7 Advantages a Property Management Company can offer an Individual Owner

Everyone thinks short-term rentals are easy, and everyone knows someone whose mum is doing it, whose teenage son is doing it, heck, some profiles have dogs listed as the host! But the reality of running a short-term rental is different to the perception of it being easy, breezy and a quick way to make some cash.  To manage a short-term rental well and to really optimise your asset, having an expert involved can be very useful indeed.  A short-term rental specialist or property management company can offer you things that as an individual owner you can’t obtain.  In the world of short-term rentals, two heads are better than one!

So, what can a short-term rental specialist/property manager offer you that you can’t do yourself? We have outlined below 7 advantages that we believe a good property manager can offer you and your property below

The advantage of multiple listings

As an individual owner, you only have 1 asset to advertise – your property. And you rely solely on that asset to attract customers to your listing. An agency however has a pool of collective assets and can therefore attract customers with various fishing rods rather than just one.  

Often a customer will enquiry about Property A and end up booking Property G, which might so happen to be yours! We have found that 72% of customers end up booking a different property than the first one they enquire on.  

An agency can offer you these customers who would never have seen or thought of your listing as an option.  They capture the enquiry first and find the right property for it rather than waiting for the customer to find the property themselves.

The advantage of “Google juice”

On an individual level, your property is lost in the world of Google. Think of it as a real-life example of trying to find a needle in a haystack – virtually impossible.  The chances of your individual property coming up on page 1 of Google when a customer starts their search with “Sydney holiday rentals” is less than 0…. You may be lucky if you come up on page 50!  

But rental agencies are in a much stronger position to compete in this environment because they have more stock… and more stock = more credibility on Google.  By listing with an agency, you are providing your property with another source of competitive advantage and another method by which customers can find your asset.  Say bye-bye to channel fees and hello to direct bookings!

The advantage of returning customers

Agencies, even the small ones, should have a solid database of previous customers that they can contact and communicate with at any time. Your property is advantaged by this organic source of potential customers as well as by customers who are loyal to the agency and trust them to recommend suitable properties for their time in your area.  A customer may not want to say in the same home every year, but they are likely to want to use the same agency every year (especially if they are a local area specialist) and this is where listing with one can benefit your home.

The advantage of corporate relocation agent access

In 90% of corporate relocation cases, the relocation company is under strict instructions from the client to only book short-term accommodation through a property manager/agency.  Executive rentals have to be managed through an ABN-registered rental company and companies require things that an individual owner can’t provide such as invoices, guaranteed 24-hour service and insurance policies.  As an individual owner, you are missing out on potentially extended stay bookings and high-calibre guests, whereas when using an agency your property can be put forward for suitable executive rental briefs.

The advantage of switching between long-term and short-term rentals

Short-term rentals are great, they provide flexibility, higher nightly/weekly rates and an exciting story to tell your friends about who is staying in your property this week.  However, they can also come with a large occupancy void, especially over the winter period.  

Or the property can get tired and costly to maintain to the high standard short-term rentals drive. Therefore, it makes sense to have the option of flipping your property into more traditional longer-term rentals when required.  An agency can give you this option.  They have immediate access to the long-term channels and the ability to quickly move your property into a long-term rental to cover the vacancy over winter or allow the property to have consistent tenants for a while.

The advantage of using traditional “long-term channels” for short-term leads

Short-term rentals are not all about weekend stays and holiday rentals.  Often customers can require a short-term rental for other reasons such as renovations or relocations.  These customers, especially if they are domestic don’t tend to look immediately at short-term rental sites such as Airbnb and Homeaway, but naturally, go to traditional rental sites such as Realestate.com.au and Domain.  Where an individual owner does not have access to these sites an agency does and can use them to expose your property to more potential customers with more extended stays in mind.

And last but certainly not least – is the advantage of time

The average individual short-term rental owner spends 12 hours a week managing their property.  By using an agency you receive that time back for the better things in life; like being with friends and family, reading a book, watching your favourite TV show or enjoying that glass of wine.  Gone are the midnight calls with a customer locked out or a neighbour complaining about the noise. Gone are the endless enquiries that you have to answer but can’t service, gone are the guests asking you picnicking questions about everything even though you have given them all the information they require.  

Sometimes it just makes sense to let someone else do the hard work on your behalf… after all, you wouldn’t hire an electrician to do a plumber’s job, so why do this yourself when there is someone professional who can take care of it for you!

Now about that glass of wine……

If you are interested in our services for your property in Sydney then please give us a call at +61 2 9969 7599 or email us at help@propertyproviders.com.au

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