Shopping Local – Are You Sharing Your Secrets With Your Vacation Rental Guests?

Do you have a nearby farm stand that sells the best garlic or free range eggs? Is there an out of the way bakery that does the best pies ever? Where can your guests watch maple syrup being made? When are the farmer’s markets held? Every area has providers of fresh local food but sometimes these are out of the way and without your knowledge, your guests may not find, or take advantage of what is right on their doorstep.

If you want to encourage your vacation rental guests to enjoy produce that is grown and made locally, create a list of every roadside stand, specialty store, farm shop, bakery and butcher in the area. Include opening hours, type of goods available, and telephone numbers so they can check details. This is a great selling point if you are targeting ‘foodies’ to stay in your property and use your well-stocked gourmet kitchen. Letting them know they can source fabulous fresh produce locally could be the tipping point in their decision making process, so mention this in your listing too.

Consider creating a welcome basket with samples of local produce together with a note of where each item came from. My summer gift basket typically includes a small jar of honey, a bunch of fresh herbs, a few plump tomatoes and a freshly baked lemon cake from our nearby farmer’s market. Not only does it look and smell gorgeous, it spreads the word that buying local is best.

On top of giving your guests great information and improving the overall quality of their vacation, you’ll be supporting local businesses and they need that support.