If you are thinking about renting your Maui property as a vacation home, the first question in your mind is probably – How much can I make? Property owners ask us this question all the time when they submit their property for review to see if we can include it in our rental portfolio. We understand that you want to know if it is financially worthwhile to go down the rental road. You may also want to try and compare how much you’d make renting your home as a vacation property versus renting it as a long-term rental.
The truth is that we can’t tell you exactly how much your rental property can earn. What we can do is tell you the factors that determine the value of your rental property.
Size of Property
All things being equal, a larger property will fetch a higher daily rental value. The more people you can accommodate, the more we can ask for the rental. However, small properties perform very well, and it can sometimes be difficult to keep very large properties regularly booked, as there are many more couples and small groups that visit the island than larger groups. Though extra-larger properties might not be booked as often as smaller properties, even a few bookings can really add up!
Location of Property
Location is probably the most important factor when it comes to pricing out a property. Even a small property can go for hundreds of dollars a night if it is right on the beach and in the right community. Proximity to the beach is always good for the value of your rental, but you’ll also get a higher rental fee if you are located in a good neighborhood and closer to major attractions, restaurants, and stores. At Ali’I Resorts, we prefer properties in South Maui and have found properties in this location are the easiest to fill.
Quality of Property
What does your property look like on the inside? Do you have a nice big kitchen? A balcony that overlooks the ocean? How about two or more bathrooms? Visitors coming to Maui want to be a little spoiled, and it will be hard to feel like they are on vacation if they have to sleep on an old mattress, share a bathroom, and struggle to find space on the kitchen counter to prepare their meals. At Ali’i Resorts, we are on the lookout for beautiful properties in great locations. They don’t have to be perfect, but you’ll get more for your rental if you have a spacious layout, more than a single bathroom, and a good kitchen. Newer furniture and tasteful decorations really go a long way too! Many customers make their decision based on what they see in the pictures of your place.
Time of Year
During Maui’s busy seasons (Jan – March and July – Sept), we always get a flood of interest, and it’s easy to keep our most popular properties booked straight through. When we hit off season, we are competing with all the other rentals, hotels, and resorts on the island for a smaller pool of people. Many off season travelers are also price conscious (which is why they’re vacationing in off season). Hotels and resorts discount their offerings, and we have to stay competitive. That means you may see more vacancies in your rental and a smaller return even when it is booked. This is just the nature of the business, and you simply need to recognize that when the season picks up again, we can usually increase our prices.
If you really want to get a sense of how much your property might be worth, take a look at our catalog. Try to find a property that is similar to yours and then see how we are pricing. It is important to note that we take a commission for all bookings we make for your property for our role in managing every aspect of your vacation rental. If you want to make more money, you could always try to rent the property on your own, but you’ll need to be ready to put in a significant amount of work. In fact, even just renting a single property can easily become a part-time job and require you to be available to answer questions and address customer problems 24/7.
You can also contact us to submit your Maui property for consideration to be added to our portfolio, and we can give you a better idea of what you might be able to earn. Contact us today if you are interested.
