It's already been a BIG year here at Aiken Vacation Rentals, and it's only July! To celebrate our 3rd year in business, we are stepping things up! But first let's look back on how far we've come already....
For those of you who have been following our journey, AVR began in the fall of 2020 (even though we didn't know it yet!) when my husband (then fiancé) Jeremy and I purchased The Lancaster Townhouse. My beloved Blue Door Cottage, my home of 11 years at that point, we also converted into a home for guests.
Aiken has a lot of seasonal tourism from the equestrian "snowbirds" who come down to South Carolina and Florida for the winter to escape colder climes. I knew this as I'd worked as a horse trainer and instructor in Aiken since 2008. (My horse business is Equestrian Ethos).
Because of that, we were pretty sure our market was a good one for short and midterm rentals. But we were still nervous! I'd managed long-term rentals and a horse boarding facility when I lived in Washington state years ago, but this felt like learning an entirely new business.
Maybe it was The Covid Year Crazies, but we took the leap!
It was a labor of love from the beginning. My parents were wonderful about making me feel welcome and cared for when I came home for visits. From the start, I felt that hosting guests could be more than just a business transaction, but an act of caring that could turn strangers into friends and make a new town feel warm and welcoming.
We began cohosting another property within the year--another leap. And as we honed our systems and started building our support team, we prepared to add more homes to our roster. By 2023, we felt ready to take on more!
So this has been a step-up year. We've refreshed the interior paint and furnishings and spruced up the exterior at he beautiful Lancaster Townhouse. We added a super assistant to the team, Mary.
And the website got an amazing makeover thanks to Linda-Lou at WIXCreate, herself a short term rental owner as well as a talented web designer.
This blog we envision as a resource for our guests and visitors to Aiken. We may post about our business and our lives from time to time, but mostly it's another way we can share what we love about this town we call home, Aiken.
We hope you'll stop by weekly to check out what's new. Feel free to drop us a line at info@aikenvacationrentals.com and let us know what you think. We'd love to hear from you!
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