How to Manage Hundreds of Vacation Rentals

Despite the potential for financial gain, managing hundreds of vacation rentals can be challenging, particularly if you also have other business-related responsibilities to focus on such as guest experience, etc.

Having said that, let’s look at some of the best approaches:

• Get organized
• Maintain consistent practices
• Invest in smart home devices
• Set up routine maintenance for your vacation rental
• Master the art of screening guests
• Build your own professional team
• Consider a property management company
• Vacation rental software

Get organized!

Managing multiple properties can be chaotic, especially during peak seasons. From maintenance to hiring staff, maintaining all your bookings to communications, and more.

Let's be honest, the more properties, the more work it requires and as a property manager, it can be overwhelming. More crucially, the ability to organize the mountain of details that must be managed will determine the success of your business.

Invest in a channel manager and develop a file system that works for you. Doing so will allow you to stay organized and track all your bookings, cleaning schedules, guest communications, and more. Remember, the best strategy to maintain your short-term rental business's focus and progress is to establish being organized.

Maintain consistent practices

Switching between tasks when managing hundreds of vacation rentals can be time-consuming. Consider streamlining your operations like

• Create ready-to-use templates for guest inquiries and marketing emails
• Automate guest check-in and check-out messages
• Respond to reviews using the same approach, but remember that it will vary depending on the situation and each guest
• Create the same cleaning checklist for each property, available for your cleaners
• Always stocked in bulk all the necessary amenities for all properties managed

Doing so saves time and costs, and allows you to focus more on other responsibilities, including giving your guests a wonderful experience throughout their stay, which will earn you glowing reviews.

Invest in smart home devices

Modern technology makes it possible to effortlessly handle many parts of your house and automate processes via phone that make your vacation rentals more fun and aesthetically pleasing while also keeping guests safe.

Over time, property managers make investments in smart home technology that allows them to monitor a variety of properties remotely, saving a ton of time.

Among the smart devices to take into account are as follows:

• Smart locks
• Smart home appliances such as smart lights, smart thermostats, water-leaking sensors, etc
• Security Cameras
• Noise monitoring devices
• Digital concierges

Set up routine maintenance for your vacation rental

Prevention is the key to upholding the guest standards of hundreds of vacation rentals. It is essential that all of the properties are in excellent shape before a guest checks in. Inspect every one of your vacation rentals thoroughly.

Keep an eye out for minor problems that could later develop into major hassles. Mold, tree branches that are too close to the windows, plumbing, and other issues are a few examples. Make sure to hire the appropriate experts once you've determined the problems. More importantly, be proactive and carry out regular inspections and maintenance.

Also, maintain a calendar that is marked with reminders for the list of dates by which particular maintenance tasks are due.

Master the art of screening guests

Guests can vary from being really lovely to being terribly dreadful, just like everything else in life. The likelihood of unpleasant guests may not be extremely high, but their potential to cause damage to your properties and disturb your neighbors certainly outweighs this.

Among the situations that screening can avoid are:

• Parties: If a guest is underage or a local who only wants to book for one night, screening can assist identify them as having a higher possibility of organizing a party.
• Fraudulent bookings: Identity theft and card fraud are common occurrences. Accept only valid bookings if you have thoroughly checked your guests and asked them to verify their identity.
• Criminal Activity: To avoid illegal activities at your vacation rental, screen your guests to ensure they are who they claim they are. Check their profile, reviews, and their rental history on the website where the booking is made.

Build your own professional team

Consider building an internal team as your vacation rental business expands and evolves. It's a proven reality that one individual cannot manage hundreds of vacation rentals. Having said that, assemble your vacation rental team by selecting qualified staff to handle property maintenance.

A variety of complementary businesses such as vacation rental maid services, handymen, and others also came into existence along with the growth of vacation rentals. Also, make sure you have your staff's phone numbers saved in your phone so you can call them quickly in case of an emergency.

Consider a Property Management Company

In particular, when the effort and duties never end, managing many properties can feel daunting. There is continual cleaning, feedback from guests, attending to guest inquiries, alterations to rates, ongoing marketing, and so much more. To assist you in managing your business, think about collaborating with a vacation rental company.

Despite the fact that hiring a vacation rental firm may need paying a portion of your profits, keep in mind that they will assist in keeping your business structured and will boost reservations and rental income.

Vacation rental software

Unfortunately, overseeing hundreds of vacation rentals can be difficult as there are numerous different areas of your business to take care of.

The fact of the matter is that you may use tools and software that are easily accessible on the market to streamline and simplify your daily activities. With vacation rental software like Hostaway, you can manage additional aspects of your business, such as automation, staff and guest communications, dynamic pricing, channel management, and more; saving you time and money.