Being a successful property manager means juggling a lot of things. From advertising a listing to personalizing the property and optimizing the price, AllTheRooms, a vacation rental data provider, has provided its top tips on how to be a successful short-term rental property manager.
1. Know the Market
In order to be a successful property manager, you need to be on top of the market. It’s important to think about what demographic you are catering to. If you’re catering to groups of families, young professionals, or couples, the way you design and furnish your house is essential for how you can maximize your profits.
Equally, it’s important to think about the demographics of visitor that is traveling to the area of your property. For example, if your city draws a lot of Millennial travelers (those between the ages of 20-34) that age group often looks for simple and cost-effective accommodations. If this is something you can provide, you’re likely to increase your booking rate substantially.
2. Optimized Pricing
Hosts should always optimize the pricing of short-term rentals to make sure the best price is offered for the quality of the property. This way you can attract more visitors and fill out your calendar. It’s important to stay on top of the market. If you’re asking for too much money, you risk losing customers to lower-priced rentals. Equally, if you’re asking for too little, you’re not maximizing your profits. Property management firms in your area can help with optimized pricing requests, or using AllTheRooms’ unique data you can also find the right price.
3. Great Photos
It’s essential to have excellent, well-lit photos in order to showcase the property. Photos that are taken on a phone just won’t cut it, so if you can, hire a professional photographer, or get a fancy camera of your own, to get the best results.
Rooms look better when they are well lit. It’s also recommended to take photos from the doorway, to make the room appear as spacious as possible.
Think about what makes your property unique. Does it have a quaint balcony or a nice terrace area? If so, make it one of the featured images.
At the moment, one of the latest trends is videos and 360-degree property tours. Having a video or 360-property tour can greatly increase your bookings as well.
4. Creating the Listing
As a property manager, you’ll be in charge of listing your property. A well-written listing, targeting your chosen demographic can go a long way. You can make the listing helpful by mentioning the nearby parks, cafes, and restaurants, or by offering a map of the area and a full description of the house. Including any of these things will make it more likely that you catch the attention of whoever is browsing.
5. Added Extras Can Go a Long Way
If your property has a nice outdoor area, why not add a barbeque, grill area, or a fire pit, which could increase interest and make the property unique.
You are likely to increase bookings if you can include amenities such as free tea and coffee, high-quality towels and linens, a good entertainment system, and good WiFi.
Visitors often choose to stay in a short-term rental because they want a personalized experience and the chance to stay in a ‘home away from home’. Extras such as a welcome basket or a bottle of wine can go a long way.
6. Smooth Key Exchange
A smooth key exchange process can make a big difference in the reviews that guests leave. Be sure to show up on time to give visitors the keys and be flexible with travel delays and late-night key exchanges.
7. Be Your Own Property Manager
A great way to reduce costs is to be your own property manager instead of hiring a professional property manager or using property management software. You can avoid management fees and oversee the customer experience yourself. You can be in full control of your rental property’s calendar and encourage positive online reviews.
Meanwhile, if you want to relax and have a more ‘hands-off’ experience, it would be better to hire a property management firm, who can oversee the process. Firms can take the reins and create the online listing, manage bookings, check-in guests in, and arrange cleaning services.
8. Stay on Top of Regulations
Make sure to follow the news on short-term rental regulations in your area. There are a lot of cities and destinations around the world that are battling online platforms like Airbnb and their influence on local housing markets. Some common regulations revolve around things like how many days you can legally rent a property and who is collecting the taxes.
9. Encourage Positive Guest Reviews
Whichever platform you are using to list your short-term rental, positive guest reviews will help secure more future bookings. Encourage guests to leave a review that mentions the best parts of their experience in your rental.
