The Significance of Naming Vacation Rental Homes?
It seemed kind of silly, but cool, to name our vacation rental homes. Everyone does it, but I got
to thinking….why?
Turns out that vacation homes have been a thing since the 1600’s, starting in Europe.
Landowners would rent out their estates to nobles. Back in those days with the population
smaller and areas more rural, street names and numbers didn’t exist, thus the naming of
estates began.
From King Louis XIII and Palais de Versailles hunting lodge; to the Popes used The Apostolic
Castle of Gandolfo (Lord of the Rings, anyone?) for centuries as a respite.
In the 1930’s, with the growth of the middle class, people started to build their own homes. As
proud owners (only 25% owned their own homes) they named their properties.
In the 1950’s, vacation rentals became a tradition in the United States. Owners of historical
buildings or location would convert their buildings into homes for rent and advertise in
newspapers. (Can you imagine?? Newspapers, snail mail and phone calls!) Some of these
include a former schoolhouse in the Catskills, a historic beach house in Hawaii, a former
Gristmill in Vermont and George Washington Smith’s Ravenscroft in Santa Barbara.
In 1995, the industry was revolutionized by David Clouse, a retired teacher in Colorado, who
developed the website Vacation Rentals By Owner (what has come to be known as VRBO). Mr.
Clouse developed his site for the sole purpose of renting his Breckenridge condo (goodbye
snail mail). The site quickly became popular with other owners and a new era began in the
vacation rental market. Nowadays, we have numerous sites to search to find a spot for our
perfect vacation rental.
In today’s world, the significance of naming our rentals is a bit different. We name them for
many reasons. Primarily, it gives our property an identity. A property may be named for its
location, its appearance, its owner, the surroundings, a previous use or simply on the whim of
the owner’s imagination. It also gives an easy way to remember where they stayed so they can
come back for a return visit. Regardless if you are searching for a beach house, a stay in the
mountains, some exciting city life or just someplace new, with Google’s immense database, it’s
easy to simply search for a property name and city (ex: Reel Palms Galveston) to find your
perfect vacation home!
| Lazy Daze was our 1st vacation rental and was purchased to bring our landlocked daughters and grandchildren to visit the beach and Gulf. We all needed just a few days being lazy, hanging out on the beach in a daze and some family fun times. | |
| |
Reel Palms is located on the main canal in Jamaica Beach and has excellent fishing. The property also boasts lots of different varieties of palm trees. Reeling in the fish while amongst the waving palms gave us the name for this property. |
| Bayside Breeze is also located on a canal in Jamaica Beach. The two large Palapa huts on the upper decks provide shade for enjoying the wonderful breeze that blows across the deck. Enjoying coffee, an evening cocktail or simply watching the bay waters helped us name this property. |
|
What would you name your home?
