McGillivray, himself a vacation property investor, believes it's the smartest thing to do in today's housing market.

"The short-term rental market is currently the fastest growing segment of real estate investment," he told Realtor.com®.

Interested in learning exactly how to prepare a property for maximum rental profit, we asked McGillivray to reveal which upgrades provide the best return on investment, where to cut back, and how the average person can get into the vacation rental business today.

What makes a vacation rental property a smart investment, especially now?

We know that over the last 20 years, due to uncertainty - interest rates, inflation and markets - real estate has really been the champion of all investments. I don't think it's a secret anymore that people are interested in investing.

When it comes to investing in real estate, short-term rental properties are lucrative, but they're also quite attractive.

People think, "I'll rent it for a few years and then retire there" or "we'll use it for ourselves." This has become a very popular category for a lot of people who maybe five years ago didn't even know about this type of property.

What do you say to those who are interested in investing but don't feel they have enough money?

If one of your goals is to become wealthy or financially independent, then real estate is something to consider. My first goal in my early 20s was to build wealth, so my first home was an investment property.

I lived in one of the five bedrooms in a house and rented out the other four, which covered all my expenses, which was a good lesson for me. I live in the smallest room in the basement because all the other rooms are more profitable.

My advice to those who think buying a home is out of reach is that the dream house may be out of reach, but if you are willing to do it smart, your first home is never out of reach.

You will have to make some sacrifices early on in order to reap great rewards later. You may need to move a half hour away from your main destination. You may need to buy a smaller home than you want, or have roommates, or have a duplex or triplex and rent out a portion of it.

Some of the investors in our program have never owned a home before and they start with short-term vacation rentals and make money by renting them out so they can afford to eventually buy a home.

A second home can be a source of income, but it can also create expenses. What advice do you have for homeowners who are afraid of getting into trouble?

Don't panic! Everything will be fine and we have a solution to this problem. You already have taxes, insurance, repairs and maintenance. You may still have mortgage payments. Being flexible with short-term vacation rentals will allow you to have an infusion of cash when you need it.

It's like you're running a small hotel, so if you own a second home and you feel some expense burden, you can [rent it out] for a week, two weeks, a month.

The rule I always say is that a week's rent should generate enough money to support a month's worth of expenses. So if you have a place and you [rent] it out for 12 weeks over the summer, that should cover 12 months of expenses.

What do you look for when looking for the perfect rental property?

I look at profitability. You invest where the return is the highest. When it comes to short-term rentals, the real key is to have your house within two hours of where you live if you plan to do some of the maintenance yourself or have a good property manager.

What are some tips for writing appealing property descriptions that will encourage bookings?

Your property should have a brand. I always come up with a theme or name for the property, such as "Organic Oasis" or "Luxury Cottage". I like a good allusion; I just think it sounds legit.

Make sure [the name] is appropriate for the type of property. So if you have a "waterfront residence," it better be a waterfront property.

What rental home features have the best return on investment?

Bedrooms are probably the first filter that people use when searching for a vacation property. They know how many people they are going to be traveling with, so if your home doesn't have that, it won't even be the first filter. That would be the first thing to look at.

Do you have enough bedrooms, bathrooms and common spaces to accommodate the number of people you are going to market to? If you do, then there are definitely things that will maximize profits, like hot tubs and saunas. These do extend the rental season for a lot of marginal properties and people will pay extra. Nine times out of ten, people will choose a property with a hot tub over one without one.

What features are not worth the money?

When preparing for a vacation home, you want to stay away from worrying too much about storage, lower levels or basements. Basements don't add a lot of value to these vacation rentals.

How often should a rental property be renovated once it is up and running?

A proper renovation should make sense for 15 to 20 years. This doesn't mean there is no maintenance in between. There will be paint touch-ups; you may need to replace some fixtures or faucets. But anything major - electrical, plumbing, cabinets, flooring - you better have a 15-year life expectancy or you're not going to get it running properly.

What's next for the short-term rental housing market?

Actually, there's another evolution, and that's the technology side of things - a lot of upgrades to remotely managed properties. I can control a lot of different things from my phone, and I don't have to be there to let people in or change the code on the door when they leave, turn off the lights, turn the temperature up before somebody gets there, turn the hot tub on or off. It's actually very convenient to work in this space right now.