There is no doubt about the profitability of a well-run and well-managed vacation rental business. However, new vacation rental business owners can make some mistakes that can cost them in the long run.
This post will explain all these mistakes. Doing so will help you avoid mistakes and set your business up for success.
1. No dynamic pricing
One of the most difficult aspects of the vacation rental business is pricing. The easiest way is to divide pricing into peak season prices, i.e. higher prices due to increased demand, and off-season prices, i.e. lower prices due to decreased demand. However, dynamic pricing would be a better choice.
Indeed, implementing a dynamic pricing mechanism requires sophisticated technology that requires investment. However, doing so allows us to amend our rates based on various factors such as availability, demand, and local events. There are also several services that offer dynamic pricing expertise, such as PriceMethod and Smart Host.
2. List only on one or two platforms
Want your target audience to find your vacation rental business? If the answer is yes, you can’t afford to list your business on just one or two platforms. Certainly, you should target the best online travel agency (OTA) listings. But securing Airbnb and HomeAway listings doesn’t mean the job is done.
Ideally, you should list your business on smaller platforms as well. Admittedly, a smaller platform may not have the massive audiences HomeAway or Airbnb have. However, they can go a long way in increasing your business’ exposure.
3. Lack of quality photos
If you don’t provide it, you’re putting your prospect at a disadvantage High quality Photos of your property. It’s important to remember that the best vacation rental businesses employ professional photographers and videographers. So I can’t afford to upload photos taken with my phone’s camera.
You should have multiple photos of each room from different angles. Also, if your vacation rental business is in a scenic location, take some nice pictures of the scenery. Photos of the property must also be honest. Don’t filter to make it look nice. Ultimately, guests will know what the real deal is when they actually arrive, so there’s no point in faking it.
4. Lack of facilities and amenities
Even if your vacation rental business caters to a budget audience, it doesn’t lack basic amenities and amenities. For example, free Wi-Fi is taken for granted by modern guests (regardless of budget). However, if they come to your house and find you don’t have Wi-Fi, there’s no way they’ll forgive you.
Also, consider the amenities your guests may need depending on the climate of your location. On the other hand, if your place is very hot and humid, you will need to provide cooling or air conditioning.
5. Poor hospitality
Your vacation rental may have the best amenities, but those amenities are worth nothing if you don’t pay attention to how you host your guests. Remember that what you really want is to be treated. Therefore, if you are running your own vacation her rental business, always smile and try to accommodate guest requests.
If you’re hiring someone else to handle the hospitality part, invest in training. Also pay them well. Simply put, if they are well compensated, vacation rental staff will be happy and happy hosts will always be able to properly care for their guests.
6. Lack of maintenance
Poorly maintained minpaku businesses are bound to fail. please think about it. Would you like it if your guests arrived and found a problem with the plumbing? No rights? So maintain every aspect of your vacation rental. If your bed is damaged, repair or replace it without a second thought. The point is to make our guests as comfortable as possible.
Regular maintenance can also prevent serious damage to your property, which tends to be more expensive to fix than to fix it as soon as something goes wrong. So if you maintain your property, the money you spend on maintenance will come back many times over.