Not that long ago, it was primarily boomers who owned vacation rental properties that were often much-loved second homes.

The owners simply wanted a little second income and opened their doors to paying guests mostly on an ‘as is’ basis.  That meant they didn’t do much in the way of preparation or clearing up, or even in creating any type of welcome.

Guests (they were known as ‘renters’ then) were generally happy to experience the lifestyle on offer and willing to overlook the oddities of self-catering because it was a new and unique way of living the life of a local.

As vacation rental grew in popularity, so more investors saw the benefits of buying solely for the purposes of short-term rental, and what was essentially a mom and pop business began to mature into a full-blown industry.

And here we are today….

…with people from every walk of life; millennials, entrepreneurs, young families, as well as retirees now getting involved.

…with vacation rental listing sites that have grown from being struggling start-ups offering free listings, into multi-billion dollar companies.

…with the consumer demand, competition and media focus that a rapidly growing industry must deal with every day.

And every day, more and more people want their piece of the action.

So things have changed…and changed dramatically!