Winter is the season which traditionally slow for vacation rental homes. But if you are a prospective tenant, you can print a great price rentals and enjoy the offseason different types getaway, sipping hot chocolate in front of a cozy fireplace instead of running around to see the sights.

And if you are a property owner, there are a few small steps you can take to make your vacation more interesting at home this year.

Christine Karpinski, director of community owners HomeAway.com and author of “How To Rent Vacation Properties By Owner,” said the owner should “winterize” online descriptions of their properties, emphasizing features such as hot tub and fireplace, and adding the photos home framed by fall leaves or dusted with snow.

Owners should also consider offering a deal offseason – for example, rent for three nights and get a fourth free. If you get the initial request for spring or summer, inviting people to check the property with a short stay the winter, as half the regular price for the weekend. Or e-mail invitation to repeat the summer tenants to stay winter discounts.

In the same way, if you are a tenant who has been enjoying a summer living in a particular house, consider an e-mail to the owner and ask for discounts on winter stay.

For travelers, this type of transaction can cut holiday costs.

“Unless you’re going to a ski destination, winter rentals are significantly cheaper – an eighth to a quarter high season,” said Karpinski, who has a number of rental properties in the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. “This could be fun to have a quiet weekend away from everything and everyone. You are constantly working, taking care of the kids around the school and football. Sitting around playing Scrabble or curl up with a good book or even watch TV is something that I rarely can do. ”

But the owner and tenant must both be ready for the possibility that bad weather can save a lot of room in the house for their stay. Some good books, board games, DVDs, and chili and soup pairing can make the difference between a boring weekend and one of the pleasant and relaxed.

Karpinski said she left the welcome gift that she calls the “S’mores basket” for winter guests: “We took a big wicker basket and fill it with marshmallows, biscuits, chocolate bars, hot chocolate mix and branches of large wood. We tie each items with raffia for decoration, and left a personalized note to welcome the family. ”

Owners must ensure bedding including warm, thick blanket, and that the fleece throw some lying around. You might even leave extra coat or two in the cabinet, gloves, scarf and maybe a sled or snow tube if there is a hill nearby. Home socks with a shovel, a bag of melting ice crystals to the steps or the entrance, and an ice scraper for the windshield is a must for cold climates.

If you rent, be sure to ask about the accessibility of roads and streets in the case of a storm. Do you need snow tires or chains to explore a hilly road or cold?

Karpinski said that for the owner, the “hot tub is the best investment you can make” to attract tenants winter. Leaving pets and baby-examination to attract people with young children who are not bound by school holidays schedule may also increase the rent.

Karpinski also recommends that owners go easy on their payment schedule for a weak economy. He let a lot of tenants to pay installments of four or five years, with one guest to pay monthly in advance of the Christmas visit.

In addition to earning money in the slow season, Karpinski said there are other benefits to maintaining a rental property occupied: You are more likely to catch problems early treatment, and it lets the neighbors know you’re watching it.