Today we speak with Joanne of baychalets.ca in Placentia, NFLD.

Q: Share with us how you became involved with the Bay Chalets.

My husband and I started renting our properties July 2020 in the middle of the pandemic.  We lost our long term renters due to COVID, so we thought we would try short term rentals.  We put our own private house out there, and it generated a lot of business very quickly

Q: As an independent property, what are some of the challenges you face? 

Not being back by a hotel chain, means we have to offer a product that is better. It can be very time consuming to ensure we have all of our boxes ticked.  We really are not interested in offering a place to stay.  We are offering an experience! We want our guests to come back again and again.

Q: What advice would you give to those in the vacation rental industry, especially during this challenging time?

Be flexible.  In order to generate revenue this year we have started selling the True North bed sheets and pillows to local people.  So far we sold more than 200 pillows and just under 50 sets of sheets.  In 2022 we will start offering to sell them to our guests as well.

Renting our own house out can be difficult at times, however we are looking at the end goal.  The earnings we make from our rental are being put back into a renovation of another 8 bedroom 5.5 bathroom house.  Short term pain for long term gain.