Rehoboth and Bethany homes spotlighted in vacation rental TV series

A Virginia couple has been documented looking for their perfect vacation rental home in Rehoboth Beach on an A&E reality show. 

Brad Driver and Stacey Jennings of Harrisonburg, Virginia, will be featured on an episode of "Vacation Rental Potential" this Thursday, Feb. 21 at 10 p.m. on FYI Network and Saturday, Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. on A&E. The series, sponsored by HomeAway, follows potential vacation home buyers in popular travel destinations across the U.S., helps them choose a perfect property and shares best practices and tips for making it successful.

"Vacation Rental Potential" is hosted by interior design and home renovation expert Holly Baker, who takes the home buyers around to the various properties. 

Driver and Jennings spend half of the year in Virginia and the other half in Rehoboth Beach. When they decided to begin their search for a home in the beach town that could serve as a space for themselves and vacation renters, "Vacation Rental Potential" found the couple through social media. 

“They approached us," Driver said. 

The couple first weren't sure if the request was real, but decided to reach out to show runners. Then began an about a three-month interview process that involved a written application, a phone interview and a video interview. 

Driver described the show as similar to other home-buying shows with the primary difference being to assess each property as to how to maximize the rental potential out of the property. 

Jennings said it was an interesting process working with "Vacation Rental Potential" as the show runners asked many questions about what the couple was looking for, but also showed them properties they never thought of having rental potential like a home in a country club. 

Driver and Jennings had a budget of $500,000 and were looking for a proper in the center of Rehoboth Beach to be close to the shops, restaurants and the beach. 

“Mostly what we really wanted was to be within walking distance for ourselves and people we would be renting to," Driver said. 

Baker showed the couple three different properties: one in Rehoboth Beach proper, one in a Rehoboth Beach country club and one in Bethany Beach. This was their first rental buying experience in Rehoboth, so the couple wasn't too sure how well things rented outside of that main area of town. 

SPOILER ALERT! - Stop reading here if you don't want to know what house was selected.

Ultimately, the couple chose a three-story townhouse in Rehoboth Beach proper. The 2,300 square foot home includes three bedrooms, two full baths, two half baths and two living room spaces. 

The couple liked the idea of having two separate living room spaces to allow groups to divide off and participate in separate activities, especially if multiple families are vacationing together. 

The property also includes a pool. 

“Pools are really great for families," Driver said. 

While Driver and Jennings did a lot of the home's design work themselves, the show and Baker helped the couple understand more about how to organize things and offer novelty items for their renters. 

They helped the couple organize their garage and added a milkshake maker to their kitchen. Driver and Jennings learned how to organize things so they were easily accessible to renters who aren't usually there and wouldn't know where things are typically stored. 

Driver and Jennings plan on hosting a watch party for their friends and family this weekend. They're also hoping to see more bookings of their new Rehoboth townhouse through HomeAway once people get to see it on TV. 

“I expect things to really take off after the show premieres," Driver said. 

More:'Tidying Up with Marie Kondo': UMES grad, wife appear on Netflix show

More:HGTV's 'House Hunters' spotlights Pocomoke in recent episode

Support local journalism:6 benefits of a Delmarva Now digital subscription

Watch the episode: 

What: "Vacation Rental Potential"'s "Delaware Coast" episode 

Where and when: Thursday, Feb. 21 at 10 p.m. on FYI Network and Saturday, Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. on A&E

Stay at the property: Homeaway.com