Owning a vacation rental property in Florida comes with some unique challenges and rewards. The location cannot be beat, and there’s a steady stream of tourists and vacationers looking for rental homes. However, maintaining your property and keeping up with your bookings can be time-intensive and require a lot of resources. You need to be organized, attentive to detail, and aware of all the risks and liabilities that come with renting out property.
You need good technology, too, and exceptional customer service skills.
Working with a vacation management company is always a good idea, and the right management partner can provide a lot of value. Leveraging the expertise, technology, and resources of a professional property manager in Southwest Florida can help you have a better and more profitable experience renting out a vacation home. Your guests will be better served as well, and that’s going to lead to more five-star reviews.
A vacation management company could potentially:
- Save you money on maintenance
- Increase your bookings and occupancy rate
- Ensure that your property’s reputation as a great place to stay is well known.
Let’s take a closer look at the value of working with a property management company when you’re renting out a home in today’s market.
Consistent and Recurring Rental Income with Low Vacancy
Your vacation management partner understands the local rental market, specifically the vacation rental market. If you’re renting out a vacation home in Florida but you don’t actually live here, it can be impossible to know what the competing properties look like, how environmental factors are influencing a rental season, and what vacation guests are looking for.
Even if you’re local to the area, working with a management company that spends every day analyzing the local market will give you a lot of leverage when it comes to earning the best rental rates and avoiding long vacancy periods.
The main goal of your vacation management company will be to help you achieve maximum profitability with your vacation home. That requires a lot of great booking technology, even if you’re advertising your listing on sites like Airbnb and VRBO. Your property manager can integrate what you’re already using with the systems that they have in place to keep your property occupied.
We have spent years working with property owners who decide to earn more money on their vacation properties. Listing a vacation home on VRBO or similar sites is easy enough, but to really provide the best possible guest experience and to ensure you’re earning as much as you can on your property, you need local and professional expertise. We can use our own network and our resources to reach more people who are looking for a great vacation rental.
Here are some of the best ways that a professional management company can increase what you’re able to earn:
- Local market knowledge. This allows us to price your vacation rental competitively. We gather a lot of data that tells us how to factor in the season, length of stay, and specific amenities found at your vacation property. The price we set per night, per week, or per month is designed to be both competitive and profitable.
- Responsiveness. Our attention and availability 24 hours a day and 7 days a week means your guests will always have whatever they need during their stay. By providing an outstanding rental experience, we can increase the chance that those guests will book your property again when they’re in the area. They’ll also leave positive reviews. A good reputation always increases the earning potential of your property, and we facilitate that great reputation.
- Vendor relationships. The turnover process can be exceedingly time consuming when you’re managing on your own. With our team, you have access to our maintenance and cleaning vendors who work quickly to prepare your home for new guests as frequently as necessary. We get volume discounts and competitive pricing, which saves you money on turnovers, preventative maintenance, and emergency repairs.
It’s easy to lose money when you’re renting out your own vacation property. There seems to be an ongoing struggle just to keep up with bookings. You might not respond quickly enough to inquiries, resulting in the loss of business. There might be confusion about how to collect deposits and fees.
Don’t risk your vacation property’s potential. Professional vacation property managers can rent out your property for more money and with fewer vacancy days.
Day-to-Day Logistics and Operations Management
Vacation rentals require a lot of time and attention. It’s not like a long-term rental, where you sign the lease, move in the tenant, and then collect rent every month and wait for any requests or maintenance that’s needed. Vacation rental management needs something from you every single day.
- Turnovers are frequent because guests are staying for shorter periods of time than the tenants in a long-term rental. Keeping your vacation property occupied requires good marketing, outstanding customer service, and a commitment to open and transparent communication. A management company has the time, resources, and capacity to provide all of that.
- Ease of booking is not always so intuitive. But, your management partner will identify visitors to the area, and make the booking process easy and automated. We showcase the positive reviews and exceptional guest experiences we have provided for residents. We take care of booking the property, collecting deposits and fees, and following up with guests to make sure they have a perfect holiday while staying in your home.
Managing your own vacation rental property is certainly possible. The platforms that a lot of owners use, like VRBO, makes it easy for you to load pictures, update calendars, and correspond with interested guests. However, a professional vacation management company like ours makes a difference. We can give your listing, your property, and your guests the extra attention and resources that make the experience better for vacationers and more profitable for you.
Maintaining and Protecting Your Vacation Property
The maintenance required at your vacation property is going to be year-round. Florida’s weather, while largely sunny and warm, also includes high humidity levels, heavy rainfall during the summer months, and the occasional hurricane threat. What is your plan for evacuating guests when a tropical storm is promising a direct hit?
This unique climate impacts how you should approach the maintenance of your property, and why professional help is critical. Here’s what we have experts for:
- Weatherproofing. We’ll recommend an investment in weatherproofing solutions, such as high-impact windows and doors, to protect your property from storm damage.
- Air Conditioning. The AC unit needs to be regularly serviced to handle the high humidity and keep guests comfortable. We take preventative measures.
- Mold Prevention. No one is in a hurry to stay in vacation properties with mold. Our regular inspections and cleaning are vital to prevent mold growth, a common issue in humid climates.
Regular inspections and maintenance will keep your property in top shape and identify potential issues before they escalate.
You can also count on us for professional cleaning. We schedule it between guest stays to ensure your property remains spotless. This is crucial in Florida, where sand and outdoor elements can easily be tracked indoors. We also contract with outstanding landscaping services. Maintaining the outdoor area is key to making a great first impression. We’ll make sure your lawn is regularly mowed, the bushes and trees are trimmed, and everything looks appealing and comfortable.
Leverage Property Management Technology for Management and Security
Technology can simplify the management of your vacation rental and enhance guest security. We invest in the best technology that’s available, and that means you don’t have to worry about which systems you’re using to track bookings, collect payments, or document income and expenses.
Some of our other fantastic technology benefits you in the following ways:
- Smart Locks offer convenient and secure entry. This eliminates the need for key exchanges and allows you to change the entry code between guests.
- Home Automation Systems will help control thermostats, lights, and security cameras remotely. This not only adds convenience for you and your guests but can also lead to energy savings.
- Online Booking and Management Tools allow us to streamline bookings, communications, and payments.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, working with a vacation management company ensures you’re up to date with Florida’s vacation rental regulations, tax requirements, and property insurance needs.
By partnering with a management company that can dedicate the time and resources to the ongoing maintenance of your Florida vacation rental, you not only ensure the safety and satisfaction of your guests but also enhance the profitability and longevity of your investment.
We know Southwest Florida very well, and we’re intimately acquainted with the vacation rental market here. When you’re looking for ways to maximize what you earn and reduce the time and stress that’s in your life, partner with a vacation management company. You’ll enjoy better profits and your guests will enjoy a better experience.
There are lots of management companies to choose from, and we’d like to tell you why we might be the best fit for you. Please contact us at Realty Group of Southwest Florida.
