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Televisions In Your Vacation Rental
by Robin Fowler

To get the most of their money, your renters appreciate amenities, lots of them. One of the almost required extras in any vacation accommodation is a television with cable or satellite service readily available. Now, the question is, how many televisions should you outfit your vacation rental home with, and how “connected” do they need to be?

It goes without saying that you should provide at least one television in your vacation rental home (unless you are trying to push the idea of no television to your potential renters as a way to “get away from it all”!). Ideally, this television should be in the living room or family room of the home, so that it is centralized for the entire group to use. Along with the television, supply a DVD player and VCR. DVD players and VCRs are very reasonably priced these days. You can also consider buying one of those all-in-one units that include the television, DVD player, and VCR. The choice is entirely up to you. Either way, your guests will really appreciate having several multimedia options!

What size should the main television be in your vacation rental home? Again, the decision is yours to make, but think about what you would want in your own vacation accommodations. Though guests won’t likely be hanging around all the time watching television, you should still furnish a television with an 18” screen (slightly larger would probably be better), for convenience in viewing for larger groups.

There is no need for you to break the bank by purchasing some high-priced flat screen, HD, or plasma screen television for your vacation rental home (unless, of course, you want to!). A regular television with a remote will do. Prices on standard televisions have never been more affordable!

Speaking of remote controls, try to get a universal remote that will work with the television, the cable/satellite box, VCR, DVD player, etc. This will prove convenient for your renters, and will prevent you from having to buy replacement remotes for loss or theft!

OK, now the question is, do you need any other televisions in your vacation rental home? The answer to that is probably. More than likely, guests will expect a television to be in the master bedroom of their rental home. This can be a smaller unit, of course, and need not be as “connected” as the main television. It’s mostly for convenience, and it’s a nice bonus for guests.

As for the other bedrooms, televisions are not really necessary. Again, this is up to you. But you have to stop and think about your cable/satellite situation. Often, companies charge fees per television for service. If you equip your vacation rental home with more than a few televisions, this can add up quickly. You might find that you are paying for nothing, especially during the off seasons when your rentals are fewer.

Televisions are of course nice to have in a vacation rental home, and there should be at least one in a main living area. You should provide at least basic cable service, and it’s never a bad idea to provide a DVD player and VCR, either. How many televisions you furnish in your vacation rental home is up to you, but you should really think about the extra “little” costs that could be involved first!