Vacation Rental Management Companies
Running a vacation rental is no small feat. Guests need your attention and support at all hours, day and night, and any number of unforeseen problems can emerge any time with a booking, a room, or a household appliance and necessitate you stepping in to help. But you don’t have to go it alone. When starting out, using a professional property manager can be an excellent way to learn the ropes. Vacation rental management companies are at your service, ready to take care of room reservations, building maintenance, and other busywork for you. Their service fees can run pretty steep, but as long as you do your due diligence to select a company that is both reputable and well-suited to meet your needs, you’ll find its services may be worth the cost.
What They Do
A vacation-rental management company is a go-between connecting you with your customers. The company will market your property for you and maintain listings for it on Airbnb, Expedia, TripAdvisor, or any other vacation-rental websites you wish to use. It may also manage insurance, payments to vendors, taxes, and other everyday business priorities.
Your guests will find the company helpful, too. Its staff will not only process their rental payments but also be available to help them resolve any customer service issues or complaints they have along the way from initial booking to final check-out.
Many higher-charging companies offer added services like property maintenance, including mowing the lawns and clearing the walkways of snow, and making any needed repair work, whether it’s for the central air-conditioner or a simple kitchen appliance. Their staff will ensure every room is clean and in 100% working order before check-in, and they’ll inspect the place after its guests leave to look for any damage.
Boosting Your Business
Most vacation-rental management companies are commission-based and take a cut from the bookings that they secure for you. This cut may run as low as 10% or as high as 50%, significantly more than managing your property with PMBO. On top of that, the companies may charge you a small 3-4% fee whenever a customer books with a credit card–they do so to pay the card-processing companies, who charge these fees to route the funds to your bank account.
Here’s why the costs are worth it: You’re paying for a much more significant customer base, which translates to considerably more money for you. A vacation-rental management company can bring in more new guests and arrange more overnight stays. You and the vacation rental-management company will make more income together, and so those high fees will more than pay for themselves.
Just as important, you’ll gain time. You won’t have to run yourself ragged answering every phone call, inspecting every room, and sweeping every last cigarette butt and gum wrapper off each patio. You won’t wear out your typing fingers regularly posting ads and revisiting them one by one every day to update, repost, or delete each one as needed – if you were to manage your property without management software support. Nor will you have to be the one who must take the 2 a.m. phone call from a disgruntled guest who needs the water heater replaced so he or she can take a shower.
The Vacation Rental Software Alternative
Technology has added a lot of convenience to modern life, and that’s no exception when it comes to managing rental properties. In years past, the only options for property management were professional services and hands-on management. With vacation rental management software, the hands-on approach becomes more hands-off and profitable.
Rental management software merges the benefits of professional and independent management. PMBO rental software, for example, allows you to manage housekeeping and maintenance without having to set foot on your property. The software also allows real-time management of multiple booking channels, like Airbnb and Expedia, to eliminate double bookings and increase guest communications.
Property Mangement versus Personal Management
When it comes time to choose between professional property management and independent management, there are many factors to consider. However, the two most important factors to consider are time and money.
Do you have the time to be the property manager? If not, consider whether rental management software can alleviate the time investment enough to allow you to manage your properties. Be realistic with your scheduling and always keep in mind that emergencies do arise and there may be some late nights.
Can you make enough money on your short-term rental when using a professional property manager? You’ll need to do a detailed cost analysis to know how much profit you stand to make after the management fees. To correctly assess your profitability, you’re going to have to ask any potential property manager the right questions. Knowing what questions to ask will not only help you stay profitable, but it will also alleviate any problems by helping you to hire the right management company.
What's next?
If you’re still undecided on how to manage your vacation rental, think about the short-term. Maintaining the property on your own only requires the commitment you hold yourself too. Professional management is going to need a longer commitment, often six months or more, while personally managing your vacation rental with PMBO allows you to choose your level of commitment.
With PMBO you can get started for free for 30 days, then go month-to-month or sign up for a full year. The longer you stay with PMBO, the more money you make. The PMBO loyalty plan rewards owners every year they continue using the software. Click a button below to find out more or check out our compare and save page for more information.