Preparing Your Vacation Rental There’s a fragrant aroma of wood smoke in the air in our neck of the woods and vacation rental enquiries are mentioning wood stoves and open fireplaces more and more. With the first frost of the year last night, and more cool evenings to come, renters are concerned about finding cozy warm homes for their fall breaks and owners looking for a significant stake in the fall and winter market need to pay attention to their heat source as a promotional tool. There’s a particular kind of magic about the image of crisp fall days spent hiking or biking, and evenings in ambient surroundings with soft light, a warming fire and a glass of wine. It’s the popular vision of vacation rentals at this time of year and its no wonder that those properties that do advertise a wood stove or open fireplace are in high demand. Before firing up that old iron stove sitting in the corner of the cabin and piling in the wood, there’s a number of safety issues to consider and precautions to keep in mind. Check your rental insurance policy. You may not have coverage for use of a wood stove if it has not been certified and tested. DO NOT allow use of a wood stove without insurance cover. Have the chimney cleaned before the first fall rental. Write a clear instruction guide for use of the fire or stove. Remember that many renters may have no experience is using an indoor wood fire source, so if you don’t describe what a damper is or how to regulate the air flow, you’ll be getting calls complaining about smoke-filled rooms. Be very specific about the wood the renters can use. Provide a sufficient amount of wood for their stay, and make it clear that only the wood provided can be used in the fire. Go to Woodheat.org for more information on everything related to wood heat in your vacation or holiday home.
