Are you thinking of diving into the business of short term rentals but are lost on where to start? Do you find the huge amount of competitors overwhelming? Here are some steps to get you on track and stand out from the crowd.

Make sure to stand out on short term rental platforms

The online rental marketplace is often the first place potential tenants go to when they are looking for a place to stay whether for a short vacation or business trip. So, it is very crucial to make your listing stand out in platforms like HomeAway, Booking.com, and Airbnb as the majority of bookings nowadays are made on such vacation rental platforms

• Always maintain a high response rate. Engaging frequently with potential tenants makes them feel more connected and hence builds trust. Preferably, you should respond to inquiries within 30 minutes in the native messaging system of the platform. 
• Hold seasonal promotions to catch their attention. With the huge amount of listings available, people are often easily attracted by words such as “Promotion” or “Special Offer”.
• Increase your listing’s exposure by making sure you appear credible to the platform. Eg. strive to become a Superhost on Airbnb. 

Keep your property well maintained

Though this is very straightforward, it is a very important aspect to pay attention to when diving into the rental industry. It’s important to make sure your property looks good online and in pictures but it’s also important to ensure that the accommodation is just as good in real life. Sure, a good picture can definitely attract people but you definitely do not want them to be disappointed in the experience. A bad experience can translate into bad online reviews and the tenants likely would not come back. To avoid such scenarios, ensure that your property is well kept so that tenants would be satisfied with their stay. 

Look into hiring a property manager

Save yourself from the hassle by hiring a professional property manager to handle your property. You can consider getting professional help in managing and marketing your properties, collecting of rent payments as well as handling tenant reservations. If you are considering renting out multiple properties, it would be a great idea to hire a property manager to get the job done. The rental industry requires a lot of hands-on and high commitment work. So, if you’re not ready to highly commit in the process, you can look into assigning the job to a third-party property manager. Getting the right person on the job can make the work hassle-free as the manager would take care of much of the issues with the property. 

Set ground rules… and follow them

You should enforce a set of rules regarding the stay at your property and the rental fee. If you do not strictly go by the rules, tenants would notice it and might take advantage of the leniency. One of the most important rules to keep your eye on is the late rent fee rule. While a grace period should sometimes be given, you should still stand your ground as the landlord. In short, respect the rule and the tenants would too. 

Set your rate competitively

It is always a challenge to determine the price of your rental. Many factors come into play when deciding what rate to charge; location, square-foot, facilities, etc. You should always do comprehensive market research to have a good understanding of what your competitors are charging. As finding a suitable rate might take a bit of trial and error, you can adjust your rates according to the season and demand