Hiring a vacation rental manager is right up there with purchasing your property as the biggest decision you will make with your vacation rental. I have seen many wonderful property managers, but also too many bad ones. I hope this post will help you with the process of finding and hiring a vacation rental manager.
Locating the Perfect Vacation Rental Manager
The first step in hiring a vacation rental manager is locating quality candidates to consider. Finding a potential manager is not something that should be done using solely the internet.
Look at Who Your Neighbors are Using
Are any of your neighbors, friends or family members utilizing a vacation rental manager? If they are, ask them who they use and if they are happy with the services provided.
This is the simplest (and best) way to locate a potential vacation rental manager. Real estate and property management is a relationship oriented business. The best performers in the industry will have dozens of satisfied customers ready to share their excellent experiences.
My vacation rental management company was built from the ground up on word of mouth and referrals. We don’t necessarily have the largest marketing presence or flashiest website, but our clients are extremely satisfied and constantly send new business our way.
Use Online Resources
If you don’t know anyone currently using a vacation rental manager’s services, then the next best thing is to look online.
Do a Google search similar to the term “vacation rental manager yourcity“, and see who comes up. Any manager that doesn’t show up in the first page or two of results probably should not be considered, unless you are in a very competitive vacation rental market.
Then check out each manager’s home page. It should be professional and welcoming. You should confirm the manager is indeed in your market area. The more online presence from legitimate sources, the more you should consider meeting this manager in person.
Read Reviews
Online reviews are the ultimate equalizer. Love them or hate them, vacation rental managers are judged by their reviews as much or more than any other profession.
Find as many online reviews about the manager as you can. They should have reviews on their Google business page, Facebook page and on listing sites such as VRBO or Airbnb. Take the time to read any negative reviews that appear concerning. Some negative reviews may be due to issues outside the manager’s control, such as the property location. We have even received bad reviews for rainy weather.
No manager will have perfect online reviews. If they do, then I would question the authenticity of those reviews. No one is perfect and it is impossible to please everyone. However, the vast majority of reviews should be positive for a good property manager. If you notice that less than 90% of their total reviews are positive, then you should definitely look elsewhere.
Questions to Ask a Prospective Vacation Rental Manager
How Much Experience and How Many Properties do they Manage?
A large reason for hiring a vacation rental manager is you get to benefit from their wealth of knowledge and experience. Someone with little experience can certainly market your property and get you bookings, but you can probably do that yourself if that’s all they offer. A quality manager will provide advice and insights that you would not have without years of experience.
I would recommend considering a well-established manager with several years of experience and a decent sized portfolio of many types of vacation rentals. Use caution with simply picking the largest or most popular manager in your area. More properties can sometimes mean less service to go around for each owner. My company manages around 100 properties. This seems big, but there are companies in my area that manage well over 250 properties. We have owners regularly move to our company due to lack of service from larger companies.
You have a large investment in your vacation rental, so you should pick a manager that you feel confident entrusting with that investment.
What are Their Fees?
How much a vacation rental manager will charge is one of the top concerns for many owners. Fees can range from 8% – 50% of your gross rental income, although a typical percentage should be around 20%.
You should also consider other costs aside from just the percentage for management. For example, how are linens, credit card fees, cleaning fees, maintenance items, etc. handled? Sometimes a vacation rental manager advertising an attractive commission can charge all sorts of other “hidden” costs to the owner.
What Services are Included?
This goes back to pricing. Some managers might charge you an extra fee for any after hours issues or any similar thing that arises throughout the course of managing your home, for example. Many managers will charge flat monthly or annual fees to cover maintenance calls, linens and marketing. Still other managers might build everything into their commission with almost no extra fees to you.
There is also a growing trend towards “booking only” vacation rental managers. These companies handle only the task of marketing and taking bookings, generally charge a booking percentage and leave you to clean the property, communicate with the guest during their stay and perform maintenance.
Each type of manager can come with it’s own set of pros and cons. What works best for you will depend on your own situation and how involved you are able to be in the process.
How will your Vacation Rental be Marketed?
Marketing your vacation rental is one of the most important things your manager will do. Your manager will almost certainly market your home using all the major vacation rental listing sites. A good vacation rental manager will also capture direct bookings and have a modern company website where guests can book, popular social media pages and a large network of clientele for repeat business.
What Processes do they Have in Place?
Your manager should have processes in place for almost every aspect of the business. This includes inspections before and after a guest leaves, a maintenance program, handling guest complaints, vetting potential bookings, responding to reviews and many other things.
Take some time to ask specific questions from the manager such as how they would handle an irate guest or how they ensure quality control with cleaning staff.
Ask to See a Copy of the Contract or Management Agreement
A vacation rental manager should be willing to provide you a copy of the contract or management agreement they utilize fairly early in the process. Read through this carefully, noting particular items such as the contract term, manager compensation and the responsibilities of each party. Discuss any questions or concerns you may have regarding the contract with your prospective manager and if necessary consult an attorney.
Is the Manager Local?
This is a big sticking point for me and you will learn that it will be for you as well. I highly recommend picking a local company as opposed to a nationwide company with a very small presence in your area.
You (and your guests) will want someone that is available at a moment’s notice. You will not want to call an 800 number to reach your property manager. Property management is very much a hands-on type of business and it is simply very difficult to handle from afar.
Larger nationwide companies might have fancy websites and flashy gadgets, but to me there is simply no substitute for the experience gained from working and living in the same area as your vacation rental properties.
References from Current Clients
Just like an employer will ask for references before hiring a prospective employee, you should ask for references from current or past clients of your prospective manager.
References will not truly tell the whole story. No one has ever listed anyone as a reference for anything without knowing in advance that person would give them a glowing recommendation, after all. Still a manager that is reluctant or unable to provide you with references should be seen as a big red flag.
If your manager has already checked all your other boxes, then calling his references is really just a formality. Several customers that rave about the quality of their services should be the final point you need to choose this manager.
