When it comes to Vacation Rentals…
Do You Need a Property Manager or a Marketing & Distribution Solution?
Written by Jade Shojaee
There is a lot to consider before putting your second home on the vacation rental market. Questions like:
- How to get your vacation rental on the major travel websites
- How to price your vacation rental to maximize revenue
- How to efficiently manage your vacation rental
These are likely some of the first things running through your mind. There is a lot of information out there and for those new to the business of renting out a vacation home, it can get downright overwhelming.
To make is easy, the team at RedAwning Group has compiled a cheat sheet designed to help you navigate it all and determine what kind of support you truly need to effectively streamline the book and stay experience for yourself and your guests.
First thing you need to ask yourself is….
What are your goals for your vacation rental?
It’s important to take the time to assess the strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures of your business thus far. Many vacation rental owners are much savvier than they realize but get too stressed out (understandably) to clearly see what is working and what isn’t.
There are a few challenges in particular that seem to fluster even the most enlightened of industry experts, often prompting them to look to a Google search for advice on whether or not to hire a property manager. We’re going to level with you, there are a lot of scenarios in which hiring a property manager to run your vacation rental(s) is just the ticket.
That said, we also know our fair share of vacation rental owners who probably could have done it on their own and saved themselves from higher commission fees (among other things).
So You Want More Bookings eh?
If getting as many bookings as humanly possible is your primary goal, a global distribution and marketing service may be a more effective solution for you than a traditional property management company. Many vacation rental homeowners invest in property managers expecting bookings to skyrocket, only to become jaded when stasis rears its hapless head. Nothing is worse for the acquisitive vacation rental owner than putting a fortune into managing your rentals only to watch them languish in a perfectly viable market.
RedAwning doesn’t let that happen. Our entire service proposition was built with your bottom line at heart and we never stop expanding to meet the ever-evolving expectations and needs of your guests.
Our team of experts works around the clock to get you premiere placement on every major travel website, and that’s just where we begin our work. First, we make sure your listings are showcased everywhere a traveler might be looking for accommodation. Then we bring in our team of vacation rental digital marketing mavens to feature your homes in every possible marketing funnel including social media email marketing, Google Ads, etc. Property Managers in our network grew at twice the industry rate in 2018.
We also handle credit card declines, chargebacks and guest complaints.
You Want Control Over Rates, Availability and Overall Business Approach
One objection we hear from homeowners currently working with property management companies like Evolve and Vacasa is how little control they say they have over their own vacation homes. For the vacation homeowner who simply does not have the time to hire a housecleaner or set their own rates and availability, a property management company is a great way to hand off those responsibilities.
That being said, these services often come with an expectation that the homeowner remains completely hands off, allowing full autonomy to the contracted management company. What does this mean for you? Let’s say a guest damages or misplaces an item during their stay at your rental. A company like Evolve or Vacasa will determine the value of that item as well as the steps taken to replace it. Typically the owner will not be involved until the time comes to write a check.
Despite the fact that RedAwning is a marketing/reservations/distribution solution and NOT a vacation rental manager, we provide damage waivers that cover up to $3,000 worth of damaged goods so the owner does not have to pay for replacements or hassle their guests for reimbursements. The best part is, it costs absolutely nothing to the owner! Further, if there is a particular housecleaner or maintenance company you’d prefer to work with, we completely support that as well.
What about your rates and availability?
A property management company will allow you to set your own availability but that’s about it. They will take ownership of your rates so it’s important that you have an incredible amount of trust in the management company you choose. You should look for a company that specializes in revenue management strategies designed to get you the most out of every booking (more to come on that).
You Need a Revenue Management Strategy
- How do you handle shoulder season booking declines?
- Do you lower nightly rates?
- Implement value adds?
- How do you keep track of when and why shoulder seasons occur?
- What about peak or event seasons?
- Are you able to forecast demand based on compset or historical data?
- How do you maximize revenue during compression periods?
Accurately predicting demand and understanding consumer habits to optimize pricing, distribution and availability is one of the most valuable tools you can equip yourself with. At RedAwning, one of our primary goals is to get you the most out of every booking and we have a team of experts on staff well versed in the industry’s most cutting edge revenue management tactics.
To be clear, RedAwning vacation rental owners always get final say over their rates and availability. That being said, our experts discover and deploy every potential revenue source by helping you to competitively rank your properties on major travel sites.
You Want More Direct Bookings?
Driving direct bookings is the ultimate goal for hoteliers, vacation rental managers and many vacation rental owners. Online travel agencies can be a great place to get exposure for your listings but travel professionals often look at those bookings as an opportunity to offer direct booking incentives in order to avoid paying commission fees on future bookings.
Vacation Rental Management companies like Vacasa and Evolve will allow you to take direct bookings but will not assist with any part of the booking, stay or post stay process. On the flip side, RedAwning allows you to take unlimited direct bookings. How exactly does that work? Contact us to learn more.
Hopefully we answered some of your questions about whether you’ll need a Property Manager or a Marketing & Distribution Solution to successfully meet your vacation rental goals. If you still have questions, our representatives are happy to answer your questions or download our comparison sheet to see where RedAwning delivers more performance, more time-saving, and more value-for-money than any other listing service.
