If you have recently purchased a new or used static caravan you might be thinking about renting it out when you’re not using it. Alternatively, if you are an existing caravan owner but don’t use your holiday home as often as you used to, perhaps you are considering gaining a little extra income from advertising the caravan for hire. Whatever the case, we are often asked how much caravan rental income can be achieved if the holiday home is placed on the rental market. There’s no set figure and the answer to the question depends on many factors as follows:
How much personal use of the caravan do you need?
Most owners initially buy a caravan for their own use; for summer holidays, Easter breaks and to get away from their busy lives for the odd weekend. And naturally summer, Easter and Christmas tend to be the peak periods in the caravan rental industry when everyone takes their holiday. These are also the periods when you can derive more income.
Hence the first thing to consider is whether or not you want to make the maximum income by not using your caravan in peak periods. Irrespective of whether you do or don’t you need to be aware that unless you own several caravans you won’t become a millionaire on caravan rental income. However, if you make your van available during peak periods you may make a profit after you have paid your site fees, maintenance, insurance and finance costs if applicable. Certainly, you should make enough profit to pay for your own holidays.
Size and Specification
Caravan holidays have become more popular in recent years for several reasons but one of them relates to cost. Usually, rentals are for the caravan and not per person, so the whole family or a group of friends can rent a holiday home at a fraction of the cost of other types of self-catering accommodation. It’s logical that you will get more rent for an 8 berth caravan than a 4 berth so the size matters.
Holidaymakers can travel to the holiday park in one vehicle saving on travel costs and of course, there are no flight reservations to make. Considering the cost of flights in peak periods holidays spent on caravan parks are infinitely cheaper.
Another factor to consider is the huge competition in the caravan rental business. The specification of your holiday home can play an important part in how much money you can charge. A basic caravan with no bedding supplied, no flat screen TV, no electronic games, a poorly equipped kitchen and only one bathroom will not command as high a price as one that has these extras.
Location of the holiday park
There are many people who want to spend their holidays on quiet caravan parks but much more that choose a park that has full facilities to cater for and entertain the whole family. Hence a park that has no facilities may not be as popular as one that includes a restaurant, bar, children’s club, sports activities, swimming pool, live entertainment etc.
A park that is near the beach is also likely to attract more holidaymakers than one that is in a solely rural location. Also, bear in mind that some caravan parks don’t allow you to rent out so check this out before anything else.
Marketing and advertising
It’s not necessary to spend a fortune on marketing and advertising but it is necessary that people who are looking to hire a caravan for their holidays know that yours is available. By far the best way of advertising is by registering your holiday home on a caravan portal such as Rent My Caravan and also letting the park know that yours is for hire. One thing is certain if no one can see it, you won’t get many rentals.
A caravan portal is dedicated to promoting holiday homes to those that are looking for them. Some are free to advertise, others charge a small annual fee. Some also provide a printable sign to download which you can put in the window of your caravan. A prominent sign with a telephone number can lead to more bookings.
