Vacation rental hosting can be time consuming and difficult. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. But you’re not everyone. You have a profitable rental property and I’m going to teach you how to put it on autopilot.
Here are 4 essential steps you should use to manage your vacation rental.
1. Marketing Is Everything
You’re a marketer by default, whether you like it or not. Your listing must stand out among the other 100+ listings in your area. Tenants will travel for a comfortable and appealing rental and you get 3 seconds to win them over. Put on your marketing hat and ensure you have the following done.
2. Price Dynamically
Price at the number that is reasonable for your location, date, and quality of your rental. Renters tend to price in three buckets: low price, average, or high priced and if your goal is to have a high booking rate, you can always be the lowest priced listing, but that’s not going to make you money.
3. Automate Maintenance (3rd Party Providers)
As your booking rates and revenue increase from dynamic pricing so will the maintenance and upkeep. Don’t get sucked into another full time job by trying to manage your rental alone. 3rd party services for maintaining your vacation rental are abundant and have a wide range of prices to fit your budget. If you’re on the lookout for the ideal tool, take a look at Pillow which integrates with most vacation rental sites.
4. Put Your Rental Finances on Autopilot
Finally, make sure you’re proactive with your rental finances. The easiest way to increase your revenue is to actively lower your taxable income and pay less tax.
There are dozens of tax deductions which may potentially be available to you. Your CPA or accountant can help you better understand everything you need to track so that you can lower your taxable income and make more money.
Some of the key tax deductions you can potentially use for your rental are on expenses like toiletry costs, cleaning, maintenance on the area you rent and many more.