Updated August 2024
Every year, vacation rental homeowners hope that a few of their past tenants will choose to return to their homes the next season. They obviously are a great fit, love the home, and can be trusted to be responsible tenants. But do you treat a repeat tenant differently than a new one? Do you charge them the same rate, even if you have raised it for next season? Do you insist on a lease and security deposit again? How long do you give a past tenant before you require a commitment from them to reserve a specific week, what’s more send you a deposit?
Rental payment timing and amounts
Many of our homeowners generously reserve stays for their past tenants with no commitment requirement until January. But can you afford to turn down prospective tenants who might inquire in the meantime?
We recommend that you extend to your past tenants a right of first refusal policy soon after they express an interest to return. Explain that you will tentatively hold the week for them
but only until you receive an inquiry for the same week. At that point, you will notify them and insist that they commit to the week with a signed lease and deposit
within a day or two.
If your past tenants want you to reserve the week, they should be willing to give you a deposit. You could suggest half of the week’s rent up front and the remainder 1 to 3 months prior to their arrival. Or you could suggest a smaller, up-front deposit, perhaps 20%-30%, then another deposit in January/February, and the final payment 1 to 3 months prior to their arrival. Read more about
pricing and payment schedules.
Pricing
It’s advisable to reward past tenants with a bit of a discount, but don’t feel that you must honor the same price you asked 5 years ago! We usually suggest that you offer the rate that you asked for before your last increase. In other words, if you charged them $2,000/week for this past season, let them know that you will reserve a week for them and charge them the same rate
despite the rate increase for others.
Lease
We encourage our homeowners to insist on a
lease even for past tenants. You may have had a great experience with them last season, or even for the past few years, but things can always change. It’s just safer, more professional, and of benefit to both parties to use a lease. It costs you nothing and takes very little time for you to prepare one – why not protect yourself?
Security deposit
Although not as important as a lease, it is a good idea to continue to require a security deposit– regardless of the way your past tenant left your home the last time. Again, things change, and it doesn’t hurt to have that added incentive for your tenants to continue to respect and care for your home.
Do you have any other tips for dealing with past tenants while still seeking new ones?