6 Tips for Successfully Managing your Vacation Rental
Vacation Rentals have hit Phuket like a tropical storm.
Take a look on Airbnb and you’ll see 300+ properties in Phuket in-which homeowners are renting
out their properties, mostly on a short term and nightly basis.
It’s not just Airbnb and it’s not just 300 properties. Websites like HomeAway & Holiday Lettings
have hundreds more unique villas, houses and even tree-houses available for rent in Phuket.
Worldwide, this is becoming a trend as travellers are looking for a more memorable experience.
They value the more personal and interactive approach these websites take, especially when
compared with industry giants Booking.com and Expedia.
It’s a shift of power away from the Hotel Industry to individual homeowners. Now homeowners
have the opportunity to generate hotel like returns from their properties. This is easier said than
done but this article was written to help.
6 Tips for Managing a Successful Vacation Rental
1. Create a Vast Web Presence
90% of vacation rental bookings happen online so it’s crucial your property is listed on as many
websites as possible. Airbnb, HomeAway, Holiday Letting, just to name a few. Post professional
property photos, use your real name, and display a picture of your face. This will help build trust
between you and potential customers and generate more bookings.
Become acquainted with LivePhuket. They are a Phuket based booking website which allows
potential customers to interact with their knowledgeable reservation team. They have the ability to
bring you many customers.
2. Reply Quickly
These days guests expect to speak with someone before, during & after their booking, asking
dozens of questions and expecting speedy replies is the norm. If you don’t answer them, they will
move on, so do your best to respond to inquiries as soon as possible. During their stay make sure
they have a landline to be able to speak to you at any time.
3. Allow Instant Bookings
If customers need your approval before they can make a reservation, then say goodbye to the
majority of the market.
Certain websites, like villas.com, only allow properties if they are able to be booked instantly.
Others websites, like Airbnb, just prefer listings with this feature turned on.
If you want to do this, your calendar and prices need to be constantly up to date. This is crucial,
because if you cannot honour a booking then your property listing will be punished severely.
Luckily, there are software programs like Myallocator and YieldPlanet, which can
synchronize your calendar and prices across multiple booking websites.
4. Offer Daily Cleaning
Customers have high standards. Most customers will want cleaning, towels, and toiletries offered
everyday. Customers also expect this to be included in the price. If you’re busy enough you may
have to hire a cleaning person full time.
5. Practice Preventative Maintenance
Things will break and seemingly at the worst possible times. Don’t expect customers to be
forgiving, especially when it’s not their fault. The solution for this is preventative maintenance.
Things like testing air-conditioners, water & lighting systems, telephones, televisions, fire detection
systems, etc…
You need to find the problems before the customer does. If something does break during a
customers stay, make sure to have maintenance people ready and fix the problems as soon as
possible. If you don’t do this, expect bad reviews and fewer bookings.
6. Make Clear Rules & Policies
Disputes with customers will eventually arise. They may cause damage they don’t want to pay for
or they may want a refund for seemingly no good reason. Maybe they have a valid complaint.
Whatever the issue, follow the policies and rules. Make them as clear as possible and have
customers agree to them before they arrive. This will save you many problems.
Bonus Tip: Hire a professional. Companies like LoftyPhuket do all the things listed above for
a flat fee of 25% of gross income.