Tips to running your holiday let as a small business

The ultimate goal in marketing your holiday rental is to increase its potential for profitability. You place your home on a site like Airbnb to get in front of thousands of interested travelers, and then start making money with lots of bookings – right? Not completely. In order for your listing to work, you have to run your holiday home like a small business owner would run a successful shopfront. Your home and the customer service that accompanies it must provide the things your guests want and need in order for you to reach the highest level of profitability through renting. Here are a few tips to run your vacation rental home. 

Evaluate and Understand Potential Risks

Outlining and covering your potential risks as a holiday home owner is the first step in successfully managing your rental. Small business owners take time to understand possible causes for profit loss, and find practical solutions to cover each. List your concerns first then cover each with a measure of prevention including contract modifications, additional security, or specialty insurance, take time to research your options and find those with the highest potential for reducing risks.

Invest in Security

Ensuring the safety of your customers will be critical. This holds true in every industry, however, it is especially important for consumers within the hospitality industry. Many home owners fail to see the importance of a home security system or inadequate online security measures. Your guests need to feel confident that they will be safe and that their order is guarenteed but it is also your business. Investing in a security system will help you provide the reassurance your guests need to enjoy a comfortable and safe stay. It will also help you protect your profits from break-ins and potentially dishonest guests.

Think of the Consumers’ Needs Before They Do

Successful business owners are constantly thinking of ways they can further improve their product/service to better meet their consumers’ unique needs. Think like your consumer to get a better idea of what they will want and need during their stay at your rental. Think of the things you appreciate having during an out of town stay, and make these available to guests of your rental. Also understand your area and provide information and materials that stand to benefit visitors. Examples of this could include providing bottled water for vacation rentals located in warm climates or offering hot chocolate for winter travelers.

Consider a Third-Party Cleaning Service

A clean environment is essential to the success of any business. As a business owner in the hospitality industry, it is your responsibility to provide a clean home. Unfortunately, you may not have the time or live close enough to clean your home to meet the hospitality industry’s standards after each guest. This is where a third party cleaning service can help. Find a service that works for you, then schedule regular cleaning appointments in between stays to ensure each guest is welcomed with a spotless vacation home. Read more about pit-falls in finding perfect housekeeping in an earlier post.

Listen to Consumer Reviews

An important part of continuously meeting your consumers’ needs is to actually listen to their reviews following a stay. Smart entrepreneurs pay attention to both positive and negative reviews and do their best to understand reviewers’ comments from the consumer’s perspective. If you’d like additional feedback from renters who didn’t leave a review, try sending a quick follow up email or sms after their stay to say thank you for choosing your listing and ask if there were any additional amenities/services they would have found useful during their stay. Also for those who prefer to be analogue rather than digital, leave a quality visitors book and pen for them to leave comments during their stay. You can always upload photos or retype the text to your own website later.

Keep up on Market Trends

An integral part of managing your rental like a successful small business is staying competitive. Small business owners are constantly watching market trends and making improvements to keep up in competitive markets. Look at successful listings in your area to see what they’re offering. Check out their reviews to see what travelers are saying about their stays. Are you currently doing these things? What could you do to generate the same raving reviews? Additionally, you should keep up on what’s trending in the promotion of successful listings.
Keep tabs on what events and offers are available to your guests throughout the year and make sure you publish those on your website or add to personal email messages before they arrive.