A vacation home is the ultimate status symbol, but it can quickly turn from an asset to a liability if you just let it lie unused for most of the year.
Managing a short term rental property can be very profitable, but it requires a lot of time and effort – from cleaning and maintenance to managing online bookings and guest experience. And odds are you are nowhere near it most of the time, so inspecting, cleaning or fixing something would require a lot of travel on your part.
The answer lies in vacation rental property management, a service that takes care of all the work so your vacation homes make money for you when you are not using them. Investing in rental property management fees will turn your vacation real estate into an asset, and have it bring in passive income every month.
Potential guests will have several options to choose from, and your vacation property management should ensure your property is attractive and competitive. Good rental property management companies keep a local team that can quickly and easily handle cleaning and maintenance, as well as decorating and making sure your property is ready to provide a high quality customer experience.
Vacation Rental property management should include keeping the property clean and in great condition, plus freshening it up before guests arrive – top properties put out flowers or snacks. Also, in case something goes wrong with the property while guests are staying there, having someone from the local team arrive quickly to take care of it will make a customer feel supported and lessen the bad experience.
A major part of a good property management service is ensuring that a property is vacant for the shortest period of time possible. This is achieved through a combination of several factors: excellent presentation, professional photography and an irresistible property listing will help attract potential customers.
Publishing this listing as widely as possible will get it in front of many eyes. While vacation property management companies tend to have their own websites with vacation listings, do not settle for only that as a booking channel. Insist that your listing be published in as many booking channels as possible, such as Airbnb, Trip Advisor and VRBO, to maximize the chances of keeping it occupied.
Finally, a good property management service makes sure all customer enquiries are answered quickly – customers expect a response within hours, sometimes even minutes, and it is crucial that they receive it before they move on to the next vacation property.
Rental property management fees tend to be a percentage of rental income, to be negotiated with your provider. Remember to ask of anyone who manages properties whether they also include insurance for your property, what kind of management software they use, where they publicize listings and what their emergency response protocols are.
Our team will be happy to walk you through our vacation property management services and packages, so we can start helping you turn a profit out of your vacation home