Tip #3: Consider drive-to proximity and the eight-hour rule.
How much more likely are you to take a family getaway if you can drive to the destination versus flying? My guess is that you would be much more likely to go. Forget about spending the thousands of dollars on tickets for a family of five. Flying is just a pain in the butt and dragging young kids through TSA and around airports is like torture. With that said, people are still going to get on planes and visit destinations far away for special occasions or vacations. But for most people, that doesn't happen that often. We've positioned our rental properties primarily for people seeking close-to-home vacations.
Target travelers who want to get away for just a few days.
As I mentioned in part one of this series, I think it's important to invest in a vacation rental home that is close enough to where you live that you can just hop in the car and get there in a few hours to half a day. Wouldn't it be nice to decide that you just feel like getting away next weekend and go? The same holds true for your guests; they're probably not much different than you. Sure, they plan the big vacations periodically way in advance. But it's all the time in between that we're targeting. There are a lot of weeks and weekends throughout the year for people to travel. They're up for grabs and you should have a shot at getting some of that business. By positioning your vacation rental in a location that can attract a lot of drive-to guests, you'll be well poised for success year-round.
Although we love getting reservations for week-long and even longer stays, we focus a lot on the guests that just want to get away for a few days. After all, not everyone can or wants to be gone for a week or longer. In our experience, most people are willing to drive up to eight hours or so to spend three or four nights away. That equates to about 450 miles of driving. Any further than that and they'll probably want to stay at least a week to make it worth the drive or they'll have to hop on a plane.
Don't underestimate the draw of small towns.
Throughout this series, I'm sharing five tips to help you choose the best location for your vacation rental home. I'd encourage you to try and find one that checks all the boxes if possible. While the drive-to proximity is important, other factors may hold more weight. It's fairly easy to find a location that can attract large segments of the population. There is a free online tool available that can tell you how many people live within a given radius of most any city or county in the U.S. and I'm happy to share the link with you: http://www.statsamerica.org/radius/big.aspx.
Let's consider a few popular tourist destinations in the southeast U.S. and the respective population draw from within 450 miles:
Miami, FL: 21.7 million
Kissimmee, FL (near Disney World): 36.7 million
New Orleans, LA: 40 million
Destin, FL: 51.9 million
Myrtle Beach, SC: 58.6 million
Savannah, GA: 62.7 million
Cashiers/Sapphire, NC: 82.7 million
Nashville, TN: 84.9 million
Pigeon Forge, TN: 89.7 million
As you can see, our quaint little mountain town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC has an opportunity to draw roughly 83 million people within an 8-hour drive. That's more than Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, and even New York City. After all, it's often the people in big cities like these that are the most eager to get away for a few days.
Everyone has to live somewhere, right? So where do you live? Are you in an area already that can draw large masses and if so, is it also an attractive tourist destination? Maybe you should invest close to home. If not, which direction do you need to drive to get there? Think about places you'd like to visit that are within an 8-hour drive. Then use the tool mentioned to see how many people are within reach. While this may not be the most important factor to consider when choosing your vacation rental location, it is important nonetheless.
Now you have an idea of the population draw within driving distance of a given area of interest. But if you build it will they come? Next, you'll need to determine if anyone actually wants to travel there to visit! In Part 4 of this series, we'll discuss an easy way to research and analyze vacation rental data to further support your decision-making around location. Thank you for following the blog and I hope you find value in it. If you haven't subscribed yet, please do so by clicking here. As always, I welcome your feedback, comments, and question below. You can also reach me by email: info@StartAVacationRental.com.
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