Tina Bain looks at the benefits of vacation rentals for property investors and for those who wish to holiday like they mean it.

There could be a gold mine in your own back yard - if you don’t mind renting it out short-term.

Why? Because travellers to new or familiar places are increasingly searching for vacation homes for a host of reasons, among them privacy, authenticity of experience, convenience especially for families, comfort for extended stays, spaciousness, eat-in options and value.

In fact, the vacation home market is one of the fastest growing segments in the real estate industry. Staying in a home means more space. The average hotel room is 325 square feet. The average vacation home rental is more than 600 per cent larger at 2,000 square feet. More space for your money.

Staying in a home rather than a hotel also offers some advantages. Private pools, more privacy and all fees have to be settled up front so you won’t be hit with hidden bed taxes or other charges. You know what you are getting and paying for before you ‘check in’. You are controlling your expenses. There are no mini-fridge charges. You can cook in your own kitchen, and you decide when you want to charge and eat in a restaurant.

Many of the benefits of vacation homes over resorts are intangible: there’s the feeling of living like a local, going to the local grocery store, walking a dog in the area, getting to know neighbours. In some cases, vacation homes offer the opportunity to live a fantasy. While you may not be able to afford to buy a $2m beachfront villa, you may be able to afford to rent one and live like a millionaire during your holiday.

You may also be able to choose a lifestyle that feels like a dream - a log cabin in the woods, a mountain retreat with a large fireplace. And in the Bahamas, an oceanfront villa with a private swimming pool and a beach where the only footprints in the sand are yours.

Vacation rentals are gaining popularity rapidly in the Bahamas. While hotel room stays declined from 1,165,310 in 2000 to 981,370 in 2013 (partially because of fewer rooms available in Grand Bahama), apartment and villa rentals jumped more than 200 per cent from 38,021 to 80,576 during the same period - and those are conservative figures. Add the category the Ministry of Tourism calls ‘other’ on visitor stay information forms and the number jumps even higher.

The numbers of ways of finding the right vacation home are also growing. Online searches may be a good way to start but nothing replaces relying on an agent who specialises in the vacation rental home market.

For the country’s coffers and local economies, the vacation home rental market is a bonus because most renters require a minimum stay of five to seven nights, meaning longer visits than the average hotel stay and thus a boom for the local economy with visitors pumping money into rental cars, groceries, entertainment, attractions and luxury shopping.

For the individual or family considering booking a home, there are key questions to ask. How close is the nearest grocery store? Do you need a car or is the home in an area where attractions, beach and restaurants are within walking distance? If you need a car, is there convenient parking? Is the area noisy? Is there a property manager and will there be instructions upon arrival or will the owner be present to show you around? Are there reviews that can be verified as authentic on a website?

For the potential investor who is thinking about buying a property in order to generate rental revenue, it is important to do the numbers, consult an agent who knows the local market and ask yourself the critical question: is this a place where I would want to stay on vacation? If the answer is no, continue your search and don’t be discouraged. Identifying the ideal vacation home may sound more light-hearted than identifying the ideal full-time residence, but it is a serious move as the home, town home or villa not only has to feel right and be in the right location and in the right condition, it has to produce the right revenue.

Vacation home rentals are not for everyone. If you are staying only a few days, a hotel that does not require a minimum five- to seven-day stay may be more suitable. Cancellation of a home rental can be trickier. Not all rentals come with daily cleaning service and there is little chance of turn-down service with mints on a pillow unless you do it yourself.

But for those who like the true life experience, of feeling and living like a local, enjoying the spaciousness, value and privacy, it’s hard to top moving into the neighbourhood where real people call your vacation destination home.

Tina Bain is a bilingual Property Management and Vacation Rental Specialist at Mario Carey Realty. She has a BSc in Real Estate Management from HFWU Nuertingen-Geislingen, is married to a Bahamian doctor and moved to the Bahamas in 2011

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