Easter on Cape Cod is an unforgettable experience! With its stunning shorelines, beaches, and charming towns, there’s no better place to celebrate Easter than Cape Cod. The possibilities for celebrating this special holiday are endless, from traditional Easter egg hunts to picturesque walks on the beach. Whether you’re looking for a festive family outing or just a peaceful day away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, Easter on Cape Cod is sure to be a memorable occasion. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to celebrate Easter in one of the most beautiful regions of the United States!
Planning Ahead
Planning ahead is essential for a great Easter experience on Cape Cod. Booking your accommodations early will ensure you get the best deal and availability. Checking the weather forecast can help you prepare for any surprises, such as rain or wind so that you’re able to enjoy the Easter festivities without worry. It’s also important to dress in layers to remain comfortable throughout the day. Make sure to bring comfortable shoes so you can explore the area with ease!
What Is the Weather Like on Cape Cod During Easter?
The weather during Easter on Cape Cod can vary greatly depending on the time of year. From late March through early May, the temperatures tend to be mild and comfortable. During this time, you can expect temperatures in the 50s and 60s with occasional rain showers. However, in April and May, you may encounter some cold temperatures and rain, so be sure to dress accordingly.
The ocean breezes off the Atlantic are quite cool in the mornings and evenings, so you’ll need to layer your clothing when exploring the beaches. Be sure to bring a jacket or sweater in case it gets chilly.
Cape Cod Easter Fun
The beaches are beautiful, the sunsets spectacular, and the weather is usually nice during this time of year. There’s plenty to do during Easter on Cape Cod, from seasonal attractions like lighthouses and kayaking to activities like whale watching, biking, and hiking.
A number of historic lighthouses line the coast of Cape Cod. These iconic structures provide stunning views and wonderful photo opportunities. Many of these lighthouses are open to visitors during the Easter season and many offer tours of the inside of the lighthouse.
Additionally, kayaking is a popular activity on Cape Cod during Easter. You can choose from guided or self-guided tours around the waters of Cape Cod. This is a great way to see some of the natural beauty of Cape Cod from the water.
Are you a nature buff? There are several whale-watching cruises that run from Easter to late spring. These boat tours take you out on the ocean in search of humpback whales, dolphins, porpoises, and more. Whale watching is a great way to experience the wildlife of Cape Cod up close.
Lastly, biking and hiking are popular activities on Cape Cod year-round, but especially during the Easter season when temperatures are mild. There are numerous trails around Cape Cod to explore, with stunning views of the ocean and countryside. If you don’t have your own bike, you can rent one at a local bike shop.
Cape Cod Dining
Cape Cod is known for its delicious seafood, and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from when you’re in the area. From casual, family-style eateries to more upscale options, there’s something for everyone.
Are you in the mood for seafood? The Lobster Pot is an iconic Provincetown eatery and is the perfect place to indulge in classic Cape Cod fare like lobster rolls, clam chowder, and steamed clams. If you like oysters, look no further than the Oyster Company. This award-winning restaurant offers a creative menu featuring fresh seafood dishes like pan-seared scallops, raw bar items, and homemade desserts. And unlike the busy summer season it’s a breeze to drive up to P-town during the Easter holiday.
Located in East Dennis, Sesuit Harbor Care is a local spot that offers up incredible views of the harbor along with delicious meals that range from burgers and fish tacos to steak and seafood dishes.
Head over to Spanky’s in Wellfleet for a casual dining experience that focuses on fried seafood. Try favorites like clam strips and cod cakes or opt for something a bit more adventurous like fried mac and cheese bites.
Easter on Cape Cod is a truly magical experience. With the beautiful scenery, fun activities, and festive atmosphere, you can be sure to have an unforgettable Easter celebration. To make the most of your trip, plan ahead and book your stay at Pretty Picky Properties! Whether you’re taking a solo trip or visiting with family and friends, you won’t regret spending Easter 2023 on Cape Cod, so contact us today!
Everyone deserves the type of vacation that spoils from start to finish. Visiting an exotic destination, spending long days at the beach, and wonderfully long evenings living in the lap of luxury in a vacation home that could be described as a vacation experience! When your upcoming journey brings you to the historic charms and sandy beaches of Chatham on Cape Cod and you decide that now is the time for that vacation of your dreams, choosing our Pretty Picky Properties Shore Daze 096-C for your home sweet Cape Cod vacation home will make your dreams come true in every way! Offering 4 serene bedrooms, 3.5 updated and spa-like baths, and space enough for up to 10 travelers to live together in luxury and harmony, this beautiful house will become a home when you and your favorite traveling partners reside within!
Offering a classic New England style with a sophisticated twist, the smile on your face will begin to bloom at your first glimpse of the clapboarded-sided home that you will call your own. Looking like something out of a fairy tale, this two-story home sits proudly on a lot filled with immaculately groomed landscaping and brings cheer in the form of colorful boxes of flowers flanking each of its front windows. Located just a short distance from the iconic Oyster Pond, a saltwater tidal pool fronted with sandy beaches and warm waters to swim in, and also offering a close proximity to the shops and restaurants of idyllic downtown Chatham, Shore Daze is a winner from day one.
Step inside and follow the paths created by light, wide-planked wood flooring into spaces filled with light and warmth. Walls painted the soft gray of a dove’s wings provide the perfect complement to plank-lined ceilings painted in a glossy white, offering up the appearance of a classic beach cottage, only on a much larger scale. An open concept floor plan allows guests to stay connected as they do their own things: watching television from the plush depths of the sofa in the living room; playing board games at the long wood dining table that center the space; or foraging for snacks in the fully equipped kitchen space. High-end materials are a theme in this sumptuous home that provides elegance yet comforting appeal that will make you feel at home. The wood floors that we have already mentioned, high-end appliances, marble countertops, and an expansive center island with space for five barstools surrounding its footprint are just some of the extras that make Shore Daze shine bright. And because the surprise luxuries are a constant in this sweet escape, a sunroom with walls of windows looking out into the yard offers another place to eat, relax, or play a game of rummy with friends or family.
Throughout the home, the sea is reflected in the décor, offering a cheerful bunch of tin fish swimming across the walls in one room, a tryptic diagram of another school of fish hanging above the king bed in the master suite, and walls the color of the sea on a sunny day in the second master suite located on the second floor. The bedrooms feature state-of-the-art televisions, helping ease the transition into dreamland, and the aforementioned upper-level master even offers a comfy sitting area where guests can enjoy their morning coffee while looking out over the landscape, perhaps catching glimpses of Oyster Pond from their quiet perch. Updated fixtures in sparkling clean baths, a fully equipped laundry room, and professional fitness equipment in the small cabana opposite the pool finish up the tour of the interior spaces of Shore Daze, but as you might expect, there are still some more surprises that await!
The Backyard Oasis
There’s a lot to do on Cape Cod, but don’t be surprised if you feel like spending much of your time in the backyard oasis of Shore Daze instead! Offering something quite rare in a Cape Cod home, the backyard is anchored by a crystal-clear heated swimming pool so it is always the perfect temperatures for a family pool party, but if you are feeling a little chilly, the hot tub located at the side of the home will warm you right up. Featuring an outdoor kitchen with a gas grill, multiple seating and dining areas, and a gas firepit surrounded by cushioned chairs, the resort feel of this beautiful escape will truly make you realize that you chose the right home in which to shelter during your Cape Cod adventures in Chatham.
Reserve Shore Daze Today
Standing out in a sea of normalcy, this special home will be an integral part of your vacation experience! Contact us today!
Oh, how we look forward to spring every year on Cape Cod. The winters can be brutally beautiful, with short days, long nights, and snow-covered beaches that really must be seen to be believed, and then one day it happens (just not always according to the season schedule.) We awaken to the sound of snow melting, steadily dripping from the rooftops and notice large patches of earth appearing in our yards. One day we drive to and from our jobs with the sun lighting both ways and if we forget our gloves, our hats, our warmest coats, it’s ok! Spring has arrived and when it does, we celebrate in the best of ways! If your spring journey brings you to the stunning beauty that is Cape Cod, coming home to Pretty Picky Properties will be the highlight of your days and that’s saying a lot, especially as we have prepared this guide to some of our favorite 2023 upcoming spring events on Cape Cod to help fill every minute with fun and frolic!
Lower Cape Home & Garden Show, April 1, Cape Cod Regional Tech High School in Harwich
There is something about a Home & Garden show that just makes us all happy with the changing of the seasons! As we stroll through aisles filled with “As Seen on TV” merchandise, ideas for making our homes prettier, and everything we need for our gardens, we can’t help but grab everything we see and we can’t help but take it home and try it all out! And although you may not be able to carry home that Z-turn riding lawnmower you instantly craved, there are still small things available that will fit nicely into your luggage (Thankfully, our Pretty Picky Properties sanctuaries offer fully equipped laundry rooms so you can pack light and save room for the good stuff!) and the ideas you garner during your tour of this fun spring bash take up no room at all!
The Sandwich Bazaar, April 5th, Oak Crest Cove Field, 34 Quaker Meeting House Road
For over 16 years, the Sandwich Bazaar (also known as the Sandwich Flea Market) has been providing a fun way to spend Wednesday and Sunday mornings! Open from 6 AM to noon on Wednesdays and 7 AM to noon on Sundays, this is the best way we know to bring home a piece of Cape Cod to memorialize your Spring trip! Even if you don’t buy anything, watching locals purchase stuff from one vendor and then take it to their own table to resell is quite fun! If you do find some things you can’t live without on a Wednesday morning, we urge you to return again on Sunday because the wares change regularly and you may find even more! Offering jewelry, pottery, or even furniture, a visit to the Sandwich Bazaar truly offers an authentic peek into the lives of the locals who are lucky to live here every day!
Herring Runs, April Through Mid-May (ish)
Mother Nature works in fascinating ways and the Herring Runs (the migration of river herring returning to their spawning waters) is one beautiful example! The silvery fish crowd the waters from April through May (although they have been known to appear as early as the middle of March), dodging dangers in the form of animals and birds wanting to make them their meal, and return by the thousands to their warm season homes. You can see the runs from pretty much everywhere on Cape Cod, but the best place to view them (in our humble opinion) is on Stony Brook Road in Brewster. Offering groomed paths that lead visitors alongside Stony Brook, benches to sit and ponder this miracle of life, and a few signs that gently remind visitors to “watch with their eyes, not their hands” a spring day spent exploring this natural phenomenon can only get better with a visit to the Stony Brook Grist Mill Museum! Providing another fascinating glimpse into the history of Cape Cod and the ways we lived, the building itself dates back to the mid-1750s. Open hours aren’t a constant in the spring, but exploring the tranquil grounds on which the mill is set is always a great way to fill a few more of your vacation minutes! Pretty Picky has over 60 wonderful homes in Brewster!
All of these events are destined to bring a little local charm to your spring Cape Cod getaway, and coming home to the comforts found in our Pretty Picky Properties seasonal sanctuaries will just continue the wonderful! Sleep late in comfortable beds, enjoy rainy spring nights binge-watching movies on state-of-the-art televisions, and relax in all the ways you never can in your own home due to having just too much to keep you busy! Reserve your favorite escape and contact us today!
A Cape Cod vacation is something that is on nearly everyone’s bucket list, and when your vacation destination dreams come true, it is only fair that the property you shelter in should be a vacation dream come true as well! We at Pretty Picky Properties understand what vacationers seek, and for the larger traveling groups Grayduck 207-C is a classic New England cottage with room for 10! Providing four spacious and serene bedrooms, three spa-like baths, and all the beauty for which a beach vacation is known, Grayduck is located just across the street from one of Chatham’s most stunning beaches. It’s also just a short distance from downtown, ensuring that every minute of your stay will be more than you dreamed it could be. This guide to its charms and wonders will give you a little something extra to look forward to in the days and weeks leading up to your escape to the Cape!
A Cape Cod Vacation that is Better Than You Dreamed
A brick pathway leads to the robin’s-egg blue front door tucked away under a large front porch dotted with white wood cushioned rockers, a spot where you may find yourself sitting on a warm summer’s eve, sipping a chilled Cape Codder and watching the goings-on in the neighborhood, enjoying the color of the hydrangea bushes flanking the entrance of the porch, and listening to the sounds of the sea located just across the street. Your Cape Cod vacation could be one filled with road trips, museum explorations, and sampling the restaurants of Chatham, or it could be one in which you slow down the pace, play at the beach, and explore all the comforts and amenities that Grayduck provides without leaving the property.
Inside this beautiful escape property lies a world of peace, serenity, and farmhouse charm, a world backed up by shiplap walls painted a crisp white and in which the décor reflects the wonders of the sea. There’s a living room that is divided into two parts, one with a soft white sofa where quiet conversations are destined to be enjoyed. A second seating area surrounds a Smart TV where movie nights are bound to happen. The dining room of Grayduck is just off the kitchen, anchored by a large wood farmhouse table surrounded by enough seats for everyone in your party. Perched under lobster basket style lights, this room provides more than just a place to eat. It is the center of all that is wonderful about family. Playing board games late into the night, enjoying animated conversations over cups of coffee and bowls of cereal in the morning, and holding the pieces of a puzzle waiting to be put together, the memories you make in this room will last forever.
The kitchen is another room where family gathers This one holds all the bells and whistles of a chef’s dream kitchen, including an impressive gas range, an expansive center island fronted with cushioned ratan barstools, and rows of windows that look out towards the Atlantic Ocean beyond. As in every properly equipped New England kitchen, a lobster pot is provided, and of course, the small appliances that make life better: a coffee pot, toaster, and blender for whipping up frothy tropical drinks!
Offering two master bedrooms, Grayduck is the perfect vacation home for multiple families traveling together. Each master suite provides a king bed and an en suite full bath. Iron beds continue the theme of farmhouse chic, and high ceilings make large bedrooms appear even larger. One master suite offers a sitting area perfect for enjoying coffee in the mornings, and views of the beach give that bedroom a feeling of peace that will make you never want to leave. The bathrooms offer a beachy and whimsical style, one with lobster wallpaper and subway tiles and another offering up a framed poster of Snoopy proclaiming to be the sunshine of his life! Farmhouse sinks, penny tiles on the floor, and more of the shiplap found throughout the home give each bath a whimsical appeal, and guests will find it is impossible to be in a bad mood when performing their morning ablutions.
The backyard offers up a private oasis that adds to the charm of Grayduck, providing a large, paved patio divided into seating, dining, and grilling sections, ensuring that the moments spent out here will be successfully fun! An outdoor shower will keep the sand outside where it belongs.
Reserve Grayduck 207-C Today
The adventures you will have exploring the nooks and corners of Cape Cod will be made even more special when you come home to the comforts of Grayduck every day of your stay! Contact us today!
When does your Cape Cod summer rental season begin? We’re not talking about that three- or four-day rental you may have booked over the Memorial Day weekend. We mean, when does your summer rental season really kick in for good – no time off – just back-to-back-to-back rentals? Probably some time in June or early July, right?
Point is, whenever it starts, you need to be ready – really ready, no kidding around.
And here’s the rub: not everything can be done at the last minute to get really ready. Here are the top ten things to schedule and take care of now to eliminate hassles for guests and yourself this summer, deliver the best possible guest experience, and encourage more repeat bookings for next year.
Ready, on your mark, get set, PREP!
Schedule a meeting with your rentals manager, if you have one. We try to meet with as many owners as we can. We have a whole agenda we run through. Takes less than an hour and covers everything from double-checking the booking calendar to be sure we know when each guest group arrives, and making sure a turnover day cleaning has been scheduled. We also cover anything new at the property in order to update our online property information and take any new photos, if necessary.
Schedule a Deep Spring Cleaning — the closer to first guest arrival the better. Don’t try to do it yourself! Don’t skip this step! If this is done poorly or not done at all, your cleaning service will be playing “catch-up” all summer, trying, but not really having the time, to do bits and pieces of a deeper cleaning that should have been done before the season started. Guests will notice and complain.
Repair any peeling or chipped paint inside and out. In homes built before 1978, the Lead Law forbids rentals with peeling or chipped paint in evidence.
Have the septic system serviced and pumped. A backed up system could cost you an entire season of rentals.
Have the house treated for pests — all pests, such as mice and ants. You don’t want a bloom of bugs with rental guests in residence. When that happens, even if you offer to have an exterminator come address the situation, young parents will often forbid the use of any insecticides when children are in residence. So then what do you do?
Arrange to have the trash service pick up twice a week and include recycling – guests are not happy without it. And if the recycling container space is not at least equal to what’s provided for trash, provide additional bins. In our experience, the typical vacation group will generate recyclable volume at a ratio of about 1:1 with trash – and yet recycling is picked up only once a week while trash is hauled twice! You need more container space for recycling. Your guests will thank you.
Have the air conditioning system professionally serviced. Even window units require service.
Schedule the lawn service for mowing and/or trimming. Parents of young children are mindful of ticks, so grounds and beach paths must be kept trimmed back.
Turn on the Cable TV/Internet. Be sure to provide guests with the network name and password.
Organize your kitchen . Get rid of excess. Guests will never use that many coffee mugs or plastic glasses. Do those non-stick pans still live up to their name, or are they chipped and worn and begging for replacement?
We hope this check list helps. Wishing you a prosperous and trouble-free rental season.
Many Cape Cod homes do not have any form of air conditioning. Their owners feel it is an unnecessary extra cost. They’ll say things like, “People come to the Cape in the summer for the cooling sea breezes. Who needs air conditioning?”
You can rationalize all you want, but the fact is that most families vacationing in a private Cape Cod vacation home on the Cape in the summer want and expect air conditioning in some form. In fact, our rough estimate is that for 50% or more of the hundreds of vacationers we talk to each year, a property without air conditioning is a non-starter. Just so you know.
Maybe it’s because today’s generation of young parents are coddled and spoiled. Or maybe it’s just because they grew up with air conditioning and don’t see the point of paying thousands of dollars for a summer vacation home, and then being uncomfortable in hot, sticky conditions.
One of our best rental properties, right on the beach, is a four bedroom home without a.c. – at least it was without a.c. last summer during our little July heat wave. The guest in residence that week called one day to report that the temperature in the living room was over 90 degrees! That’s just not fun. The owner has since installed central a.c. so summer 2017 will not be nearly so sultry in that house.
Once you accept that you need air conditioning, you have options and you’ll have questions. We think most of them can be answered by clicking on one of the following links:
Improve home cooling with window air conditioning tricks. Ingenious!
Oh, and if you’re concerned that your rental guests will be careless with air conditioning and do things like leave it on when the doors and windows are left open. Well, if the bad news is that most guests are used to having a.c. and therefore expect it in their summer rental, the good news is that most guests are used to having a.c. and therefore typically use it properly and judiciously. Our experience is that owners’ energy bills do not increase as much as they may have expected once the house is air conditioned.
One last piece of advice if you do have air conditioning: have the system (or if you have window units, have them) checked out and test driven by a reliable air conditioning technician before the rental season begins. Our experience is that guests get rather cranky when the a.c. goes down, it’s really hot and muggy, and the soonest a tech can get there is a week from next Tuesday. Which is what can happen if you need a tech visit in the busy summer season. So do it in the spring. As usual, preventive maintenance is the key.
It has nothing to do with climate change, but we notice a sea change on Cape Cod this spring – at least in the private home rental market for Cape Cod homeowners. There are just way too many prime weeks still open at this point in the booking season. We think it’s because there are just way more properties in play this year than ever before for rental guests to choose from.
We can’t quote any market-wide statistics to support that statement. All we can do is give you our perspective as the rentals manager for just over 120 select properties in the Lower Cape area – 15-20 or so of which were not available for rental last summer.
True, many of our new listings have come into the market very late in the booking season, several of those with no previous rental guests to tap into and no decent summer-time photos to entice rental prospects. So it’s fair to expect a few holes in the booking calendar.
But even properties we’ve represented for many years are currently looking at one, two or even more open prime summer weeks. Unprecedented — and it’s half-past May! We know it’s not for lack of aggressive marketing on our part. We advertise our listings on every popular online advertising portal there is, and we’re in social media channels every single day, sometimes twice a day.
So what’s going on?
The only explanation we can offer is that supply is way up, while demand has not grown in proportion. This could be a 2017 one-and-done phenomenon, not a long term trend, so let’s not get too upset. Instead, let’s do something about it.
So what’s an owner to do?
Chatham: We have a problem.
As usual, the first step is to acknowledge the situation.
Whether it’ a fluke or a trend only time will tell. But right now, it’s real, and you have to deal.
Used to be, if you owned a beachfront property in good condition on the Lower Cape, you could rent it from bed, typically raising your rates each year by as much as $500 to $1,000 or more per week. You had what the market wanted and couldn’t find enough of, so you got to call the tune.
Not this year. So now what?
Well, when the going gets tough, the wise get competitive.
Offer more competitive rates.
Shop the competition. Take a hard look around the web to find other properties that favorably compare to yours in location and quality of accommodations. Then set your rates just a little lower than theirs.
And let’s remember those rates you set last November may have been right for the market at the time. But now it’s May and you’ve got open weeks. Significantly discount your open weeks today!
Be sure to flag your rate adjustments in your advertising.
You have urgent, good news!
Remember to say that the rates shown reflect the adjustment, so you don’t have people expecting the “25% adjustment” to be additionally applied to the rates they see online.
Also be sure to say the adjustment is for “remaining open weeks only,” which should make it clear to your already-booked guests that the deal they got when they booked remains as is. If you bought a car last week and this week that model is on sale for $1,500 less, do you expect the dealer to credit you the $1,500? Not happening.
Nope, guests who booked whenever they did got the week or weeks they preferred. They could have waited, hoping for a late season discount. But they could easily have lost the rental term they want or need to have.
Offer more perceived value.
In a more competitive market, you need prospective guests to look at your property and see more bang for their buck than they can find at another house up the road.
Here are a few things you might consider to help you survive and thrive in the current, more competitive market:
Consider including linens at your property. Maybe even bed making. We offer both to our homeowners, and many take advantage of these added-value services, distinguishing their homes from the vast majority on the Cape.
Consider pets. You’d be amazed by how many families really want Snoopy to be part of their summer vacation. They’ll even pay an extra pet fee or added security deposit for the privilege.
Add coastal accents in your decorating– colors such as teal, coral, blues, greens. Lighten and brighten interiors wherever you can. Don’t be bland, add some color – without creating a carnival.
Upgrade the beds. If they’re older than eight years, they’re too old. And if you have doubles, replace them with queens. You’ll appeal to far more guest groups.
Buy new beach chairs. Those torn, rusty old ones in the garage have got to go!
Provide a clean cooler for guests to use on the beach. They may never use it, but your thoughtfulness will be appreciated and remembered.
Offer kayaks and/or bikes and tell your guests so they don’t have to lug their own from home. Be sure to check with your insurance agent about your liability coverage.
Provide quality kitchen equipment – no mismatched dishes or flatware with spoons so old they bend when you try to serve up the Ben & Jerry’s. And if the non-stick pans are no longer non-stick, toss ‘em and replace ‘em.
Get rid of clutter. Guests would rather have more space for their own stuff than work around way too many Christmas Tree Shop tchotchkes and photos of your Uncle Phil in his Army Air Corps uniform, circa 1943.
Comfy, newer lounge seating. Don’t use second hand furniture from your primary home because it’s “good enough for the Cape rental.” And have enough lounge seating for the number of guests you allow. Same goes for dining area chairs.
Provide an inviting, comfortable outdoor living space on your deck, porch or patio. And make sure that gas grill is still user friendly and properly cleaned each turnover day.
Upgrade all TVs to HD flat screens. Old tube TVs just don’t cut it, and when guest prospects see them in your property photos, you just sent a message of neglect, moving your property down a notch or two on their consideration list. Another nice added value: offer Netlix and/or a streaming TV option such as Apple TV. It’ll move you higher up that list.
What’s the most important single room in your Cape Cod vacation rental when it comes to managing your summer rentals? You know it’s the kitchen. A big part of the reason so many people rent private homes like yours instead of staying at a resort is they get to prepare their own meals and save a pile of money on restaurant tabs.
So the kitchen is absolutely key. Rather than give you a laundry list of everything you should have and do in your kitchen to meet rental guest expectations, we thought it might be more useful (and frankly, more fun to read) to point out the most common mistakes and how to avoid making them.
Dodge the hodgepodge.
Especially in older homes and cottages, too often we open the kitchen cabinet to find a random assortment of dishes of various patterns, often chipped or otherwise worn, probably the residue of premium gifts Grandma got from three different banks for opening those money market accounts back in the 70’s and 80’s.
Not only does this motley collection make for an unattractive dinner table presentation, it also sends a negative message to your rental guests. It says that you think, “What the heck. Good enough. It’s only a rental.” When guests feel the owner doesn’t care much about the property, they tend to adopt that same perspective. Not good, if you’d like them to treat your property with care and respect.
Same thinking applies to the rest of your kitchen equipment, such as flatware, glasses, pots and pans. They should all be matching sets and in A-1 condition. If not, it’s time for an upgrade.
As insignificant as it may seem, the kitchen hodgepodge syndrome is a shining example of the “Broken Windows” management philosophy we covered in a former post, which you can find HERE.
Coffee mugs runneth over.
Do coffee mugs actually reproduce and multiply in the darkness of Cape Cod’s kitchen cabinets? Seems that way to us sometimes. We’ve counted as many as 16 mugs taking up fully 50% of one cabinet’s space! Weed ‘em out, baby.
Another prime example of kitchen clutter you can do without: plastic storage containers. Good to have a few, hopefully a matched set. But get rid of those so-old-they’re-faded former goat cheese containers. And any others that don’t have covers that fit right.
You know that roasting pan you used for the Thanksgiving turkey one year? Pack it up and get it out of the kitchen. Roasting pans and summer vacations do not go together.
Do the same thing with your favorite bundt cake pan and that egg poacher. Gotta go.
Rental guests need space in cabinets and drawers for their stuff, instead of having it spread all over the counter tops all vacation long. That means you need to get out the clutter that no one will ever miss. You can always put it back after the rental season is over.
Everything is not in its place.
Are the skillets and sauce pans nicely nested by size? Are the glasses likewise lined up in order? How about that utility drawer? Are like items grouped together? Toss out those old chopsticks. And get those tongs untangled from that whip whisk. Thank you. You need drawer organizers for more than just the flatware.
By the way, the organization of kitchen equipment is something that needs checking as part of your turnover day prep. Every turnover day. There’s one other kitchen thing to check each week that the cleaning service is likely to overlook. Crumbs (or even dirt, yuck!) in the flatware drawer tray. Definitely a guest turn-off you want to avoid.
You’d be amazed at how well people mirror the condition of things when they arrived. If it’s mess then, it’ll be a mess when they leave. If things are neat and organized when they first encounter them, most people will put them back that way when they leave. Make it easy for guests and usually, they will respond!
There are families who will tell you they could care less whether they have TV In their Cape Cod rental property.
But they are a decided minority. Most people want and expect to have television. For many, a vacation without TV would be more like a prison sentence. So do what the market wants — you need TV.
Here are five things about rentals and TV you should know:
It doesn’t fly if it isn’t flat.
We know, we know. You bought a nice, big flat screen HD TV for your primary residence and parked the old tube monster in your Cape rental home. What’s wrong with that? The old beast still works, even if the picture is kinda crummy. Do you really need to make out the fine print on every basketball player’s tattoo?
Here’s your problem. Prospective rental guests look at the photos of your rental property and see an old tube-type TV instead of a flattie. Know what they think?
Old and neglected, that’s what they think. For many, sending a signal like that is a deal breaker. You just lost a possible booking.
Don’t do it. Get a nice new flat screen high-definition TV and level the playing field with other properties they may be considering. Today, a new TV is not very expensive anyway.
How many is too many?
You don’t need a TV in every room. Many Moms and Dads will thank you for not installing a TV in bedrooms where children are likely to sleep. It can cause problems when the kiddos want to watch Teen-age Mutant Martians and Mom says it’s bedtime. If you have a big, beautiful home with one or more big, beautiful master bedroom suites, it’s probably a good thing to put a nice wall mounted flat screen in there. Your guests are no doubt paying enough to deserve it.
What’s in your bundle?
Whether you’re going with satellite or cable, choosing the right channel line-up is crucially important. While you don’t need the turbo-platinum package with every premium channel ever conjured up, make sure you get more than the rock bottom basic cable-type line-up. Makes you look cheap. Here’s a simple barometer to use: make sure you get NESN with the Boston Red Sox games or you will hear complaints. I mean, where are we, Cleveland?
Put it in writing
There’s nothing more frustrating for a rental guest than finally getting settled into the rental property on arrival day and wanting to kick back and watch the ball game or whatever – only to be confronted by a basket full of remotes with no clue how to make them work. First of all, dumb it down by removing any remotes not currently in use. Why do people collect those things, anyway? Most important, provide clear, simple operating instructions in writing. Put them in a clear vinyl sleeve so they don’t get
destroyed by too many impatient, even sticky hands. You’ll save yourself a lot of desperate evening calls from guests who simply must watch tonight’s episode of Jeopardy.
They won’t scream if they can’t stream.
Of course, streaming video content is the wave of the future, and for many of your guests, that wave has already made it to shore. Some folks stream just about everything they watch and you’ll be a hero if you provide the means for them to do that at your rental property. But it’s far from a necessity, at least so far.
There are multiple streaming products to choose from, none very pricey, from Apple TV to Roku and Amazon Fire. We are far from digital content gurus, but we found a guy who is, so if you’re interested in comparing the pros and cons – and prices of today’s top video streaming systems, here’s more information than you will probably ever want to know:
You need TV for your rental guests. You also need to check each turnover day to be sure any and all TVs are working properly. Add a TV test drive to your prep punch list and have your manager do it or do it yourself. More than once we bet you’ll discover that the last guest was watching a Sharks on Steroids DVD and the “source” or “input” command on your remote needs to be reset to the correct HDMI input for regular TV viewing. That arriving Red Sox fan will thank you.
OK, so your Cape Cod property probably doesn’t actually have any broken windows per se. But what about that outdoor shower door that doesn’t latch right any more?
Or that toilet in the half bath where you have to hold down the flush handle or the bowl won’t empty completely?
Broken Windows, Broken Business is a business book by Michael Levine which has direct application to your summer vacation rentals business. And you are running a business, you know, complete with customers and competition.
The Broken Windows approach is borrowed from a proven principle in criminology. During his time as mayor of New York City, Rudolph Juliani had his police department crack down on minor crimes that had been largely ignored for years. Graffiti was cleaned up and perpetrators arrested. So were turnstile jumpers in the subways. Juliani’s “zero tolerance” campaign even extended to jaywalkers and motorists who clogged traffic by “blocking the box” at busy city intersections.
In the years that followed, the number of murders, assaults, robberies and other violent crimes went down dramatically. Just a lucky coincidence? Don’t think so.
Mayor Juliani fixed the little things, and as he had figured, the big things followed suit.
In his book, author Levine maintains the same exact principle applies to business.
“…the message being sent out by a broken window – the perception it invites – is that the owner of this (property) doesn’t care if this window is broken. . . Do as you will, because nobody cares.”
Every time one of your rental guests struggles with that back burner on the range that doesn’t heat properly, your property’s perception takes a hit. Every time your guest has to put down what she is carrying out to the porch, because it takes two hands to operate that balky slider screen, an impression of owner neglect is reinforced.
“If the owner doesn’t care, why should I?” is the natural response. Not only can that sort of perception cost you one or more returning guests, it gives all your guests license to be a little less careful about the way they treat your property.
This spring, as you open up your Cape property and prepare for the rental season, take note of all your “broken windows.” Most of them won’t take much time or money to repair or replace, whether you do it yourself or hire a handyman. And keeping up with the little things could make a big difference in your summer rentals business.
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