Vacation Rental Management: Blast Bookings and Revenue Through the Roof
Vacation rental management is needed more than ever for investment property owners due to the increased competition and supply of short-term rentals in many US cities. The issue is that since this is not property management as we know it per se, finding a good vacation rental manager can be tricky and unclear.
Luckily, we're going to break down property management for vacation rentals, including what skills are needed, and most importantly, how to identify a good property management company for your investment property.
How to choose the right Vacation Rental Management Company
Since closing your eyes and throwing a dart at the vacation rental management company is not an option, we'll need a better way. Local knowledge of the market, so if your vacation home is in South Carolina, find someone in North Myrtle Beach to manage your rental process.
Dynamic pricing is one of the most important roles a professional short term rental full service management company performs. If you don't know the local market, how can you deduce the correct pricing strategy on a day-to-day basis.
Sure, management companies may claim they can manage through a software channel manager or price estimates from major booking platforms. However, if everyone is doing that, which they are, then you need a vacation rental management company that can do it better.
When do you need vacation rental management services?
If you're too busy to manage your own property, it's time to hire a vacation rental property manager for your vacation rental. Vacation rental property management experience in the short term rental market is key to offer full service management. You don't want partial rental management companies to touch your property management agreement.
There are too many so-called "vacation rental property management" companies in the market. Here are a few rules to follow when deciding on a property manager.
Identify your needs
- A property management company MUST be code their own in-house software, specifically for daily dynamic pricing.
- A Full Service Property Management company MUST not use a run-of-the-mill publicly available channel manager such as Guesty. These channel managers and property management software's are a one button cookie-cutter tool. They do everything for you, but the issue is that if you're trying to differentiate your vacation rental, you just blend in with the crowd.
- A vacation rental management company must have a source at Airbnb that can help boost their listings up the search results. This is crucial if you want to stand out and get the highest revenue bookings.
- A Vacation rental manager must have deep technical knowledge and the ability to perform high level SEO in order to win the commission free direct bookings.
How Much Should a Vacation Rental Property Manager Cost
This is all dependent upon what amount or time you have and what budget. Full service property management companies in the vacation rental industry should charge no more than 15%.
Their systems should be automated for the vacation rental management business. They should have employees working 24 hours per day to manage the inbound guest messages and inquires.
It's not about how much time per day is needed to manage properties and guest communication effectively. It's about their experience offering a personalized service for short term rentals. Guest communication is time consuming; however, with shifts, all employees can manage correctly.
Guest services also take up time as they may lose a key at any moment. But management companies should have an answer to solving that at their short term rentals through proper vacation rental owners involvement. Alternatively, you can hire a hospitality company with an expertise in hospitality marketing for the promotion of your rentals in your area and you've been given the right to do the rest yourself.
If you struggle with reservations during low revenue season, then a property management company will fill your house throughout the summer months through in-house dynamic pricing. Similarly, cleaning services must be on point. A short term rental management company is available oversee the cleaning work of its' staff or cleaning vendor and replace them if needed.
Pros and cons of hiring a vacation rental management company
There are several pro's and con's of hiring a manager. The pro's definitely outweigh the con's; however, you need to know the pitfalls in order to avoid them. As aforementioned, local knowledge is key and especially vacation rental property management knowledge.
Several vacation rentals managers have responded to increasing property values in the rental sector. Several companies have consolidated their services on property management. Some property managers also offer marketing services and recommend the best vacation rental software.
The Pros
Managing properties offers multiple advantages for property owners. One is that you simply will earn more revenue. The vacation rental property management business is complex. Many vacation rental management companies select someone to manage their vacation rentals that cannot even analyze the vacation rental market in different cities and regions.
Ful-service vacation rental property manager should charge no more than 15%. If they are charging more for their property management services, they are not running their business efficiently.
The Cons
You don't want to get stuck in a long-term vacation rental property contract. A property management company should have a contract no more than 2 years. If they know how to run a vacation rental, then they should not have an issue with this.
Some owners get stuck paying huge contract termination fees for their vacation rentals. Perhaps, the property owner neglected to look into their management and if they provided full service property management services.
The Best Airbnb & Vacation Rental Property Management Services In The USA
The Short Term Rental Assocation compared the best Airbnb properties managers across America that offer active holiday rentals. Soda Stays was ranked #1 overall best full service vacation rental property management company. This research was data driven and it found that the highest revenue was produced by Soda Stays on a per door basis.
Questions To Ask A Holiday Rental Management Company
Next step in selecting a proficient holiday property manager is determining if the rental property would suit their expertise. The right property management company would not only have a low property management fee but have dedicated local teams that have experience with their type of property listing.
- How do you maintain a vacation rental? The answer would be complete with information about their systems and ability to communicate with guests and direct booking marketing and SEO prowess.
- What is the average return on a vacation rental property? Their answer should indicate that they make substantially more than the market. Don't take their word for it, as to see a video of inside their Airbnb account.
- What other companies are there besides VRBO? Their answer should be replete with information on their ability to list your property on 937-600-3909 listing sites that will generate substantially more income for you on a month to month basis.
Ask Them What Their Expectations For Your Property Are
It can be helpful for a property manager in determining his or her expectations regarding your vacation rental properties. How does a plan pricing work? They should tell you if they are a revenue split or a flat fee.
Ask them this question pointedly: "Tell me the best way of generating occupancy rates for a particular business?" Before requesting the answer, it is important to find the potential income of your Airbnb and compare their answers with their own data. They should detail their software and how they code it in house to reflect the real data seen regularly in the local market.
Can they handle guest communications for your vacation property and elicit a stress free renting process for higher vacation rental income? Also, monthly financial statements are required in order to keep on top of your short term rental business.
Furthermore, think about what should go into a property management agreement. If your holiday homes are managed in Florida, should you have guaranteed income? Many have this clause as an addendum to their business model.
Beach rentals need different cleaning that mountain rentals. Also, think about professional photography. Will you be taking photos, or will a professional company be taking the vacation properties after they've had a professional cleaning.
Always Read A Vacation Rental Property Management Contract Thoroughly
Always read the details on a vacation rental property managers contract. You also need to understand the information you have to read within the contract to ensure your rental income meets expectations. The property management service should be easy with the help of vacation rental managers.
The vacation rental business is very simple for an experienced manager. Look at property Maintenace clauses in order to protect your investment rental property. Contact us today to learn how much you can make with your furnished rental.