With the success of Airbnb across the world, Airbnb Property Management companies are emerging to help hosts successfully outsource all or small portions of the day to day operations.
Most of these companies charge a commission between 10-30% of the revenue to hosts.
But the big question is - are these Airbnb property management companies really worth paying such a big chunk of your earnings?
- When you should REALLY outsource Airbnb property management
- Managers can be hired for full-service or some specific services
- The right time to employ a manager for your Airbnb Property
- The job-profile of a Property Manager
- Reliable cleaners
- To sum-up
- Tools of the trade and how to do it yourself
- Automate messaging
- Activate dynamic pricing
- Research: How much other Airbnb hosts are earning
- Different stages of Airbnb hosting and how to deal with them
When should you REALLY outsource Airbnb property management?
The decision to outsource your short term rental property management is driven by the desire for more freedom.
But will a professional firm be able to maintain the same level of quality and guest experience?
If you check the reviews of these Airbnb property management companies, the internet is full of horrific stories from hosts.
… and the main reason for this is that the majority of these companies are cleaning companies morphed into Airbnb management agencies to meet the market demand.
Majority of them have never worked in hospitality, and they have no clue what excellent service looks like.
If you decide to involve a management company, always check their background, how they started, do they have hospitality and Airbnb expertise with them or not.
✔ Hire a property management company only if:
- You have ‘Zero’ time to spend on the business
- Or you live too far away from the property or
- Or you are looking to expand your portfolio of properties
✖ Don’t engage an Airbnb property management company if:
- You don’t know how to get started on Airbnb
- Don’t have hospitality industry experience
- Not getting enough bookings
- You are spending too much time communicating with guests on Airbnb
➤ Managers can be hired for full-service or some specific services
Once the bookings start, there is no space for any mediocre performance.
With initial setup and thorough planning, some may themselves handle Airbnb Property Management effectively by giving minimal time each week.
But, for most it is easier said than done – it may look really simple in the planning phase, but it takes a toll when you actually get down to it.
In that case, hiring people for your Airbnb Property Management is the obvious way to go.
Since the primary goal is to smoothly run your Airbnb property, you can hire property managers to provide full-service or some specific services, such as:
- Communication management
- Revenue management
- Cleaning management
- Property maintenance
- Check-in
Therefore, your initial hands-on experience will be useful to understand what jobs you want to outsource versus what you want to manage yourself.
… and accordingly, you can hire for your Airbnb Property Management partially or wholly; you can get these done from a single or several third party companies.
The total cost comes to around 20% – 30% of the total bookings if you are keen on a 100% Airbnb Property Management.
Once the job division is decided, you can move on to the next step.
➤ The right time to employ a manager for your Airbnb Property
Once the decision to employ someone is finalised, then hiring a manager for the efficient Airbnb Property Management should be the immediate action.
The sooner you employ, the sooner it can help you to – save time, manage your Airbnb smoothly and increase positive reviews, among other things.
But, I guess some of you may not have finalised because you are not sure what jobs a manager can handle better, and what you can.
This has to be sorted soon because once the bookings start, this may cause a lot of confusion with an urgent need for job demarcation.
Let’s do a quick read of the jobs a property manager can help you with, and then make a decision on outsourcing specific or complete services.
➤ The job-profile of a Property Manager
Airbnb Property management services mostly include –
- Creating an appealing listing
- Accepting new reservations
- Proactive communication with guests
- Being the emergency contact for any issues
- Managing maintenance
- Managing accounts
- Resolving resolution claims
- Cleaning processes
- Check in/checkout coordination with guests
- Monitoring current rates to adjust pricing based on certain variables like – seasonal demand, popular events, location, etc.
- Maintaining inventory
Coordination of the above services is quite a task, but if performed methodically, it can assure a smooth and successful run of your rental property, with an added bonus of 5-star ratings.
Your decision to opt for Airbnb Property Management is to offer your guests a fabulous experience, but if a manager isn’t competent enough you will be surprised at how much more you may have on your hands than you had expected.
So, do a thorough check before choosing the management company to run your property to your advantage.
➤ Reliable Cleaners
When keeping track of your expenses, do not compromise on your selection of cleaners as their service will sooner or later show corresponding unsatisfactory results.
In short, steer clear of low-quality cleaning jobs that may hamper not only your reviews but also your precious time and money.
Therefore, I recommend to hire a reliable cleaning service that understands the importance of Airbnb Property Management, and accordingly maintains high-quality cleanliness and a hassle-free cleaning schedule.
It may seem expensive in the start, but you will see the difference a few extra dollars can make.
Between listings of a similar price range, the guests hardly notice the extra cleaning cost. It is the other factors that become the deciding factor for choosing any of the listings.
So, in the long run, you are not spending more, but saving much more on time, money and the reputation of your listing.
➤ To sum-up
You must have figured by now the importance to thoroughly understand Airbnb Property Management services before you use them.
Whether it is maintenance, guest communication or any other management issues, outsourcing enables you to run your Airbnb from any place within a short period.
Make sure you sign a property management contract with the agency.
A thorough check before hiring is essential, as the right choice of management company can dramatically improve the efficiency of your place, scale up your business and ensure consistent 5-star reviews.
2. Airbnb Property Management: Tools of the trade and how to do it yourself
There is no need to engage an Airbnb property management company if your property is not getting enough bookings or the time you are spending dealing with guests is taking a toll over your personal life.
Here is the list of best tools you should use to manage it yourself.
Websites are offering different services to Airbnb hosts, but these are the kings of the trade, and no other competitor comes anywhere close to what they are capable of doing along with user-friendliness.
Almost all management companies use these tools – if they are not using them, you should seriously question their capabilities.
➤Airbnb Property Management: Automate Messaging
Use smartbnb to automate your Airbnb communication, it will send all your repetitive messages to guests and team members.
You can read my smartbnb review for more information.
➤ Airbnb Property Management: Activate dynamic pricing
Use WheelHouse to activate dynamic pricing on your Airbnb listing.
It will keep updating your nightly prices every day to match the local demand just like hotels and Airlines.
➤ Research: How much other Airbnb hosts are earning
Use AirDNA Market Minder to get detailed Airbnb reports of your area.
Here is my detailed AirDNA review for more on what to expect from this industry leader.
3. Different stages of Airbnb property management and how to deal with them
I have written extensively about the process of starting Airbnb business from scratch, here are few of my posts covering different stages of your Airbnb journey:
❤ What is Airbnb? If you are new the world of short term holiday letting, read this detailed post to get a clear idea about it.
❤ Airbnb vs renting, if you are undecided whether to carry on with the long term rental or do Airbnb, this comparison should help you get more clarity about the pros and cons of each option.
❤ How does Airbnb work is to give insight into what you should expect once the Airbnb business starts rolling?
❤ How to start an Airbnb, this detailed post will provide you with all the ingredients to get your property set up for your first guest.
❤ Airbnb interior designs, if you live in the US, you can use Wayfair’s turnkey solution for your property.
❤ Airbnb essentials are the complete shopping list with all the furnishings you will need for your property.
❤ Airbnb cleaning checklist is a MUST HAVE when gearing up to start welcoming guests in your property.
❤ Airbnb Trust and safety has my recommendations to ensure your guest’s safety.
❤ How to reach Airbnb has handy tips on getting in touch with Airbnb the fastest when you need it the most.
❤Airbnb messages and automation.
❤ Airbnb tips on how to become an Airbnb Superhost.
❤ Airbnb complaints, the most common ones and how to deal with them.
❤ Other Airbnb tools, there are lots of other unique and innovative companies offering services to Airbnb hosts.
We can help you with all aspects of your rental property management in Toronto.
