Save time by outsourcing these tasks for your holiday rental
November 2024
In any job, trying to do everything yourself can lead to a burnout —and yes, that’s true in the world of holiday rentals. When you outsource those daily tasks, you take the pressure off yourself, and you’ll have more time to focus on the bigger picture. Whether you find someone else to take care of the little details or you use automated solutions to free up your time, outsourcing can be one of the smartest moves you can make for your holiday rental business.
Cleaning and maintenance
There are a couple of reasons to outsource cleaning and maintenance. Firstly, it’s one of the best ways to save time managing holiday rentals. If you don’t have to take care of these tasks personally, you’ll have a lot more time to focus on other matters.
Secondly, when you outsource these services for holiday rentals, you can guarantee a professional service. You may well clean your house on a regular basis, but can you clean your holiday rental to a professional level? Guests who find that your property is messy or dirty will be extremely disappointed. A sparkling clean holiday rental is one of the best ways to make a good first impression, so leave it to the pros.
Communication with guests
During peak season, you may feel overwhelmed by emails. On the one hand, it’s great to have guests interested in staying at your property, but on the other, this is one of the hardest things to juggle. That’s why, if you want to improve the management of a holiday rental, automated communication is the way to go.
Most holiday rental portals allow you to send automated messages to guests. Set up the following templates:
- A response to an initial enquiry, promising to get back to them promptly.
- A “thank you for booking” message, which may include information about transport services and a query about their check-in time.
- A pre-check-in email, which contains directions, parking instructions and any other necessary information.
- A post-check-in email to check that everything is going well.
- A post-check-out email to thank the guest and politely ask them to leave a review.
Guests will always appreciate a speedy response, so this is an easy way to increase satisfaction.
Photography
When you advertise a holiday home, you need great photos. There’s no better way to stand out from the crowd on a holiday rental website. If you’re not an expert photographer, then hire a professional to take some snaps of your property at its best.
Follow these guidelines for the best results:
- Choose a photographer with experience shooting properties — it’s not the same as taking wedding snaps or photographing an event.
- Clean your property — it may sound obvious, but make sure to clean your property thoroughly before a photoshoot.
- Think about the right time of day. Ask your photographer for advice about when the light will be at its best.
- Consider the best time of year to take photos. If your property is a beachside villa, you’ll want to show it off in sunny weather. On the other hand, if you want people to rent your alpine house for holidays, you may prefer to shoot autumn foliage or winter snow.
Refresh your photos every so often. Your property should look the same in real life as it does on your website.
Branding
Just like photography, branding is something that amateurs may try to do, but it can be hard to get it right. If you’re trying to generate a logo for your holiday rental, you may want to start by using automated AI software. Results can be extremely mixed, though. A professional graphic designer could be a better choice. Look on freelance websites for options within your budget.
Calendar management
Most landlords like to list their property on several holiday rental websites. That’s a great way to get more people to rent your holiday flat, but it can lead to double bookings and other nightmares. Use property management software to mitigate these problems. Many software programs can integrate with popular holiday rental portals, so you can seamlessly manage your calendar, rates, and listings on multiple platforms from a single dashboard.
Property management
As your business grows, you may look to outsource more tasks for holiday rentals. A property management company offers a one-stop shop of solutions. It will usually offer a variety of services, including cleaning, maintenance and customer relations. This is the gold standard for truly hands-off landlords.
Remember, the more properties you have, the harder it is to achieve efficient management of holiday rentals. A property management company might be too expensive to contemplate if you have just one rental, but it’s a very effective solution once you have two or more.
Social media and advertising
Not a natural wordsmith? No problem. See if you can get someone else to take over the business of writing ads or managing your social media accounts. Before you do this, take the time to plan out a cohesive brand identity. All your communication should be written in the same voice, ensuring your brand remains constant across platforms.
What not to outsource in your holiday rental
By now, you might be tempted to outsource just about anything, but it’s always best to remain a little cautious. Keep in mind that there are a few things in a holiday rental business that require a personal touch. Not everything can be delegated.
In particular, you might automate communications, check-ins and so on, but you should still always make yourself available if guests need you. Guests must always have someone they can contact in an emergency.
Furthermore, you’ll probably also want to keep an eye on advertising. Outsourcing social media management can be tempting, particularly if you have a younger friend or family member who’s more in touch with the online world, but don’t give them complete free rein over your social media platforms. Check regularly that all communications and advertising are meeting your brand expectations.
Finally, even if you hire a property management company, don’t take your eye off the ball altogether. You should still arrange to inspect your property regularly. This allows you to check that cleaning and maintenance are up to standard, the interior design still looks good, and everything is running smoothly. If you receive a negative review complaining about an aspect of your rental that is run by the property management company, it’s best to take a look immediately to see what the problem is.
Remember, outsourcing tasks isn’t designed to give you a life of leisure. You can still focus on other aspects of your business, such as marketing, customer experiences, and building partnerships with other local businesses for upselling and cross-selling opportunities. Manage outsourcing effectively, and you’ll be able to grow your holiday rental business in new and exciting ways.