Let's Talk About Business Gifts and Your Vacation Rental

Did you know that IRS Form 463, page 13 states “If you give gifts in the course of your trade or business, you can deduct all or part of the cost.”?

Of course, that’s later qualified with a $25 limit to any one person, but the fact is, in most cases, giving a small gift to your customer (your vacation home renter) is deductible on your taxes. And the number of gifts per year is unlimited!

Gift giving allows a more personal bond to form between your client/customer/renter and you. It indicates that you were thinking about the comfort, well being, or security of your guest, and is likely to be thoughtfully returned in the form of repeat business and recommendations.

Of course, as with any tax advice, be sure to consult your personal tax preparer for specifics…then start giving!

Top 3 Things You Should Know About First Impressions

First impressions are made within 3 seconds. When adapted to the vacation home rental market, we have to revise this a little, as separate impressions are likely to be made based on curb appeal, and then later on the big flourish open of the door (oh come on, you know you’ve done it!) When your clients step into their vacation rental, those first three seconds will be irreversible.

You can manipulate a first impression. Using common knowledge about how and where first impressions are made, you can prepare for the first three seconds. Take on your client’s viewpoint. Open that front door and see where your eyes rest. Take a deep breath. How could these things be improved? Are your guests greeted with an empty foyer, lacking warmth and welcome? Perhaps you could add a candle, gift basket, or beautiful painting.

First impressions are shared. When reporting on an experience, an evaluator will think back from the beginning. This means that, when your guests first share details of your rental with others, they’re going to use the first impression as a reference point. Make it a good one.

Vacation Homes More Fun With a Themed DVD Collection

In addition to offering vacation rental homeowners our popular gift bags at Welcome Your Guests Gifts, we blog about other fine touches you might apply to personalize your holiday home toward increasing renter loyalty.

For example, our Squidoo lens site showcases several fun DVDs you might choose to stock in your vacation home. You could theme your DVD selections based on the climate in your vacation town and the lifestyle interests typically associated with people who travel there.

Specifically, homeowners running vacation rentals in the Aspen or Vail areas, for instance, might stock up on DVDs offering ski instructions. And those of us who house travellers in Florida or the Caribbean might make available a few hit movies that were filmed in our vacation "backyard." Which means that a James Bond classic would qualify as a great DVD to keep in your vacation home in...

Well, let's just see how well you know your 007 trivia!

Vacation Rental Homeowners' Gift Service

Vacation rental homeowners from Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas to Colorado, Pennsylvania and Texas are facing more intense competition these days. Regardless of whether your own a beachfront or ski resort home, attracting and keeping loyal renters to a vacation property is becoming increasingly more challenging.

The stakes are high. Few can afford a decrease in annual bookings for their vacation properties -- not with expenses soaring for services such as painters, plumbers, property taxes, property management, and landscaping for investment properties. The point is, vacation rental homeowners must work smarter, but not necessarily harder, to maintain and hopefully increase their property bookings.

That's where Welcome Your Guests Gifts comes in...

With your unique challenges in mind, our hospitality service provides vacation homeowners an easy-to-use welcome gift solution. Imagine how special your renters will feel when greeted by high quality "goodwill gifts" such as our Tea Time and Nature's Good Stuff gift bags (pictured in side bar).

• Our elegantly packaged gift bags feature two very exciting product lines -- the Naked Bee and the Portsmouth Tea Company. Suitable for gift-giving in warm and cold climates, either gift helps distinguish your home as a place of distinction and launches a high-value stay.

• Homeowners who live out-of-state, or even out of the country, particularly find our service easy-to-use and extremely convenient. We deliver on the personal touch they know is important, but simply falls through the cracks due to distance and other life priorities.

• Our gift bags are clear-wrapped and finished with a sheer organza bow. We also can include on the gift tag a personalized greeting message bearing your name.



• Our gift bags come elegantly packaged and are shipped to your property manager, who can store them in your owner's closet and easily set one out prior to the arrival of each vacationing guest.


• Wonderfully priced under $25, our quality gift bags also are tax deductible for most vacation homeowners. What's more, purchase 22 or more items and you'll receive our Deluxe Homeowners Set of the same fine products, valued at $50!

For more product information, an FAQ, or to order gift bags to start impressing your guests, visit us at WelcomeYourGuests.com.