5 must ask questions for your Airbnb property management company

Owning an Airbnb holiday home can be a rewarding investment that creates the opportunity to generate additional income and in some cases enjoy a holiday whenever you like. Although,managing a holiday property yourself can be a complex and time-consuming task that can be difficult to handle. 

This is why it makes so much sense to let professional holiday rental property managers take care of it for you. Professional Holiday Homes are a team of professionals who specialise in taking care of every aspect of your property, from listing it on booking platforms to handling guest inquiries and ensuring your home is well-maintained. 

How do you choose the right holiday rental property manager

Choosing the right rental manager is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly and requires careful consideration. We’ve compiled a list of all the essential questions you should ask when considering which management company to choose so that you not only get good value but the right level of experience. 

These are the most important questions to ask;

1. How much will it cost and what are all the fees? 

When selecting a rental manager for your property, it’s crucial to consider several factors to maximise your return and get the best value. 

• You want to look for managers who don’t charge setup fees for listing your property on various booking platforms. 
• Avoid property managers imposing unnecessary annual or monthly fees, as transparent pricing is always key when giving someone management of your holiday rental. 
• If you allow pets, inquire about any additional pet fees and carefully weigh any of those extra fees against potential income you will get from pet-friendly bookings. 
• Ensure that technology fees for any software or applications are part of the manager’s operational expenses, and are not an added cost to you. 
• You also want to make sure cleaning costs are transparent with fixed prices to prevent any unexpected expenses. 

So the percentage management fee is just one component of what could be a number of different charges so its important to understand all of them very clearly to maximise your rental returns

2. What support does the property manager provide?

At Professional Holiday Homes we prioritise a good relationship between manager and owner. You have to find out what support levels are available from any company you are considering to manage your property.

• Confirm if the management company has a dedicated and responsive customer service team and what their turn around times are.
• Check if they have 24 hour a day, seven day a week support available.
• Determine if the staff live locally and have good knowledge of the area.
• Ask if they provide incentives to cleaning or maintenance staff to ensure the property is well kept and looked after.
• Find out what experience each staff member has delivering in this industry or job function.
• Does that person operate as an individual or do they have their own team of staff who are part of the company?

All of these aspect as crucial for addressing any issues promptly and taking the stress of owners if guests encounter any difficulties while staying in your holiday home.

3. What additional property services and amenities are offered?

Not every property management offers the same range of services and inclusions. This can be really important to ensure your listing is not only competitive but guests have a great experience when they stay in your holiday home.

• Does the property management company use experienced real estate photographers with professional equipment to produce high-quality images and is that included in your onboarding package?
• What linen is provided? Quality linen is another key factor for guest comfort. As a unique aspect to our service, Professional Holiday Homes that purchases and supplies high-quality linen but also professionally launders it at an affordable cost.
• What process does the property manage follow to set up your property? Look for managers who provide a comprehensive room-by-room property setup guide to maintain a high-quality guest experience and cleanliness. 
• Find out how the property manager handles local laws and compliance. So for example how do they manage smoke alarms or evacuation diagrams to comply with the laws in your area to keep guests safe?
• Determine what processes do they put in place to guest vetting procedures to filter out potentially problematic guests, particularly for groups like parties, bucks, hens, or schoolies, to make sure your property remains in good hands.

4. How do they market your property? 

Marketing of your holiday rental is king when trying to secure consistent bookings. You want to make sure your property is listed on major booking platforms such as Airbnb, Stayz, Booking.com, and government tourism websites to maximise exposure to potential guests.

Efficient communication is also vital, so you will want to opt for managers offering automated and customisable guest communications, avoiding manual emails and text messages for consistent messaging. 

Additionally, you should aim to consider managers who offer weekly email marketing to reach a database of previous guests to create repeat bookings to maximise your returns. 

5. Are there specific legal and financial considerations to consider?

When you choose a manager for your property, legal considerations should be your top priority.  

• Start by verifying that the manager is a licensed real estate agent and holds professional indemnity insurance. Guaranteed compliance with any legal operations will give you peace of mind and protect your investment. 
• To help safeguard against property damage or excess cleaning costs for each booking, inquire about measures like having the manager hold credit card details and obtaining a signed rental agreement from guests.
• You also want to ensure that the rental manager doesn’t impose any unnecessary limits on your own use of the property. 
• Confirm that they conduct audited trust accounting in accordance with the laws in your state to maintain financial transparency and accountability.

Using Professional Holiday Homes for the management of your holiday rental home

At Professional Holiday Homes, we pride ourselves on providing exceptional service and transparency in holiday home management. We encourage you to ask us these questions, and you’ll find that we meet and exceed your expectations in every aspect of holiday rental management. Your holiday rental investment is always in good hands when you choose to partner with us!

To do your due diligence properly we understand that you need to assess some of our competitors. To help you do this we’ve created a ‘Property Manager Assessment Checklist’ (pre-filled with our responses). 

We invite you to use the checklist to see how our competitors compare.