Five Tips to ensure a year-round successful holiday rental

The Mornington Peninsula is home to some of Victoria’s most popular beach holiday locations.  But it is not just spectacular during summer – it offers year-round appeal, with quality restaurants, quaint boutiques, close proximity to Peninsula Hot Springs and some of the finest vineyards and golf courses Victoria has to offer.

Provided your property is properly presented and marketed, securing bookings during peak times shouldn’t be difficult, particularly when vacancy rates from mid-December to the end of January are close to zero.  However, if you nail the formula, your property could become a year-round business.  Here we share some exclusive insights as to what makes a successful holiday rental.

When travellers are booking a short-term rental, they’re looking for properties where they can gather comfortably, often in large numbers.  Our first tip is to get the bedding right.  “Invest in quality bedding and linen.  Make sure there is a king size bed in the master, and then maximise every opportunity in the remaining bedrooms to accommodate as many people as possible.  Use bunks and even a fold out sofa in the living room, and as an optional extra, provide a cot.  A house which can sleep larger groups means they can share the cost of renting a more luxurious home and in turn, this significantly broadens your market throughout the year”.

Secondly, functionality is important. “Consider the layout and living spaces. An open plan interior of kitchen, dining and living which extends to outdoor living space accommodates group gatherings and easy entertaining. Also, a property with a pool or spa will almost always be booked before properties without”.

Thirdly, consider interior styling. “Believe it or not, city dwellers don’t come to the coast wanting to stay in a replicate of an uber modern inner-city pad. They’re more likely looking for an authentic coastal experience, regardless of how modern the home is. Obviously decor which looks and feels fresh is going to attract the most appeal, but importantly, it should be styled consistent with the property’s coastal surroundings”.

Next, comfort is a major attraction. “Spaces which promise rest and relaxation such as large comfortable couches in the living area and outdoor sunbeds are always winners. So too are plush comforts such as soft furnishings, blankets and throws. Airconditioning and a fireplace promote year-round appeal, and extra amenities such as wifi and smart tv’s are important as the region can experience sluggish reception during peak times. Make sure the kitchen is fully stocked with all the tools required for entertaining, and consider the added extras such as an instruction booklet for the home’s amenities, complimentary tea/coffee, and a starter kit of dishwashing, laundry detergent and toiletries. These small items can be that added touch which sets your property out from the rest”.

Finally, consider professional management. “No matter how great your property, if it’s poorly marketed and managed you won’t achieve the rate you’re after. Don’t skimp on professional photography and make sure it is current – guests will notice if a major furniture item is different from the photos and may complain the property wasn’t as advertised. There is a common misconception that property managers are expensive and with the Airbnb juggernaut many have opted to manage themselves without fully understanding how much work is involved. But the fact is, repeat bookings come from positive reviews and customer experiences, and a professional manager is better equipped to ensure that on your behalf”.

If you’d like more information about how bookabreak.com.au can assist you with managing your holiday rental, click here to get in touch.

Should I Hire a Property Manager for my Holiday Rental?

In a world where time has become a rare commodity, many people and businesses alike have started outsourcing tasks in order to free up personal time and ensure the best possible outcomes.

In both Australia and abroad, hiring a property management company and or independent property manager has become increasingly popular. Regardless of whether you are a first-time investment property owner or a veteran in the industry, the endless and exceptionally time – consuming tasks surrounding the marketing and management of a holiday rental can be both arduous and demanding. The benefits of hiring a professional to take care of the never-ending task list undeniably outweigh the negatives and so, before you take the step in engaging a property manager, make sure you understand what you should come expect from the person or company you choose.

Advertisement and Marketing

First and foremost, key to choosing a property manager is your personal understanding of how they operate and what help and support they will provide you with. By hiring a property manager, you are also paying for access to superior marketing and advertisement schemes devised by people who are likely to have a better understanding of the market than yourself.

An established firm undeniably equates to legitimacy, especially with regards to the consumer. In layman’s terms, this means that people are more likely to rent your property if they respect and trust where it is advertised and how it is marketed. This could mean the quality and accuracy of description, photographs and where exactly it is advertised. It is not sufficient for your property to be advertised on the company’s site alone. With the plethora of online platforms available for advertising and booking holiday rentals, there is no reason why a holiday property manager isn’t advertising your venue on additional sites. This marketing tactic is simple. The more places your rental is advertised the higher the chances it will be occupied.

Allows for planning based on location trends

Property managers will be working on a number of different projects at once; as such, it allows them to identify trends in the area. Because of this they should be able to recognise how and what you need to do in order to make your property more desirable to those potential customers/tenants searching for rentals in your particular area. Depending on the season, property managers may also be able to suggest changes as to how and where you are listing the property and what you are asking in terms of a rental fee.

In short, having a property manager allows you to keep a finger on the pulse of what is happening in terms of rental trends in your area. Because of this, it also affords you the opportunity to be able to plan and project further into the future by weighing up what changes have been successful and what hasn’t. Every manager should be fully aware of the status of local short-term rental regulations and this knowledge is what is going to set your property manager ahead of the rest.

Day to day peace of mind

Being personally responsible for the running of a holiday home is a difficult job, and if you assumed that the property would pay for itself without the necessary upkeep, then you were unfortunately mistaken.

Unless you live close to your rental property and are willing to get your hands dirty, there is no doubt that maintaining a high standard of cleanliness and that the condition of the furniture and interior is perfect, is a challenge within itself. Top quality property managers should take control of the day to day management of the house, meaning that they will oversee any necessary maintenance or cleaning between rentals. This management includes minor maintenance from missing tea spoons to carpet stains. The quality and spotless interior of a property has been known to push those all essential reviews to 5 stars.

Knowing that a manager is looking after your property will absolutely give you day to day peace of mind, knowing that your investment is well-looked after.

Maximising potential

By using a property manager, you have the chance to maximise potential revenue by renting out your property through keen and continued management. Sourcing and maintaining a number of bookings is hard work and often untenable alongside a day to day job. Not only will a property manager endeavour to find you customers, they will also take responsibility for the calendar in terms of availability.

If you are still considering whether it is worth engaging a property manager for your holiday rental or not, you should know that with over 20 years’ experience in the industry, bookabreak.com.au knows exactly how to market, manage and maintain your property, ensuring your daily peace of mind. Through the implementation of current on-trend technology and an instant booking platform we are able to monitor consumer behaviour allowing for increased bookings and therefore maximum revenue. With an extensive network of on the ground service partners we can confidently manage and monitor the cleaning and safeguarding of your property while simultaneously handling online reviews, advertising and marketing. Our high-end service will ensure that all the benefits of a property manager are met, meaning both you and your tenants will enjoy a well-earned holiday away.

Peak Season on the Mornington Peninsula – How to market your Holiday Rental

The Mornington Peninsula is beautiful all year round, and practically offers something for all its visitors, depending on the season of course. A short 90-minute drive from Melbourne’s city centre, the idyllic holiday sport, allows city dwellers the perfect opportunity to escape to a peaceful rural retreat all year round.

Defining ‘peak season’ on the peninsula can be difficult as its popularity as a holiday destination has extended to both the Summer and Winter months. However, there is no doubt that long weekends and festive holiday times, including Christmas, Boxing Day and the New Year has seen both tourists and locals alike, arrive in their thousands to escape the mayhem of their routine lives in the cities.

Identifying YOUR peak time

Peak time on the Mornington Peninsula is generally recognised as being between January and February, when there are more festive breaks to aid in the extension of time away, but this doesn’t mean that your property is necessarily best suited to these periods or holidays. As someone who wants to rent out a property for the purpose of covering costs or collecting a small income, it is essential you identify who your customer (tenant) is most likely to be and why.

Property size vs group size is one of the most common factors used to help dictate the popularity of holiday homes, so at the start it is important to tailor your property advertisement to whatever and whoever the market deems most suitable.

It might be, due to location, that your property is popular all year round. Should this be the case, it is important to understand why your customer might be there and to offer any additional local information that you think might help them to better enjoy their experience with you and in your home/property.

Be flexible

As well as understanding how and when your property is most likely to be in demand and thus rented out, it is also key to understand why. Many properties often go for a be all and end all marketing strategy in an attempt to develop a strong brand, but this is not always the only way to go. It is often more important to gain a holistic view of the needs of the consumer and how they may change according to the seasons – both the weather and financial market.

One season your property might be perfect for an elderly couple on a fishing trip, the next it might be a great place for students looking to catch some waves. It is imperative to be tactically savvy about how your property might appeal to more than one demographic. With this in mind you should also be sensible when decorating your property – maintain a neutral feel as opposed to something outlandish and geared to one target audience.

Maintain standards

This goes hand in hand with the points made above; if you maintain a good standard of care of your property then it will be popular all year round and with everyone. When deciding where to holiday people are convinced by a number of things, but cleanliness and functionality are often the two most common deciding factors.

Holiday makers are simply those looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city are more inclined to rent a place that feels like home but that is also located somewhere that will afford them opportunities to enjoy all the area has to offer, not the other way around. It is important to do the simple things well, keep a clean house, provide all necessary comforts and be honest in your advertisement of the property.

Holiday Rentals 101 – Housekeeping

In the business of holiday rentals, the number one cause of guest complaints is around cleanliness.  When guests pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to stay in your home, they expect it to be immaculate.  If it hasn’t been properly cleaned before their arrival, understandably they’re going to be upset, which can quickly turn into a huge issue.  Maybe they’ll request a full or partial refund – or worse, they could leave a negative review.

Fortunately, it’s an easy problem to avoid – you just need to understand how cleaning to holiday rental standards is different than what’s required of a typical domestic house clean.

What makes a holiday rental clean different?

Put simply, a holiday rental clean goes above and beyond.  Whoever is handling the housekeeping needs to be ready to provide a higher level of service, and complete tasks such as:

  • Changing the linen used by previous guests
  • Sanitising all surfaces after previous guests check out
  • Checking the next guest has sufficient quantities of any provided amenities
  • Keeping an eye out for damage
  • Checking for missing items and taking pictures of any damage
  • Testing various items in the house to be sure they work

In other words, your housekeeping service isn’t only about cleaning.  You’re going to need a home management service designed to ensure your property is maintained to the highest standard.

Are you thinking about doing it yourself?

Doing your own cleaning is a great way to cut down on costs and increase your rental income.  However, it only makes sense if you live locally and can afford to treat your holiday rental as a full-time job.  If doing it yourself seems like an attractive option, ask yourself an honest question: can I commit to deep-cleaning the entire property more than once a week?  In high season, you might have to deal with quick turnovers – for example, where one guest checks out at 10am and the next checks in at 2pm.  If you can’t guarantee you will be ready, willing and able to deliver a thorough clean in that window – without exception – you need to hire someone who can.

If you’re thinking about hiring a professional holiday rental cleaning service…

If you’ve decided you can’t handle the cleaning yourself (or perhaps you don’t live near your rental property), you will need a trusted holiday rental housekeeping service who will visit the property as needed.  A good housekeeper will keep an eye on the state of things and let you know if anything looks worse for wear.  For example, if a remote control is missing or an item has been damaged, you’ll be informed immediately and can take swift action.  Before engaging your professional holiday rental cleaning service, make sure you ask for references.

How much does holiday rental cleaning cost?

Generally speaking, given the extra work involved you should expect to pay more than you would for a typical house clean.  The good news is, it is standard practice to pass along cleaning fees (or part thereof) to the guest.  After all, they are using the property and benefiting from the service.  Regardless, it pays to be price conscious when you’re researching your cleaning service provider, as an exorbitantly high fee can turn potential guests away.  As a guide, a holiday rental clean on the southern Mornington Peninsula will generally be in the vicinity of $200 (for a property of around 4 bedrooms, which has been left in a reasonable state).  Changeover linen costs are an additional fee which is variable upon the number of guests.

Changeover Coordination

Even if you’re planning to outsource your cleaning, you will need to make sure you’re able to coordinate the logistics.  This means arranging for your housekeeper to arrive and complete the job after one guest exits, before the next one arrives.  Make sure you ask if they charge an extra fee to schedule their day around quick turnovers, as this is not uncommon.

Does it all sound too much?

At Bookabreak.com.au we have years of experience dealing with local suppliers.  We only work with the industry’s best on the ground service providers and we have a failproof system which ensures every clean is coordinated to manage even the shortest changeover time.  Our housekeepers go the extra mile to ensure your property is maintained to the highest standard and will promptly report any issues to be rectified.

To find out more about how Bookabreak.com.au can assist you, click here.

What makes bookabreak.com.au different?

“So how are you different to Airbnb or any other holiday rental company?”
We get this question a lot from people who haven’t worked with us yet, and it is easy to see why. We’re all in the short-term property rental industry.  You can find and book great properties on our website or on theirs.  And the fact that every bookabreak.com.au property lists on selected major portals just adds a little more to the confusion.

So – let’s clear things up and outline exactly how bookabreak.com.au is not Airbnb, HomeAway, Booking.com, any other online marketplace or holiday rental management company.

Airbnb, HomeAway & Booking.com: They’re marketplaces. We’re a Management Company.
Firstly, Airbnb, HomeAway, Booking.com and similar websites are online marketplaces where guests find properties and homeowners find guests.  Essentially, they act as a distribution channel for owners or property managers, attracting potential guests to their website but leaving the management of the properties and listings to the owners (or whoever is representing the property) themselves.

bookabreak.com.au is a holiday rental management company. That means we actively manage our properties on behalf of our owners, ensuring each property is always best positioned for maximum traffic and conversion.  Most importantly, we eliminate the stress of the traditional holiday rental process.

Here’s where it gets interesting.  bookabreak.com.au is also a customer of the online marketplaces.  But behind the scenes, our team is always working on the hardest parts of managing a holiday rental: marketing, booking, and customer service.

Our approach allows us to greatly outperform online marketplaces by being an aggregator, so we don’t actually compete with Airbnb, HomeAway, Booking.com and the rest.  We work with them–and everybody wins.

A Different Experience for Owners and Guests.
Since online marketplaces don’t handle property management, homeowners have traditionally been forced to hire an oftentimes underperforming local management company – or fend for themselves.  bookabreak.com.au is different.  We are not just a spin-off of the local real estate agency.  After two decades in the industry, we are reshaping short-term rental management by increasing performance through our unique pricing data metrics platform.  We provide the latest technology which evolves with consumer behaviour.  And we give homeowners tailored performance-focused marketing support.

Not only does our booking and pricing platform allow us to greatly outperform traditional property managers, our local network partners are vetted to the highest standard to handle everything from housekeeping and linen to maintenance.

But that’s not even the start.  We hire professionals to create search-topping property listings.  We promptly handle all enquiries, execute bookings, issue pre-stay communications and follow up requests for online reviews.  And we coordinate directly with our cleaners to ensure the property is ready in time for each arrival.  With our help, every guest enjoys a five-star booking experience.  Basically, our unique approach makes short-term rentals feel like a holiday for both owners and guests!

The bookabreak.com.au Difference
Once you work with bookabreak.com.au, you quickly discover the difference between our service and any of our competitors.  It all starts with the way we determine the appropriate marketing collateral – after all, every property is unique.  It continues with the way we market your property and promptly handle every query, seven days a week.  Then, we offer an intelligent industry competitive fee structure which is unique to any of our competitors.  Finally, it becomes clear in all the ways we make holiday rental easy for everyone.  Owners should be able to relax, trusting that their property is living up to its potential.  And guests should be able to relax and receive a five-star experience, every single time.  THAT is the bookabreak.com.au difference.

We can’t give away all our secrets here though!  Click here to contact us and find out more about how we can help you.