Whether you own a ski-in/ski-out cabin for rent, a condo, or a luxury lodge in Steamboat Springs, somewhere along your vacation rental journey, you must have wondered if you should hire a professional short-term rental manager.
Unlike long-term rentals, short-term rentals demand substantial effort and ongoing attention, but hiring property managers to take the heavy workload off your back comes with (sometimes hefty) commission fees.
If you're still on the fence, this blog is for you. In the paragraphs below, we'll go through five ways property managers in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, can drive success to your vacation rental.
1. They help with the initial setup.
Whether you are taking your first steps in this business or if you are actually adding more rentals to your portfolio, property managers in Steamboat Springs will help you with setup.
They know how to choose the right furnishings, find the best photographers in your area, and how to craft appealing and accurate listing descriptions.
At Retreatia, for one, we know just what sets a short-term rental apart from its competitors, and we've developed very efficient ways to secure occupancy, establish appropriate rates, and receive those much-needed five-star reviews from the get-go.
Such knowledge is very important to speed up your success and to keep it consistent in your rental journey in the long term.
The gorgeous hero image of Seventh Heaven Chalet. Property managers in Steamboat Springs can help you with setting up a new rental, including finding professional photographers in your area.
2. They take care of the daily grind.
Much of the workload of a host revolves around everyday needs. These are tasks that can be very time-consuming and demanding. Here are some ways professional managers can help in the daily grind:
Non-stop guest support.
High-quality guest support is very important to secure those much-needed five-star reviews.
Make no mistake; your engagement with guests starts long before they check-in. It begins from the moment they ask about booking your property online and lasts beyond their check-out.
As property managers in Steamboat Springs, we manage almost 150 guest interactions per month for each vacation rental under our services.
It's a lot! But with our experience, we've developed templates and standardized procedures to make things more efficient and guarantee the ultimate level of guest satisfaction.
Keeping good response times.
In this field, it's of utmost importance to promptly attend to guest inquiries. If you cannot do so, guests usually get annoyed and mention this in their reviews.
The ideal response time is five minutes or less.
At Retreatia, we do our best to follow this rule, and we have a guest support team working 24/7 to ensure that all inquiries and requests are promptly and accurately handled. The result couldn't be better: we often receive excellent reviews for our guest support efforts.
Dealing with Urgent Issues.
With a large influx of guests in your rental, unexpected things can happen. Once more, when problems arise, it's essential to have someone ready to assist, and it's even better if this person already knows what to do and how to solve the situation. Enter your property manager.
At Retreatia, we not only count on a well-prepared team ready to solve any issues, but we also have a list of contacts we can reach out to if needed — we are talking about the best plumbers, handymen, etc., in our region.
Taking Care of Your Vacation Rental.
Because of the high volume of guests, a short-term rental demands more care than a regular home. To keep your rental in good condition, good property management companies take a proactive approach and bet on consistent maintenance schedules. They have people on their payroll to carry out routine inspections.
At the very least, they hire a trustworthy cleaning team who can manage small things like inventory checks and restocking supplies and amenities.
Finding the right professionals for both cases can be hard, but once more, professional property managers have this covered. They typically collaborate with top-notch cleaning and maintenance companies and will go the extra mile to keep your rental property in good condition.
3. They Handle More Complex Issues as Well.
Running a vacation rental in Steamboat Springs requires a lot more than just handling day-to-day tasks; urgent issues often arise, such as plumbing and electrical concerns, HVAC, and internet connectivity, to name a few.
When things of this sort happen, a good property manager knows how to react quickly. We know very well that, in some cases, a delay in resolving these issues could even lead to legal complications.
Once more, at Retreatia, we have efficient and cost-effective procedures to fix more complex issues. We also maintain a great network of contacts — excellent professionals with whom we have long-standing partnerships, and they give us the most favorable deals.
Finding affordable and skilled contractors to solve problems last minute can be quite a challenge. However, if necessary, we also handle the time-consuming tasks of searching, briefing, and negotiating with new vendors.
We also work proactively to implement preventative measures, such as conducting comprehensive annual inspections to ensure that fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, for example, are in excellent condition.
Aspen Lodge is kept in top-notch condition at all times. Property managers develop strategies to ensure your vacation rental is always at its best.
4. They handle admin and marketing tasks.
It's a misconception to think of vacation rentals as a source of the so-called "passive income." The reality is that this business involves a lot of responsibilities. On top of what we already covered above, there's also a great volume of admin and marketing work.
Some software tools can help you a lot, but ultimately, the responsibility of keeping things in order remains either on you or your property manager's shoulders.
Admin tasks include, among other things, business development and marketing.
One of the major aspects of it is to continually evaluate local demand and fine-tune dynamic pricing strategies to keep your rental booked.
Again, pricing tools like Wheelhouse and Pricelabs are great, but having someone who knows the intricacies of the industry behind the steering wheel truly makes a difference.
As property managers in Steamboat Springs, CO, we make sure Silver Fox Lodge is consistently booked at the right price for the right guests.
5. They bring you extra revenue.
By now, we hope it's pretty obvious that property managers can really help with your vacation rental, but you're probably thinking that all this comes at a cost, right?
Of course. Hiring a property manager in Colorado, like anywhere else, does come with a price, and at times, it can be high. Still, the bottom line is that property managers help bring in extra revenue, and the time they save you will not just offset their costs but also generate a lot more profit.
For one, they'll spare you from costly contractors and cleaning expenses.
Second, property managers can increase your profits through their marketing skills, home improvements, and dynamic pricing expertise. So, that means a lot more revenue.
Steamboat Springs rental managers will save you time, effort, and put more money in your pocket.
Property managers in Steamboat Springs will assist you with countless other aspects of the vacation rental game.
With their help, instead of worrying about managing everything yourself, you'll have more time on your hands to address personal matters and decide how to reinvest all the extra income you'll be receiving.
Then — and only then — short-term rentals can start to resemble a passive income model.