The first year of a vacation home in Orlando is the most important and also the most difficult to anticipate. The owners arrive with realistic expectations and a plan a month-to-month, ending the year with a solid foundation. Those who come with inflated expectations and without operational structure end up frustrated, with reviews of mediocre and a property that did not generate what they expected.
This guide does not promises you the best year of your life and assures you that everything will be perfect. Tells you what really goes on, month-to-month, in the first year of operating a vacation home in Orlando.
Prior to January: what you should have figured out before the first booking
The first year does not start when it reaches the first guest. It begins in the months before, when decisions are made that will determine how everything else works.
You have to be ready before you receive your first booking:
- The property is fully-equipped and professionally photographed
- Listings assets and optimized in Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com
- System of pricing defined (fixed or dynamic)
- Cleaning company or cleaning protocol between stays
- Contract with the management company or clear process if you autoadministras
- ITIN active in order to comply with tax obligations in the U.S.
- Bank account to receive the income from the rent
If any of these points is not resolved when you open the calendar, you’re starting with a foot in the water.
To understand well which is the property management and how it works from the perspective of the owner, before taking the decision to self-manage, or delegate, is well worth the read first how to operate the market.
January and February: winter season, and the first bookings
Winter in Orlando is not the peak of the year, but it is also not the lowest. The families of the northeastern united States and Canada, fleeing the cold, are a constant source of demand in these months. They also reach many travelers in Latin america, especially mexicans and colombians, who take advantage of these dates to visit the parks with less agglomeration.
What to expect in January and February:
- Occupation between 55% and 70% for properties well-positioned
- Rates per night between $130 and $220 for 4 houses to 5 rooms in Kissimmee or Davenport
- Early reviews: the most important of the year, because they build the initial reputation
- Operating adjustments: the first guests always reveal things that are missing or that do not work as they should
The first feedback of the guests is worth gold. Although it is a minor criticism, is information on how to improve the property before it reaches the high season.
March and April: Spring Break and the first peak of demand
These are the first weeks of the high demand of the year. Spring Break american, which extends from mid-march to early April, brings families travelling during the school holidays of the USA and Canada.
The demand goes up and the prices also. A property of the 5 rooms in ChampionsGate can go from $200 per night in February to $280 or $320 during the weeks peak of march.
What to do in this period:
- Make sure that the listing has photos of spring updated
- Select the minimum stay of 3 to 5 nights to not lose the dates with bookings of 1 night low value
- Check that the pool is in perfect condition (that is the first amenity-seeking families)
- Respond to inquiries from guests quickly: in high season, guests can choose between various properties, and the response time matters
May: the break between seasons
May is a month of transition. The demand for the Spring Break low, the summer has not even started with the force and the market breathes. To the owner, it is the ideal time to do preventive maintenance before the high season.
What to do in may:
- Full review of the HVAC system (before the extreme heat of summer)
- Inspection of swimming pool and hot tub
- Replacement of consumables (soaps, shampoos, paper, kitchen items)
- Update listing with summer photos if you have them
- Review of the reviews of the first quarter and settings in the guest experience
This month is also a good time to discuss the first few months of income and compare against the initial projections. If there is a big difference, better understand why now that after the summer.
June, July and August: the high season that defined the year
These three months are, in many cases, between 35% and 45% of the annual income of a property in Orlando. What happens here matters a lot.
The lawsuit comes from everywhere: families of north american, Latin american, european. Epic Universe added a new stream of visitors who did not have on their radar Orlando. The occupation may exceed the 85% or 90% in properties well-positioned.
The rates in the summer for a house of 5 rooms in Kissimmee can be between $220 and $320 per night. For properties in ChampionsGate or Windsor Island, between $300 and $450.
What to expect operationally:
- Higher volume of enquiries and bookings of last time
- More rotation between stays: the more frequent cleanings, more logistics coordination
- Higher wear and tear of the property (families with children, intensive use of amenities)
- More reviews, for good or for evil
In the summer, it consolidates the online reputation of the property. The first 20 or 30 reviews, which builds up a holiday home are the ones that are going to determine your positioning on the platforms during the next year.
To understand how much you can generate your property in this period, the checklist to start with Home Vacation Group includes a projection of income per season based on comparable properties.
September and October: the season that many homeowners underestimate
After the summer season, the demand falls. It is normal and expected. But there are owners who are frightened by the numbers September and October and lower the prices more than necessary, sacrificing income that they had to sacrifice.
The low season in Orlando doesn’t mean occupation zero. Mean occupancy lower: between 45% and 60% for a property well managed. Travellers who come in these months are different: couples with no children, adult groups, international travellers who prefer to avoid the heat and crowds of summer.
Strategies that work in low season:
- Reduce the minimum stay is 2 nights to capture weekend getaways
- Offer discounts for stays of 7 nights or more (attract digital nomads and travelers of long-haul)
- Activate additional platforms where the demand for low season is higher (Booking.com for european travelers, for example)
November and December: the second peak of the year that many ignore
The Day of thanksgiving and the holiday season are the second moment of high demand of the year in Orlando. Families who want to combine Disney with the magic of Christmas to generate a real demand and held between the last week of November and the 2nd of January.
The rates in December may be similar or superior to that of July for properties well-positioned. And the occupation can exceed 80%.
What makes it different this season: guests reserve with more anticipation than in summer (some with 3 or 4 months in advance) and have higher expectations in terms of decoration and festive atmosphere. A property with christmas decorations tasteful and well photographed compete better.
What the first year teaches that any projection, you can anticipate
At the end of the first year, almost all of the owners learn the same things:
- The weeks between December 20 and January 2 are as valuable as the of July. Block them for personal use has a real cost.
- The first report on negative hurts more than it seems, but a single review does not destroy the reputation if the rest are good.
- Cleaning between stays is the operating point that most problems generated when it is not well coordinated. It is the service that is most significant in the reviews.
- The pricing dynamic, although it seems complicated at first, is what difference does it make in annual revenue.
Why the first year with professional management is different
An owner that is self-managed spend the first year learning while operating. Each error has a cost: a review bad, a cancelled booking, a guest is dissatisfied.
An owner who works with Home Vacation Group since the beginning starts with the listings are optimized, the pricing set up, the cleaning team coordinated and attention to guests cover. The first year becomes a year of accumulation of reputation and income, non-trial-and-error.Start with the right foot: talk with our team prior to your first season.
