, especially when they are unnecessary in the summer. Your water bill will still be high but hopefully not as high.
  • If you leave phone charging cables, someone will take them. This isn’t ill-intended on anyone’s part. More that no one is exactly sure what their group brought so phone cables get swept up.

(featured photo is our front hallway)

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57 thoughts on “Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Adventure”

  2. Congrats on a truly adventurous, fun, entrepreneurial summer and of great learning, travel and teamwork for you and your kids. These memories will last a lifetime for them!

    Enjoy soaking in the last bits of summer, Wynne. 2 more weeks over here and I can feel the autumn cool in the air already.

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    1. We are feeling autumn here too — especially at night. There is talk of a teacher strike so we might not be going back next Wednesday. But you said it perfectly – it was an adventurous and fun summer! Thanks, Ab!

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      1. Our teachers are going back to work without a contract so it’s going to be an interesting fall with contract negotiations in the background.

        Hope it goes well for the kids next week!

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    1. We made space in all the closets and put everything that was important down in the garage but left the other toys and clothes where they were. Most of the rentals I’ve gone too have been dedicated and no personal stuff either but the renters with families seemed to appreciate that there were toys here.

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  4. I was wondering if you would do it again Wynne. That’s so exciting. I’m so glad that it worked for you. I’m not sure if I told you — I mentioned your post about renting out your house to a friend of mine in phila. He was talking about getting away. I suggested he get away and find a way to pay for the trip by renting out his place!!! I’m not sure he’s gonna but he liked the idea! You’re a trendsetter.

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  5. I’m so glad this was a positive experience for you and the kids Wynne. I know personally it would be tough to surrender my home to others. I’m pretty sure I would be stressed out the whole time. It sure has to help to have family, great neighbors, and good friends lined up to be available as needed.

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    1. I’m not sure about the science part – unless throwing everything I didn’t get to down the stairs into the garage counts. But I couldn’t believe it about that reservation. It totally cracked me up — and gave me the chills!

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  13. I’m glad you had such a positive experience six times over. I was actually hired to professionally edit a book on short-term rentals and learned a lot in the process…but I don’t recall any warnings about phone charging cords. That’s excellent advice!

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  16. Good for you to try short term rentals. Neighbors listed their house for a short term rental while they were going on a multi-month cruise. A couple remodeling their kitchen in a nearby neighborhood thought it was perfect. Then they sent demand after demand to my friends to make changes with their home, like rearranging furniture and removing glass sculptures which they have on display in recessed wall shelving in their living room. They finally rejected the listing and left with their home empty. I’m glad it worked out so much better for you!

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      1. It was too much. My neighbors were glad these people kept making demands, because they realized in advance they would cause issues if they were renting the house. They were afraid it would turn into a headache during their cruise.

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  17. There is a movie called The Holiday about house switching! Here are the things I worry about. My house would miss me. Okay, I would miss my house so much. We’re pretty tight. Then there is the sterling silverware in the hutch, the gigantic vase we purchased in Italy on our 25th anniversary, my closet, the china, my houseplants, the linen closet, the birds we feed, and what will the neighbors think. What do you do with all the valuables that you aren’t traveling with? I’m so glad it all worked out for your family and apparently there are more adventures to come. It’s exciting to consider. Hugs, C

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    1. I added a lock to the closet in my office and to the stairs leading to the garage so I put all the valuables (and stuff we didn’t get to) in those areas. Amazingly, all the house plants did fine. But I love how tight you are with your house…perfectly said, Cheryl! And you are doing a marvelous job with adventure without having the rent out your house so apparently you don’t need the push-pull of a short-term rental!! 🙂 Love this comment!

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  18. Since you have climbed mountains and had kids as a mom without another, your heroism now takes different forms. Congratulations and best wishes on the next one, Wynne.

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  20. My wife and I have toyed with the idea of buying a second home to be closer to our son and his family in South Dakota. There aren’t many months when the weather is nice, so I know we wouldn’t go there several months out of the year. Part of the plan would be to rent it out to traveling nurses or the like when we aren’t planning to live there. Not sure if we’ll ever pull the trigger on that idea, but it’s something to think about. I really appreciate you sharing the things you learned from your experience.

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    1. Oh, I love the idea of you having a place closer to your son and his family. A friend of mine is a teacher and they rent their house during the summer. They’ve had great luck with traveling nurses. Can’t wait to hear the stories if you do it!

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  21. That is so wonderful! What a resourceful way to come up with vacation money. And such a great example of entrepenurial gusto to model for your kids. Now you can start planning a fun trip for July of 2027!

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  22. It’s a great idea, Wynne. How brilliant to have passive income like that. Go out for adventure while the house is rented to earn. Sounds like another adventure coming next July.

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  23. The photo of the empty hallway hooks is such a perfect detail — that’s exactly the kind of image that says more than a paragraph could. And the tickle of insecurity about all the other listings looking professional, oof, so relatable. Renting the house out to get to France before your friends moved is a wonderfully audacious bit of math. Six groups, all on time, house intact, and adventures with your kids on the other end of it — that’s a win by any measure.

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  25. What a leap of faith you took to rent out your home. And how wonderful that it all worked out so well. I don’t think I could do that, I’m super selfish with my space (after growing up in a home with umpteen people…). I love my home and it loves me. 💞

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