Category : Serviced Accommodation
So, you’ve got a holiday rental, or you’re considering investing in one. Should you manage everything yourself, or work with a holiday let management company?
As holiday lets become an increasingly popular investment, it’s no surprise that many people are attracted to this industry for the high returns.
In fact, the holiday rental property market remains the holiday accommodation type with the most growth potential, with 61% of UK holidaymakers interested in booking one in 2022.
But looking after and running a holiday let is no small feat. It’s one thing to buy a property, but investing time in guest communications, listing management, organising cleaners, handling damages, inspections, disputes and more can quickly start to feel overwhelming.
Working with a holiday let management company can alleviate some of these stresses. You can still get the extra income you want, but without the many responsibilities that come with managing a short-term rental.
But where do you start? This blog gives you everything you need to know about working with a management company, and how to choose the right one for you.
Why work with a holiday let management company?
If you simply don’t have the time to give on a day-to-day basis, live away from your property, or would rather focus on other things, a management company does all the leg work for you.
More experience
The better management companies will have deep knowledge of your property’s area, the kind of guests that will book with you, and most importantly – what works, and what doesn’t.
Better returns
While you’ll be paying a management company a small fee, managing your rental alone leaves you more open to costly mistakes. Working with a team that knows exactly what to do and when to do it leads to more bookings, and of course, higher returns.
Mangement companies also tend to have relationships with direct bookers, so you end up paying less commission to booking sites, which means more money in your pocket every month.
You get back time
As you’ve probably gathered by now, holiday lets require constant management. With guests usually staying with you for shorter periods of time, frequent changeovers can quickly eat up your time.
Whether it’s organising cleans every week, or spending Sunday evenings dealing with guest enquiries – a management company handles all this for you.
What can a management company do for you?
What a holiday let management company can help you with really depends on the company you choose to work with. Most offer flexible services around your needs, whether you just need a little bit of support, or would prefer them to fully manage the property on your behalf.
You’ll then be paid monthly with a statement on booking information for that month. Just like on a traditional BTL property with a letting agent - easy!
Managing your holiday let mostly involves keeping your property in excellent condition and your guests happy, so you can keep making bookings again and again.
Here are just some of the areas a management company can help with.
Listing optimisation and management
A management company will list your rental on booking platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com to give you exposure. But it doesn’t stop there.
To get the most out of your listings, you’ll need to fully optimise them to stand out from the competition. Whether it’s using the right keywords or competitively pricing your property, a management company will have the experience to do this effectively.
Marketing
Optimising your listing is just one part of marketing your rental. Getting high-quality photos of your space, keeping active on social media, and frequently revisiting your listings checking for where they could be improved are all important tasks too. A management company can keep all these parts moving so you don’t have to.
Review and feedback management
Reviews have a huge impact on a guest’s decision book with you. A good management company will respond to any feedback you get (positive AND negative!), and in the right way too.
Cleaning
Cleaning properly after every guest that stays with you is essential. A management company can organise professional cleans and linen changeovers for you.
Booking management
On-going communication with guests, initial screenings, complaint handling, collecting payments, handling check-ins, follow-ups, answering enquiries and just being generally available to guests during their stay can quickly eat up your time. A management company can handle all bookings for you.
Inspections
To avoid problems with general wear and tear, a management company will carry out regular property inspections for you. This means less problems are likely to crop up whilst guests stay with you, keeping them happy and more likely to give you a great review.
Maintenance
Maintenance checks like ensuring your property has hot water and electricity are monotonous but necessary jobs to avoid complaints from guests. A management company will do this for you after every turnover.
Utility and bill management
Getting your utilities and bills paid on time is of course a vital part of property management.
Where to find a management company
If you’ve decided that you want to work with a holiday let management company, how do you actually find one to work with? Here are some simple ways you can find companies in your area.
Obvious but effective, Google is a good place to start your search for a management company in your area. Simply search for a term like ‘holiday let management near me’ (or 'holiday let in [town]' if you live far away) and you’ll be met with companies that rank well, and likely have a good reputation.
Social media
Social media platforms like Facebook give you access to specialist holiday let groups. Most people in these groups are happy to recommend a few companies you can add to your list.
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
Websites like Booking.com and Airbnb are an open door to numerous management companies. You can just search yourself and find who has multiple listings and if they’re of a good quality. Do their listings appeal to you personally?
How to choose the right management company for you
You probably have a handful of management companies to choose from if you’ve done your research. So how do you choose the right one for you? We’ve put together some simple questions you can ask yourself.
What are their fees?
If you’ve got a budget in mind and are comparing fees amongst providers, this is an important question to ask. It's also worth comparing what’s included in the fees – ask for a list, look for things like dynamic pricing and whether they offer any welcome perks.
Do they offer any value-add services?
Perhaps you’d like extra services beyond management – maybe you could use some help with photographing your rental, or some advice if you’re looking to take on a new property.
What do they expect you to still do?
Some management companies will only cover the basic stuff. Make sure you know what you may still need to do – for example, will they handle utility bill providers? Will you still need to buy consumables?
How will they pay you?
How do you want to be paid? And how often? Make sure the way they operate matches up with your expectations.
How many properties do they manage and for how many investors?
Do they manage many properties for numerous investors? Typically, the more properties they manage, the more likely they are to be trusted to do a good job.
Do they have quality listings?
Check their listings online – do they appeal to you? A good listing should have an engaging description, high quality photos, and all the information you need.
How visible are they online?
Do they have many properties online? See if you can find their website, and check if they have reviews on Google. This will help you determine how trustworthy they are.
What are their reviews like?
Dig into what guests are saying about their properties. Keep an eye out for any issues with cleanliness or functionality, as these are areas a management company should be keeping on top of.
How many people work for them?
You should feel secure and covered with a team available to manage every area you could need.
How long have they been in operation?
Check how much experience they have in the market. The more experience, the more likely they are to have robust processes in place and know-how to keep the management as smooth as possible. Working with a brand-new management company involves more risk than it’s worth.
Are they responsive and helpful?
Find out how responsive they are by simply calling posing as a guest with a question. You don’t want to end up in business with a partner you can never get a hold of.
Do they have robust processes?
How do they handle chargebacks? How do they take guest payments? Who pays for cleaning services, and how are these handled? Ask these questions beforehand – this avoids any surprises in future and also helps you identify how organised they are.
Do they understand your area and target guest profile?
Ask them how they do their research, and how they determine the guest profiles to target. A good management company will be able to tell you easily.
Could you see yourself working with them?
Possibly the most important question of all – could you see yourself working with them? Not just for your business’ needs, but also for you as an investor and person. Don’t be afraid to ask around about how other people found working with them.
What is the typical onboarding process for holiday let management?
You may be wondering what the usual onboarding process is once you’ve decided to work with a certain management company – especially if the time-consuming aspects of holiday letting are concerning you.
The process can vary depending on the provider, but the typical steps are:
- Property validated with market appraisal and initial quality check
- Contract issued & signed
- Instruction fee paid
- Introduction to onboarding team
- Key and access arrangement
- Setup & Staging and/or Photography
- Pre-launch checks
- Property listings created and live for bookings
- Photos and listing links sent to investor
Could we help you?
We hope this blog has been useful for your decision on whether to work with a holiday let management company. There’s no doubt that this kind of property is well-worth investing in, but they can also be a lot of work, needing constant management for the best success.
The small fee you pay to a management company is arguably outweighed by the experience and maximised gains you’ll get in return.
The Right Property Group is here to support you every step of the way, with an existing portfolio of 100+ investors growing their income through our management services. Interested? Get in touch for a chat about how we can help you.
Begin Your Journey With Us Today!
Request a Callback