My parents have a beach house that they rent out. My mom got tired of replacing similar items, so she found some of the ugliest dishes and silverware sets that she could. (Think bulky orange handles and 3 prong forks)

That seems to have worked for the dishes and silverware. Not sure what else to do about the cookware besides buy the cheap stuff. People don't respect other people's stuff.

We have several from the $500-$1500 range in Fredericksburg and Leakey and keep the cookware and dishes clean and simple - and cheap. Does not have to be topline because yes utensils will disappear, glasses will get broken, pots and pans will get scratched and towels and sheets will get stained and lost.

We just replaced all the pots and pans in all our units. Around ~$125 per unit if I remember. Donated the old ones.

Where the homes are and the price point has a lot to do with it also. Our Fredericksburg homes have a lot less issues than the Leakey ones for the most part. We have also gone to no pets due to the wear & tear on the homes and towels and linens.

Also some of the things we have done which have seemed to help on wear, tear, breakage, items walking off and overall better guest interactions are 1) we contact the guest directly thru email or text and welcome them to try to personalize it, 2) we have someone meet the guest at the rental if at all possible to go over the hot tubs or pools, gas firepits and how to work all the electronic crap. This puts a face to the place, cuts down on calls about how to operate something even though our directions are very specific and hopefully they will treat the home a little better and 3) very accommodating on early check in / late check out. We have excellent cleaning crews and they are very good at turning our homes quickly.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Yall are sure doing a great job of talking me out of buying a beach/bay house to rent out.

MAS444 said:

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Yall are sure doing a great job of talking me out of buying a beach/bay house to rent out.

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Sorry for being so negative. I'm sure there are people who make tons of money and have fantastic experiences.

We bought our beach house after many years of being a guest at vacation rentals. We had always been very careful with the houses we rented; after all, they weren't ours and it was clear they were owned by real people rather than some big company. I just assumed others would act the same.

When I learned that wasn't the case, I became jaded very quickly.

I think some personalities do better as a VRBO owner. You can't make your place too personal. You can't care about the furnishings and such. If something needs to be replaced, you just do it and don't worry about it. You can't get frustrated or upset with repairs. When it appears that someone has walked around and flicked tiny spots of barbecue sauce over all the walls (which happened to us), you just clean it, or hire someone to do so.

If you're more fastidious and detail-minded, it can be a challenge. And if you're emotionally connected to the house, it can drive you crazy.

I also think that beach houses in particular get more damage because they attract multiple families who split the cost.

A typical house in Galveston rents for upwards of $3,000-$4,000 in the summer, some more. So most people who rent come with another family or two. If fact, our management company's website would even break down the cost per person or per family to make it easy for people.

So if you say your house sleeps 10, they'll bring 12; i.e. three sets of parents and six kids. That's a lot of people trooping through the house, using the bathroom, etc. Multiply that by 10 weeks in the summer and that's just a lot of potential for damage .. excited kids roughhousing, throwing things, etc. Drunk parents tossing utensils in the trash or knocking over a lamp.

Conversely, if you have a small cottage in Fredericksburg, your guests are likely older couples in town for winery visits and shopping. Quite a different crowd.