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Short Term Rentals: How To Stand Out
If you are in short term rentals, you want to have a great, profitable, and rewarding experience hosting on Airbnb or other Short Term Rentals platforms. There’s a lot of planning and execution to make it happen. Your property needs to be set up the right way, your infrastructure needs to be running smoothly, and all the management processes we’ve outlined here should be in place as much as possible.
But hosting can also be really competitive. There are often hundreds, if not thousands, of people hosting Short Term Rentals in popular markets. Standing out and being a step above is a guaranteed way to have more bookings than they do, have really high occupancy rates, and be ranked well enough to drive as much revenue as possible.
In this post, you will find some tips on how to use short term rentals profitably if you are considering entering this industry or if you are already in the business and want to scale up.
To Keep In Mind When Listing
One of the most important things you can do before listing your rental is to ensure that guests are consistently satisfied. Any issues relating to the rental and the infrastructure can be dealt with effectively, quickly, and affordably.
It would be best to undergo a checklist of things that must be addressed and prepared before listing your rental on Airbnb. You don’t just upload a couple of pictures and a blurb on your phone.
In any case, no one wants to be blindsided by a preventative maintenance issue or to have guests complain about problems with the heating and cooling, plumbing, etc.
If you want to know more about how well your property can serve you or detect if there might be something that guests complain about, check Luke Capital Group’s free service to analyse your property as short term rental. If you want to know if your property can bring you more income, this free service is made to show you that.
Check Your Free Property Analysis for your short term rental property.
Structure Of The Property
The structure here does not refer to the property’s design phase and going into deep engineering conditions. For sure, most of the hosts are not engineers, so we are not speaking engineering.
The property structure here refers mostly to the doors and windows of the property. If your property is in a large area, this topic is more important to you because it has more doors and windows.
Speaking of which, ensure that all windows can open and close easily, and that all mechanisms for opening and closing windows are working. You should also ensure that all window locks operate. In Europe, and anywhere where most windows open to the outside, make sure they operate well and that they can close completely.
Additionally, ensure that the mechanisms used to raise and lower the shutters are working well. If anything is stuck or caught, a guest may overstress the mechanism, resulting in costly damages.
According to doors; ascertain that all doors close completely and that all locks and keys are functional. If it’s difficult to lock a door, replace your locks with newer ones. Make sure bathroom doors do not stick!
Status of Plumbing
Plumbing is the most important thing in your short term rentals. If there are issues with the plumbing, the guests will be so upset, and their reviews might damage the property’s reputation. Having water spilt on the floor, leakage in the ceilings or a sink with poor drainage annoys all guests.
So how can you make sure the plumbing status is in good function? Here is how to check it like a PRO.
Inspect all faucets in the property to ensure that they are flowing properly. If they are obstructed, there may be calcium build-up or other debris in the faucet.
Sinks usually have cabinets underneath. Check the cabinet for leaks and the drainpipe from the sink to the stack for moisture.
Ensure there is a good flow from all the showers by running them for a few minutes and double-checking them.
Check the overflow drains in tubs, so they do not overflow.
In essence, you ensure that all the water sources are flowing freely, and that the routes of water are free of obstructions and clean.
Power and Electricity
Basically, all that needs to be done is make sure that all circuit breakers work and that the circuit can handle a normal number of appliances attached to it. In particular, if your AC unit is plugged into the wall, this is crucial. You don’t want a circuit breaker to trip every time your guests turn on the AC, microwave, or stove!
It is also important to ensure that all electrical systems and wiring are up to code. If they’re not up to code, this can be a major liability issue and severely affect your ability to host guests.
Ensure all the outlets are well attached to the wall – many older houses and buildings can have loose outlets, which can pose a major electrical hazard.
In addition, make sure to check the lights in your rental – lightbulbs go out, and it’s better to replace them before guests arrive than to wait until they complain.
Air Conditioning
The importance of having air conditioning in your short term rentals during the summer months cannot be overstated, especially if your guests are travellers or coming for business trips. During the summer, a lack of air conditioning in warmer areas can make a guest stay a nightmare.
It’s definitely expensive to purchase electricity, but it’s necessary. Your guests will likely spend most of their time in the bedrooms, so ensure they have air conditioning.
Often, in houses that don’t have central air conditioning, installing a mini-split in each room is more efficient and cost-effective. Moreover, they are extremely efficient, durable, and silent.
If your air conditioning is controlled by a central thermostat, typically associated with central air, find a thermostat that you can program to have maximum heat and minimum heat. During hot weather, guests may dry and try to reduce the temperature as low as possible so as to cool the place off more quickly. The temperature is controlled by the length of time the AC is running, and not by how low the setting is. They might forget to turn it off, leave it at 16 degrees (60 degrees in Fahrenheit), and leave you with a hefty electrical bill.
Floorings
In the first place, if you have carpeting in your short term rentals, check underneath it. In many older homes and apartments, carpeting was used (stupidly) to cover hardwood floors. Using the original hardwood floor instead of the carpeting is definitely better. The look is much nicer, easier to maintain, and gives any space a much upscale feel.
If the property you use is tile flooring, ensure that all tiles are in a good state and no serious damages are there.
Wall and Ceiling Paint
The first thing that the guest will look at is the property’s paint; not intended to inspect the paint condition, but the paint plays a significant role in the eye-catching visuals. Paint, in fact, can cover some flaws in the furniture if it is clean and neat.
One of the easiest ways to give a rental space a fresh, clean, and light feel is to paint it nicely and make sure the paint is in good condition. If the existing paint job in your rental isn’t in great shape, consider repainting the inside and outside of the property. This is a very affordable and easy procedure.
Another important factor to consider is colour choice. Light cream walls with white painted trim are usually a good idea. White walls tend to get dirty much faster than cream-coloured ones and require much more cleaning.
Pest Control
Bugs and insects are the easiest way to make a guest angry and disgruntled. It is not a concern likely to affect many hosts, but you should be aware that cockroaches can infest your property, so keep your eyes open for telltale signs.
Similarly, wasps’ and hornets’ nests should never appear near your property. If you see an excessive number of them, you should find the nest, spray it with raid, and then get them all cleaned up.
Another common pest is ants. Place ant traps under appliances, cabinets, etc. and put some outside as well.
When it comes to mice, they aren’t that common, but they can still make themselves known. Place traps in the basement, outside, under the sink, and under a few furnishings. Between visits, check out the traps and clean them out!
Property Management: Short Term Rentals
If you are a landlord and suffer from these issues, you would instead save your stress and provide property to property managers. They will take care of all that we mentioned above. If you have more than one property, you definitely should do that.
Property managers indeed have their fees on their services. Still, on the same page, landlords are getting income from their properties hassle-free and saving time by inspecting their properties. Remember that time is money, so if you save time, you have more time to focus on other ways to make money.
Luke Capital Group is one of the best property managers operating worldwide, with competitive fees compared to the market. Landlords cooperating with Luke Capital Group forgot about their property hassle. They enjoyed their profits 3x times than when they were handling them by themselves.
With Luke Capital Group, properties are getting more income. They are professionals in managing properties, ensuring a 5-star+ guest experience.
Visit our Airbnb Management Service to know more, and be Premium with Luke Capital Group.
Short Term Rentals: Host
Nearly these are the most common factors you must look after when working in short term rentals as a host.
Looking after property for short term rentals is not easy. Still, it is also manageable when you know how to do it professionally.
If you want to be a host or increase your profit while being one, join the FB group, Serviced Accommodation Community, and join 6000+ successful hosts in the industry. They all learn and share with each other. Join and have your FREE copy of ‘The Airbnb Formula’ by Ryan Luke sent to your inbox.
