People may have a holiday let to use as a second home or as a property to utilise as a financial investment renting to guests. Either way, you may use a property management company. Property management companies can do anything from just checking in once a month to full service management, taking care of bookings, cleaning and guest communications. Whatever you hire your property manager for, it is important to have one that provides you with the best possible service for your needs.
For those with full service management, there are a number of reasons that homeowners may switch from one management company to another. Here are the most commons reasons we have come across:
- Paying too much commission for poor service
Property management companies vary on their rates considerably. Annual lease arrangements may charge a management fee as low as 6% whilst on the other end, we have seen rates up to 40% for full service management. It is ok to pay either of these or anything in between, but if the service you are given does not match up to the fee you pay, it can be frustrating.
2. Bad Reviews
Reviews are crucial in this business and bad ones can have a devastating impact. Usually, bad reviews tend to include poor cleanliness, insufficient maintenance or a clumsy check in procedure. Many years ago, property managers and owners used to be able to pay to get their listing to rank higher on the page but those days are long gone. Now, Airbnb and VRBO use specific algorithms that assess reviews, response times, listing quality and other metrics to decide who gets to the top. At Simple Getaway we consistently receive 5* reviews from our guests meaning that we rank highly on holiday let listing sites such as Airbnb and VRBO.
3. Lazy Booking Procedures
Many property managers will only list on certain sites. In the UK, Airbnb is the most popular booking site, but it doesn’t mean that bookings don’t come from elsewhere – they absolutely do!
In Arun, West Sussex, 84% of holiday lets are listed on Airbnb, 10% on VRBO and 6% on both. In Chichester, West Sussex, 77% are listed on Airbnb , 11% on VRBO and 12% on both. In Brighton, East Sussex, 82% are listed on Airbnb, 8% on VRBO and 10% on both. At Simple Getaway we are part of that 6, 12 and 10% that list on both in each of these areas.
What’s more? We list your property on our own website which is a win-win for you and your guests – it is the cheapest option for guests which generates the greatest revenue for you! The more sites you list on, the higher your occupancy rate and ultimately the greater the revenue you receive – make sure you check where your property management company is listing your home to make the most of your investment.
4. Stagnant Marketing
Are your property management company keeping an eye on the market and marketing your property effectively? Travel trends are constantly changing, as evidenced in the recent 2020 pandemic. It is no longer appropriate to list your property for the same rate for every day of the year. Prices should be fluctuated throughout the year to balance revenue and occupancy effectively. At Simple Getaway we track the data to make sure you remain competitive in the market and you don’t slip behind the competition. In fact, during 2020, we utilised this strategy and have managed to get some of our homes in the top 10 performing homes in their area, despite only operating for 6 months of the year!
We are always adapting to make sure our service offering improves and we are giving our owners the best possible for the rates we charge. Find out today what we can offer in comparison to other property management companies!