With the vacation rental market on the rise, it’s only natural that you’d consider listing your property on Airbnb. However, if you decide to list your home on the popular vacation rental website, it’s important to take into account the extra time, legal responsibility, and effort required to manage your property for a commercial purpose. This guide will teach you the top ten reasons why you should hire a professional vacation rental manager to manage your listing instead of trying to do it yourself!
Ten Reasons to Hire a Professional Vacation Rental Manager for Your Airbnb Listing – Airbnb Photography by ALLUVION MEDIA – Presented by ALLUVION VACATIONS
Legal Requirements
The vacation rental industry is changing quickly by aligning with local real estate regulations, especially in regions like Hudson Valley and Catskills where tourism is booming. Most states have specific regulations when it comes to listing a vacation home on platforms like Airbnb, and in New York, local municipalities are spearheading the effort. To play it safe, you need a licensed real estate expert in your corner who knows exactly what local laws apply to your property and can keep you up-to-date with any changes that come along down the road. Otherwise, you could be hit with costly fines or worse—putting your entire business at risk. That’s why having a licensed Realtor manage your Airbnb listing makes sense: It’s just one less thing to worry about while still getting all of the benefits of using a platform like Airbnb!
Managing Cleaning and Maintenance Issues
One of your primary roles as an Airbnb host is housekeeping. If you are not a professional cleaner, however, you may struggle with basic housekeeping tasks like finding and booking cleaning services. By hiring an experienced vacation rental manager, you can outsource some of these responsibilities to help maintain your property at an optimal level. This can be especially helpful if you live in another location (as many hosts do). For example, by working with a local Hudson Valley vacation rental management company, you could have someone take care of minor repairs or troubleshoot issues that arise during your guests’ stays. A good manager will also keep track of when guests leave so that they can coordinate any necessary cleanings before new guests arrive.
Dealing with Guests’ Requests
Here is another benefit of hiring a professional vacation rental manager for your Airbnb listing: it frees up time in your schedule so you can focus on other, more meaningful tasks. Another is that it helps you avoid any mistakes or disasters when interacting with guests; after all, communication is an area where we all tend to drop balls. A third benefit is that it makes sure your property is professionally managed throughout each guest’s stay. And lastly, as a business owner, you want to be able to focus on generating revenue—not managing properties and responding to guest requests.
Offering an Unforgettable Guest Experience
In today’s crowded vacation rental market, it is crucial that your listing stand out from all of those other available properties. At Alluvion Vacations, we take pride in providing an unforgettable guest experience by going above and beyond to ensure our guests have every need met during their stay. This attention to detail sets us apart from most rental companies and ensures our guests return year after year. We are proud to provide top-notch service and hope you will consider hiring a professional vacation rental manager like us!
Providing Better Customer Service than Guests Would Have on Their Own
Most vacation rental owners don’t have dedicated customer service staff. When guests have questions or need assistance, property owners and managers must step in. While it is nice to help out your guests, it can be time-consuming and a distraction from running your business. You may also come across as an amateur if you don’t know what you are doing or have limited experience responding to guest questions and inquiries.
Handling Difficult Guests or Incidents Without Risk to Personal Safety or Security
If you haven’t yet had to deal with an incident or difficult guest, it’s likely you will at some point. As hosts on services like Airbnb and VRBO become more widespread, these incidents are becoming more frequent. Understandably, most people want to handle situations that may arise when dealing with guests themselves. There is nothing wrong with being present in person and visiting guests during the stay and handling any problems that may arise, but, we as licensed Realtors never recommend that to our clients. There are several reasons for that including your privacy, liability, and legal issues. We will shield you from unwanted emotional interactions and will keep the difficult situations in a professional realm.
Eliminating the Stress of Unpaid Rentals or Canceled Reservations
A professional vacation rental manager will be able to deal with such incidents on your behalf. They can work directly with vacation rental platforms and guests who have failed to pay for reservations and ensure that you get reimbursed for any payments made by guests who do not honor their reservations. This is especially important when dealing with international guests who may be unfamiliar with how things work in our area.
Growing Brand Awareness in New Markets
Not everyone is ready to be an expert in all areas of vacation rental management. As with any product or service, it takes time and effort to build brand awareness in new markets. That’s why most businesses start by focusing on their own backyard first before they expand further out. A professional vacation rental manager can help you expand your brand quickly into other areas by using proven marketing tactics such as local advertising and getting listed on other popular marketplaces like VRBO and HomeAway. Social media marketing has become one of the fastest ways to get your name out there. But, with so many platforms available today, how do you know which ones are right for your business? The good news is that when you hire a professional vacation rental manager, they will already have experience building up social media profiles and pages across multiple platforms.
Using Alternative Booking Systems
Vacation rental platforms are global and are not always good at being on the side of a business owner when it comes to enforcing certain regulations that are not applicable to your area. Alluvion Vacations provide each host with access to their own booking system that does not rely on the performance of a certain national/global platform giving you peace of mind and a sense of stability.
Working with Travel Influencers
Social Media Travel Influencers are a hugely effective way to get more bookings for your listings. In collaboration with the Hudson Valley Style Magazine and our global network of travel influencers, your property will be highlighted by some of the most prominent names in the world of travel and unique accommodations.
