Caravan For Hire - Hints And Tips For New Or Potential Owners.

Offering your caravan/caravans for hire can be a great way to generate additional income, the process may seem a bit daunting at first, however with the right planning it really doesn't have to be.

Hopefully my hints and tips will point you in the right direction.

Equipping Your Caravan: If you need help deciding what appliances and features you should include, it's well worth searching the Internet to see what other owners include as "standard". When starting out it can be very tempting to include what may be considered as more "luxury" items i.e games consoles, games, selection of DVDs etc, however try not to forget that this is going to be a "rental property" and accidents do happen. Sure, some people will be impressed by such luxurys, however for most people when looking for caravans for hire the major factors are that it's clean, tidy and affordable.

Caravan Maintenance: If you have the time to look after your caravan yourself then great, however for many owners this simply isn't practical. If this is the case for you, then it's worth asking the park if they can provide you with a list of owners that provide this service. This normally involves them cleaning the caravan and meeting and greeting guests. Depending on the park they may offer to provide you with such a service, although it may be cheaper to get another owner to do it.

Advertising: Finding the right place to advertise your caravan for hire is key, if you are reading this then you are already aware of Caravans 4 Hire, my other tip would be to invest in your very own web site, a well ranked web site could potentially take care of all your booking. My advise would be to advertise on an already established web site, be it Caravan For Hire or another site and also have your own web site build.

There are of course numerous other ways to advertise, such as local papers, magazines etc. These may work well for some owners, however they can be expensive. However as you go along you will find the method that works best for you.

Be Prepared: You need to get your paperwork in place ready for your first booking. Below are some examples:

Property/Owner Details - This can be almost like a welcome letter, which also includes your contact details and details or your caravan.

Booking Form -  Request the names and ages of each person in the party. Then the usual, address, telephone number, mobile number, email. It is also a good idea to state that the person signing the booking form is responsible for the entire partys behaviour and any damage costs. Also state the deposit required and any conditions regarding the deposit i.e. if it's non refundable, also the same with the balance and security bond (if you decide to request one).

Terms And Conditions - Be sure to outline exactly what is expected of your guest and what is and isn't permitted. You may initially feel that this will put potential guests off, however for most guests it will have the exact opposite effect, as it just goes to prove that you are looking after your property. Provided your terms and conditions are reasonable and fair, should you come across a potential guest who isn't happen to agree to these, you have to ask yourself, do I really want them staying in my property?

Price List - Just in case they decide they want to return later in the season, they can also show it to family and friends. See below for my tips of setting your prices.

Setting Prices: This can be difficult in the beginning, as not many people openly display there prices (with good reason). If you have plan to hire someone to look after your caravan for you, they may be able to help with this. Otherwise check to see if the individual park has owners meeting, if so there will normally be a meeting before the park opens to the public, there you should be able to get advise on this from other owners. If the park does not have such meeting, don't be afraid to approach other owners, if you explain that you are a new owner, you will normally find someone is happy to give you some advise.

Remember, these are just my own personal hints and tips. Hopefully you will find them useful.

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Regarding Caravans For Hire, if you have checked out our blog recently you will have seen that we are offering a 4 week free trial. You can list your caravan on Caravans 4 Hire completely free of change for 4 weeks, if after this time you are happy with our service and would like to stay, all you need to do is login and make payment. If not, just let us know and we will remove your listing. You really have nothing to lose and the potential to gain quite a few booking!