6 Ways To Use Technology To Improve Your Vacation Rental Business
Vacation rentals are an $82 billion market that is expected to grow with a compounded annual growth rate of 8.5% over the three years to come.
With over 450 million using rental properties each year for their vacations or extended stays, hospitality business owners and managers are increasingly enlisting the help of the latest digital tools in order to make routine tasks much simpler. In fact, on average, companies spend over $4,000 a month on managing their rental properties across the world.
Technology is undoubtedly an asset in almost every industry, and rental property management is no exception. Not only does the use of sophisticated resources save time and money, but they also make the entire management process extremely efficient. The extent of automation that comes with incorporating technology enables managers and companies to streamline operations and scale extensively.
Checkout Six Prime Ways To Use Technology To Improve Your Vacation Rental Business
Here are a few of the ways and domains that technology can improve your vacation rental business:
1. Housekeeping and general maintenance
One of the most expensive aspects of vacation rental property management is cleaning and maintenance. Owners, property managers, and companies mostly outsource these tasks, which require scheduling and communication on a regular basis.
The use of comprehensive vacation rental software that can facilitate this aspect is not just cost-efficient, but it also saves the hassle of manually making calls and aligning teams whenever a guest vacates a property.
Cleanliness and hygiene are the factors that matter most to people who rent vacation homes. Ensuring these two requirements are met increases property ratings, attracting more customers in the process. Automation tools make the housekeeping process cost-effective and less of a hassle.
2. Property management
70% of vacation rental companies have 10 or fewer units on their portfolio. Only 10% of companies have more than 100 units, while the remaining are independently managed. Either way, individual owners and property managers have rentals with a specific operational chain that allows guests to book, pay and ultimately enjoy. Naturally, manually keeping the business going can be a hectic endeavor.
Technology-based solutions like extensive property management software that exist these days seamlessly automate the whole process. These tools allow companies and independent owners to not only manage their bookings, but also generate invoices, coordinate with various suppliers, maintain their books, and communicate with guests and team members. In essence, they enable the entire operational side of the business to be managed through a single platform.
3. Dynamic pricing
The vacation rental business is one that frequently needs to update pricing on a variety of factors. These include current market demand, the tourist season, evolving trends in the segment, and various other insights. Thanks to the abundance of data nowadays, this is another area that technology can help improve.
Property managers and owners no longer need to keep manual track of each property, its location, seasonal demand, and other factors to update pricing. There are dynamic pricing tools readily available online to do that. With the appropriate parameters, the solutions can frequently and effectively gauge the ideal price for every rental in the portfolio with added backing from available data. This not only improves efficiency in the operational chain but also paves the way for cost-savings and better resource allocation.
4. Guest communication and experience management
One of the most important factors that guarantee success for your business is the overall experience that guests receive at your property. The subsequent reviews they leave attract other people, and the cycle continues. Once again, it is not physically possible for managers and owners to visit each property when the guest arrives, during their stay, and also as they leave. Not to mention that this can feel like an invasion of privacy to some guests.
This is where different experience management technological solutions come into play. For instance, there are welcome apps available that automate guest communication offering digital welcome books, a complete guide for tourist attractions at the destination, customer support, and a marketplace. These tools allow companies to remotely enhance the overall guest experience and ensure that those renting the place have constant support, an element that is vital in ensuring overall satisfaction.
5. Property automation tools
The advancements in technology over the years have been impressive, to say the least. These days, not only do individual owners and managers not need to visit their properties on a regular basis, they don’t even require physical presence for security or granting access to guests.
Equipment like smart locks, noise monitoring, motion detection, smart thermostats, and numerous others allow remote control of each property from any corner of the world. Guests can receive their key cards in the form of a QR code, which can be scanned at the smart lock of the property to give them restricted or unrestricted access to the property. The other equipment ensures they have the best stay and overall experience possible. Also, when the guest leaves, and the property is vacant, utilities can be shut down remotely to cut a lot of additional expenses.
6. Data intelligence and market research
The vacation rental business is extremely competitive, especially since platforms like Airbnb have enabled almost any home, apartment, or lodge to be listed as a possible choice for accommodation. Therefore, the only way to stay ahead in the market today is through the support of data and appropriate market research.
Once again, this is a domain that technology has covered for you. Not only are platforms like property management solutions able to accumulate data about your business, but they can also factor in current market variables in delivering accurate analysis about trends, demands, and evolving customer patterns.
This gives companies an edge over the competition because they can be proactive rather than reactive. Owners and managers can tweak their offerings to make the property more lucrative to rent and the experience more tailored toward individual customers and their preferences.
Conclusion
Technology has been a game changer for the vacation rental business. The abundance of tools streamlining and automating almost every aspect of the operation chain allows cost-cutting and more effective property management.
Housekeeping can be scheduled automatically, a portfolio of properties and their bookings can be managed remotely, dynamic pricing models can be implemented swiftly, and the overall guest experience can be uplifted substantially. And all this requires is a computer and an active internet connection, which means business owners can manage their properties from anywhere in the world without breaking a sweat.
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Arnab Dey
Arnab is a professional blogger, having an enormous interest in writing blogs and other jones of calligraphies. In terms of his professional commitments, He carries out sharing sentient blogs.
