Outsource These Tasks to Help Your Holiday Letting Business Grow
When running a holiday letting business, you’re likely to be ‘wearing too many hats’ – from customer service and bookings to handling the finances, marketing, and property management. Keeping up with all of this can easily become overwhelming for hosts who don’t have the expertise or time.
It has never been easier to outsource Airbnb management tasks, allowing hosts to focus on the tasks that yield the biggest return on investment.
The benefits of outsourcing holiday rental management tasks
You won’t need to hire employees
When you outsource tasks, you can pay your consultant on a monthly retainer or an hourly rate, only using your budget when it’s necessary. It means that you’re able to avoid bringing an employee into the company, saving you time and money on everything from training to benefits.
You have access to a bigger pool of talent
If you manage everything, the depth and breadth of your experience will have a limit.
Outsourcing means that you’ll be dealing with a larger pool of talent who keep up with new technology and trends, bringing a fresh perspective and innovative ideas. This approach can bridge ‘knowledge gaps’ when your holiday letting business needs a more specialised skillset that you don’t have.
You won’t need to invest in technology and tools
Outsourcing can drastically lower the cost of paying for specific tools and software that you would otherwise need to invest in and train how to use.
It’s cheaper
Outsourcing can offer a good return on investment. You’re not paying for extra overheads, and the result can bring in more bookings at a lower cost than if you did the work yourself.
Quicker results
A good consultant has the resources to start new projects quickly, whereas it might take you weeks or months to get started.
You get back some precious time
When you outsource tasks, it instantly frees you up to focus on the areas you are proficient at and the tasks that benefit your business the most.
The disadvantages of outsourcing
It’s worth bearing in mind the following when you’re considering whether to outsource or not.
Loss of control
Even though “you’re the boss” when it comes to how your business operates, the reality is that you give up some control when you outsource. You’re hiring someone who will be working remotely, therefore you won’t be able to monitor their work as you would if directly employing them.
Quality risks
Because of the nature of outsourcing, problems with quality can sometimes occur. To prevent this, it’s always a good idea to provide clear information regarding any guidelines you have and your expectations as a business owner.
Communication may be trickier to manage
When you’re thinking of who to outsource your tasks to, it’s important to consider factors like the time-zone they live in and how it matches up with your operating hours. You should also think about how day-to-day communication is going to work – e.g., email, phone calls, instant messages, zoom.
The risk of underperformance
Occasionally, the working relationship may prove difficult, or the consultant may not deliver the results you expected.
What holiday rental tasks should you outsource?
Potentially, most of your tasks could be outsourced to a consultant or agency, such as:
Photography
When it comes to selling your holiday home to prospective guests, a picture really does say a thousand words. Showing your property at its best using high-quality photography and video is a vital tool in convincing guests to book with you. It’s highly unlikely that you have the necessary photography skills, so hiring a photographer is one of the best ways to see a return on your investment with extra bookings.
Act Studios and Peopleperhour are two options to find great photographers with the specialist equipment and editing software to make your property shine.
Copywriting
The ability to captivate guests by describing the wonderful experience they will have at your property doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Explaining the benefits of your property through compelling copy allows guests to visualise their holiday, making them much more willing to book.
Services like GuestHook who specialise in holiday let marketing, branding, and copywriting for Airbnb and holiday letting businesses, can make your listings and website really shout out to prospective guests. Procopywriters and Upwork are also useful for finding freelance copywriters.
Website development
Relying on listings sites alone can be successful, but having a dedicated website for your property can help you really showcase its quality and drive direct bookings. It also helps show that your brand is trustworthy and that you are serious about providing great service.
Read our comprehensive guide on how to create your own holiday rental website, you can also find freelance developers and designers on Peopleperhour, Upwork, as well as Fiverr.
Emails and social media posting
Automating communications within the holiday booking experience can save you a lot of time. All of the major listing sites and website booking software providers offer automated systems for taking and managing bookings, so make use of them. Make sure that any automated messaging is warm, friendly, and let your guests know how to contact you if they have any questions.
Here you can find a list of example emails to get you started when using booking software for your own website.
If you’re also using social media to promote your holiday rental, then there are a host of social media scheduling tools, such as Buffer, ContentCal, and SproutSocial which you can use to schedule posts.
Live chat
Building a comprehensive FAQ section within your listing site and website can help prevent you from having to respond to the same questions repeatedly.
In addition, using live chat powered by AI on your website is a great way of interacting with prospective guests to find out what they want to know about your holiday let and the surrounding area. You can then add these questions to your FAQ list. A popular choice is Zendesk.
Cleaning and changeovers
On changeover days, ensuring departing guests are out and that the property is sparkling, restocked, replenished, and ready to welcome new guests can be stressful and time-consuming.
This is arguably the area where owners can save time and stress by enlisting the services of a cleaner or cleaning team. Finding a good cleaner can be tough, but there are many national franchises that are trusted brands and ideal for the job. For example, Molly Maid run a dedicated holiday let cleaning service.
Properly is also a useful app to ensure your cleaners know how to prepare your property with a photo-based changeover cleaning checklist. The app also provides access to a marketplace of hospitality cleaners in your area.
Check-in and check-out
When it comes to check-in, holiday rental landlords can often be left waiting for delayed guests, as well as the possibility that guests may lose keys or lock themselves out of your property during their stay. For check-in, a key safe can help prevent a sleepless night waiting for a guest who has been delayed. These days, it’s also possible to completely automate entry to your holiday home with a keyless digital system.
Guestbook
When guests arrive at your property, they will have a host of questions about the amenities and location. Providing this information is just as important when guests are staying in your property as it is when they are considering booking.
Many holiday home owners choose to provide guests with a guide to their holiday home and the local area on arrival. This saves owners from an onslaught of questions from guests. An alternative to the traditional paper welcome manual, your Welcome and Touchstay are popular interactive digital guestbooks.
Finding the right balance
When it comes to deciding how you will manage your holiday home, it’s important to strike the right balance between doing things yourself and outsourcing. Many of the tips above can greatly enhance how you manage your property, as well as save you time and money. The aim is to work smarter – not harder.
