7 Steps For How to Manage a Vacation Rental Remotely

Vacation rental owners who want to maximize their rental income and booking rate need to know how to manage a vacation rental. Choosing to self-manage their rental property can save hosts on monthly management fees. But hosts must first decide if they have the expertise to manage their vacation home and if they have the time. 

Read on to discover what aspects of a vacation rental need to be taken care of and how to manage a vacation rental remotely. 

What Are the Key Aspects of Vacation Rental Property Management?

• Communication and messaging

It’s important to remain in contact with guests throughout their stay at your rental. Ongoing guest communication will help present you as a caring host. It also has a positive impact on your ranking on online platforms. Sending prompt responses will help boost your property listing in listing sites’ search results.

• Cleaning and maintenance

Cleanliness is essential for how to manage a vacation rental to please guests. Your short-term rental property will need to be cleaned every time a guest checks out, and before your next guest checks in. Make sure that your cleaning procedure involves both cleaning and sanitizing of surfaces.

• Reservations and bookings

As a host, your primary goal is maximizing your occupancy rate. You can do this by maintaining consistent bookings. To sustain bookings, update your calendars on booking sites regularly, and offer deals and specials.

• Checking in and out
  

A smooth check-in and checkout process is essential for a good guest experience. Guests are looking for simple and easy methods for checking in and out. If the process takes too long, your guests will get frustrated and it could impact the reviews they leave.

• Marketing your rentals

Marketing is key to expanding your visibility online and attracting potential guests. In a highly-competitive market, it’s crucial to use various channels to promote your rental. The first thing you should be doing is marketing across multiple platforms, like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. You should also be marketing on different social media platforms.

How To Manage a Vacation Rental Remotely?

1. Respond swiftly to messages

An excellent response rate to guest messages is key to getting more bookings. Remember that the vacation rental industry is rather competitive, and guests have the luxury of choice when it comes to booking a rental.

If you take too long to respond to a guest’s message, they will lose interest and begin messaging other hosts. You should be aiming to reply to guest messages not more than 24 hours after receiving the message.

2.  Automate the check-in and checkout process

The check-in and checkout process is one of the most important steps for managing a vacation rental. A mismanaged check-in or checkout experience could leave guests feeling upset or frustrated. They may then turn and vent in their reviews. Automating this process allows guests the freedom to arrive at any time they like. Some popular methods of self-check-in and checkout are Airbnb lockboxes, electronic and smart locks. 

3. Hire a reliable cleaner or cleaning service

Cleaning and sanitization have become a principal concern to guests. It’s paramount that property owners and vacation rental managers install strict cleaning measures for their rentals. It’s worthwhile investing in a reliable cleaning company for your property. Besides health and safety, nothing puts off guests faster than an unsanitary rental. By keeping your rental sparkling, you can ensure happy guests and positive reviews.

4. Use reliable contractors

One of the downsides of managing a vacation rental remotely is not being able to be there should something go wrong. If a pipe bursts or your washing machine breaks, it can be stressful if you can’t be there to assess the damage. Your guests may also get angry and check out early if the problem isn’t resolved quickly.

To prevent this from happening, you should partner with dependable contractors and handymen. Explain to them that you’re not able to be there, and ask for them to be your official contact for issues. Doing this ensures that professionals will resolve any problems that may arise.

5. Supply a detailed welcome book

As you won’t be there to welcome your guests into your vacation rental, the best alternative is a welcome book. A welcome book presents you as a caring and considerate host. It also helps your guests to feel more comfortable in your rental property.

A well-prepared welcome book can delight your guests and leave a fantastic impression. Some things to include in your book are house rules and suggestions of things to see and do in your area.

6. Install home security systems

Your property should be well-protected when it’s not occupied by guests. Home security systems include burglar alarms, motion detectors, security cameras, and motion lights. These days smart security systems can sync to your smartphone and send alerts. Security systems can safeguard your rental against burglars, and help you feel assured it’s secure.

7. Keep your listings up to date

Your rental listing is one of the biggest marketing tools for your property. Make sure you update it to attract new guests. If you’re offering any deals, include the new rental rates in your title and description. Add new photos of any recent renovations or upgrades you may have done to your rental. Identify your ideal guest and add information to your listing that will cater to the needs of your guests. For example, if you’re aiming to attract families, mention how your rental is child-friendly. 

Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing with their listings to get an idea of what you could do. Updating your listing is one of the best steps in how to manage a vacation rental. Doing this can help to improve its rank in search results and boost its visibility to guests.

What Are the Benefits of Managing a Vacation Rental Remotely?

• Minimize risk (COVID-19)

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in demand for contactless check-in. Managing your vacation rental remotely reduces the risk of any physical transmissions. By opting for remote management, you can show your guests that you value their health and safety.

• Work from anywhere in the world

One of the greatest perks of managing a vacation rental remotely is being able to work from anywhere in the world. As long as you have solid management systems and strategies in place, you can manage your vacation rental from your dream destination.

Ensure you have all your bases covered before settling into full-time remote rental management. The last thing you want is something going wrong when you’re not able to get there or have anyone on hand to step in and assist. 

• Flexible working hours

Another advantage of managing a vacation rental remotely is flexible work hours. As long as all business operations are running, you can work at your leisure and at any time that suits you. Be sure that things are still operating when you’re off duty. You don’t want to log back in to find you have a mountain of tasks that have piled up! Vacation rental management software can run your vacation rental business even when you’re offline.

Should I Hire a Property Manager or Self-Manage My Rentals?

When it comes to managing a vacation rental property, hosts need to decide if they want to hire a property management company or self-manage. There are benefits and drawbacks to both. It’s a good idea to review both options before making a decision.

Self-management: pros vs. cons

Pros

• More cost-effective. You’re not spending extra money on paying a manager.
• More control over your property’s running. You’re involved in who stays at your rental, as well as who comes for cleaning and maintenance.
• More control over your marketing. You can choose where and how to market your property and what kind of guests you’d like to attract. 

Cons

• More work for you. Managing a rental property requires consistent work, even more, if you manage multiple properties. If you already work a full-time job, rental management can cut into your free time. 
• More time-consuming. Managing a vacation rental consists of daily, repetitive tasks. This can take up a lot of your time, which you could otherwise use to grow and develop your business. 

Vacation rental management company: pros vs. cons 

Pros

• More time to focus on other business areas. Hiring a property manager will give you more free time to focus on other business activities.
• More free time. In addition to more time to develop your business, hiring a manager will also afford you more free time to relax and do what you enjoy.
• Someone will be on hand at all times. If you live abroad or travel regularly, hiring a rental manager can be useful. Knowing that somebody will be able to be onsite if anything goes wrong can leave you with peace of mind.

Cons

• More expensive. Hiring a property manager will be more costly than managing a vacation rental yourself. Managers usually charge a monthly fee that may or may not include all management services.
• There may be hidden fees. Property managers and management companies may try to include hidden fees in their contracts. This can come as a nasty surprise if you only find it out at the end of the month when you receive a costly invoice. Ensure you know exactly what you are paying for and what it includes, and doesn’t include.
• Less control. Paying a property manager does mean you will have less direct control over how your rental is managed. Make sure you explain exactly how they should run your rental.

Whether you self-manage or hire a property manager should depend on your availability and schedule. Both options can be a good choice for you, depending on your circumstances.

How to Manage a Vacation Rental: Tools for Remote Property Management

Choosing to manage your vacation rentals doesn’t have to be as time-consuming as you might think. With a few handy tools in your arsenal, you can remove the hassle from your vacation rental management.. Some tools for successful remote management include:

• Keycafe. Keycafe is a key exchange service that provides a secure way for hosts and guests to exchange vacation rental keys. Keycafe operates in five countries and offers various smart boxes where hosts can leave their keys for guests to collect. Hosts can track the collection and use of their keys in real-time on the Keycafe smartphone app. 
• Noiseaware. Noiseaware is a noise protection and minimization company that offers smart technology as a means to track noise levels. Noiseaware provides hosts with a noise monitoring device for their properties. If noise decibels reach above a set threshold, the device will notify you via SMS.
• Party Squasher. Party Squasher is a smart home device that can count the number of mobile devices on your property. The device is discreet and attaches to your home router. It counts the number of mobile devices on your property, even if they aren’t connected to your Wi-Fi. If the number exceeds a pre-set amount, you will receive a notification on your phone. Party Squasher is privacy-friendly and does not store or collect data from the devices it scans.
• EveryDoor. EveryDoor offers keyless self-check-in services that you can schedule and control remotely. Guests can access your property by either making a call on their cell phone or entering a unique pin code. Guests can then enter your property, collect your rental keys, and use them as normal. 
• Touchstay. Touchstay offers digital welcome books to hosts and property managers. Hosts can create a comprehensive welcome book for their guests that’s accessible online. They can then share access to the welcome book with their guests via a secure link. 

iGMS – Essential Software for Remote Short-term Rental Management 

Vacation rental software is an indispensable tool if you manage your rentals remotely. Without automation, remote management can become overwhelming. iGMS is an all-in-one vacation rental software that will run your business on autopilot. iGMS ensures seamless remote rental management by allowing you to:

• Manage your listings on the top OTAs, including Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, and integrate other listings via iCal. 
• Organize all your guest messages within a unified inbox.
• Create messaging templates and automate your guest messages.
• Automate the process of reviewing your guests.
• Co-ordinate your cleaning team and assign tasks to them.
• Manage direct bookings coming from your own website and other channels.
• Receive and process payments securely via integration with Stripe.
• Monitor business development and track payouts with financial reporting tools.

About the Author

Phoebe Gunning is a content writer in the Marketing Department at iGMS. She is passionate about the vacation rental industry, notably helping hosts make the most out of their vacation rental businesses. Some of her hobbies include reading, traveling and drinking a good cup of coffee.