The Mornington Peninsula is beautiful all year round, and practically offers something for all its visitors, depending on the season of course. A short 90-minute drive from Melbourne’s city centre, the idyllic holiday sport, allows city dwellers the perfect opportunity to escape to a peaceful rural retreat all year round.
Defining ‘peak season’ on the peninsula can be difficult as its popularity as a holiday destination has extended to both the Summer and Winter months. However, there is no doubt that long weekends and festive holiday times, including Christmas, Boxing Day and the New Year has seen both tourists and locals alike, arrive in their thousands to escape the mayhem of their routine lives in the cities.
Identifying YOUR peak time
Peak time on the Mornington Peninsula is generally recognised as being between January and February, when there are more festive breaks to aid in the extension of time away, but this doesn’t mean that your property is necessarily best suited to these periods or holidays. As someone who wants to rent out a property for the purpose of covering costs or collecting a small income, it is essential you identify who your customer (tenant) is most likely to be and why.
Property size vs group size is one of the most common factors used to help dictate the popularity of holiday homes, so at the start it is important to tailor your property advertisement to whatever and whoever the market deems most suitable.
It might be, due to location, that your property is popular all year round. Should this be the case, it is important to understand why your customer might be there and to offer any additional local information that you think might help them to better enjoy their experience with you and in your home/property.
Be flexible
As well as understanding how and when your property is most likely to be in demand and thus rented out, it is also key to understand why. Many properties often go for a be all and end all marketing strategy in an attempt to develop a strong brand, but this is not always the only way to go. It is often more important to gain a holistic view of the needs of the consumer and how they may change according to the seasons – both the weather and financial market.
One season your property might be perfect for an elderly couple on a fishing trip, the next it might be a great place for students looking to catch some waves. It is imperative to be tactically savvy about how your property might appeal to more than one demographic. With this in mind you should also be sensible when decorating your property – maintain a neutral feel as opposed to something outlandish and geared to one target audience.
Maintain standards
This goes hand in hand with the points made above; if you maintain a good standard of care of your property then it will be popular all year round and with everyone. When deciding where to holiday people are convinced by a number of things, but cleanliness and functionality are often the two most common deciding factors.
Holiday makers are simply those looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city are more inclined to rent a place that feels like home but that is also located somewhere that will afford them opportunities to enjoy all the area has to offer, not the other way around. It is important to do the simple things well, keep a clean house, provide all necessary comforts and be honest in your advertisement of the property.