Family Rentals

Family vacations are an important part of the vacation rental business, and for most people, family involves children. While many kids these days come equipped with a variety of electronic toys and games, it never hurts to provide some additional and appropriate supplies to help get kids off their screens.

Indoor activities

• A pack of cards is a simple, and essential tool for kids and grown ups alike! Everything from go fish to gin rummy can be played with a deck of cards and your guests will appreciate having the option.
  • We bought this set of 12 so we could have one for each of our properties 
• Simple board/card games: If your guests are bored with traditional card games, try giving them some options with these games that are easy to learn, interesting, and enjoyable at a variety of ages.
  • Exploding Kittens is a card game from Matt Inman the creator of a popular webcomic, the oatmeal. It’s a roulette style game about keeping some innocent kitties from attempting to destroy the world. It also comes in an extremely kid-unfriendly version if you’re looking to play with the adults after bedtime 
  • Spot It! is an I-Spy style card game in which players flip cards over and try to identify simple characteristics. This game can be played with all ages as it requires no reading and is immensely entertained everyone in my family from ages 3 to 73.
  • Skip Bo is a numbers based card game in which the goal is to reduce the number of cards you have by placing them in order before anyone else. While a simple premise this game can get highly competitive and was a favorite of those who enjoy card counting.
  • Sushi Go! This game features some adorable anthropomorphic sushi with the goal of creating the most delicious meal you can by taking and passing cards in a manner designed to imitate sushi conveyors. It’s fun and adorable to play over and over, and even comes in a larger version for up to 8 players featuring even more delicious sushi options.
  • Fluxx is a game where the rules are always changing, and you’ll never play the same game twice. Renowned for its simplicity of play and ease of learning, Fluxx is an great choice for anyone who can read well, and enjoys a little randomness in their gameplay.
  • Love Letter is a game in which the theme is dumb, but the gameplay is great. Using secret hands and card counting players compete to eliminate each other in rapid rounds to gain points and favor with the illustrious princess.
• New Board Games: Traditional board games like Monopoly and Jenga are familiar, but why not provide some new and interesting board games for people to try out in your rental?
  • Ticket to Ride is a wonderful game that combines a puzzle, trains, and bright colors to create a game of railroad tycoons competing for the best routes. Great for school aged kids.
  • Splendor is the personal favorite game of the author, but is a great game for all ages. Beautiful, simple, and enjoyed by all ages this game of an abstract gem market is a great edition to your rental.
  • Munchkin is a game famous for creating a simple and funny distillation of the classic role-playing games, Dungeons and Dragons. Players compete to gain levels, defeat monsters, and receive treasures in this competitive card game.
• Fair warning, if you want to use some of these repeatedly by renters, make sure you have back up dice and tokens, as well as using card sleeves like these to make the game last longer.  

Outdoor activities

• Depending on the location of your rental, it’s a good idea to have the appropriate outdoor gear for the climate you are in.
  • Simple outdoor games like quintessential midwestern game: cornhole (also known as bean bag toss)
• Soccer balls, footballs, and basketballs if you have a hoop.
• Shovels and sand toys if you’re on the beach or have a sandbox

Preparing for Children in your rental

While we would like all of our younger renters to be clean, well-behaved, and tidy, it’s fairly unlikely. Make sure you provide your guests with plenty of paper towels, cleaning supplies, and sturdy dishes if you know that they will be bringing children.

And of course, pets are part of our family, so here is our article on how to prepare for the furry family members.

So go forth and embrace the family vacation in your vacation rental. Nothing makes a renter want to return more than when everyone has a great time.