The 2024 new year has arrived, and many vacation rental owners are asking themselves the big question: is hiring a property manager worth it? If you're new to the vacation rental business, you'll quickly learn that it takes a great amount of time and effort to both manage your rental by yourself AND increase your homeowner revenue. Read below to discover the major benefits of partnering with a professional property management company like AMG Vacation Rentals!
Guest Vetting:
First and foremost, hiring a professional property management company to manage your vacation rental majorly helps with the renter vetting process. A property manager assists owners with creating qualifications and rules for renters to meet and abide by before and during their stays. Owners managing their rental solo, without the help of a property manager, may not create specific or rigorous enough rental qualifications, therefore exposing their rental to higher risk tenants/guests and potential damages to their rentals.
Obviously, there are also a myriad of laws and regulations as it pertains to marketing one's home as a vacation rental (no matter which state you live in). One slip up, and an owner can lose the privilege of renting out their home. A professional property manager will walk you through all the laws and regulations and will explain how to keep your rental in good standing with state/county mandates -- and with your guests! A property manager is a wonderful resource for the ever-changing rental housing laws that permeate both the vacation rental and longterm rental industries.
Guest Management:
So, you booked a stay in your vacation rental. Now what? Vacation rental guests need additional tending to that longterm renters do not. From initial booking communications, to check-in and check-out instructions, to maintenance requests and everything in between, a lot of time and energy go into ensuring your guests have the best experience possible in your home. A property manager completely alleviates owners of these communication tasks and acts as a knowledgable middleman.
Furthermore, a property manager will market your rental for you AND manage your bookings with a professional property management software to which you might not otherwise have access. Passing off the task of managing bookings and guests to a professional property manager will alleviate a tremendous amount of stress when it comes to vacation rental management.
Large-Scale Marketing:
As mentioned above, a professional property management company like AMG will do all of the footwork to market your vacation rental, AND they will use their own budget to do so. Reputable property management companies have extensive marketing knowledge when it comes to promoting on sites like AirBnb and Vrbo, and they also work diligently to promote properties on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Furthermore, a property manager will list your property on their own website, leading to even greater visibility. For owners, this large amount of online visibility leads to more bookings and increased homeowner revenue.
Maintenance Management:
Property maintenance isn't usually top of mind for vacation rental owners... But let us be the first to tell you that problems will occasionally arise either during or after guest stays. If there is a major issue during a stay (e.g. plumbing, HVAC, gas/electric etc.), a property manager will immediately send out one of their reputable team members or contractors that specializes in the area of concern. This greatly reduces your need to communicate with guests as well as any stresses that home malfunctions may cause paying guests.
Similarly, a professional property manager will prep your home before and in between guests. This can encompass the tasks of exterior maintenance and landscaping as well as interior maintenance, upkeep, and housekeeping. Flipping a vacation rental in between guest stays is a lot of work. Partnering with a reputable property manager takes the task of housekeeping completely off your plate!
Less Work, More Play:
An obvious benefit of hiring a property manager to manage your vacation rental is less work and more play for you as the owner! A property management team will take guest management, property maintenance, marketing, housekeeping, and more off your plate so that you can sit back and earn passive income with the peace of mind that your assets are being professionally managed. A property manager can also help to increase your homeowner revenue. Click here to learn how!
Need help managing and scaling your Southern California vacation rental? Turn to local professionals at AMG to help maximize your homeowner revenue and elevate the guest experience. Receive your custom Management Proposal from us to get started!