October 27, 2022
As a property manager, one of the most bittersweet times of the year is the offseason. You are relieved to have made it through another one of your busiest times, but now you have the time to reflect on some of the other tasks that you have been pushing out. While it is nice to have time to take a breather, there are some important things that should be taken care of before business picks back up. Here are 5 must-dos during the offseason in your vacation rental business:
As a property manager, the last thing you want is to get a call during peak season about a broken appliance or malfunction at your rental. When this happens, you not only have to pay for the problem to be fixed, but you also miss out on time to have the property rented out to make money. In order to avoid this headache, take time during the offseason to perform preventative maintenance. Some examples of this include getting the air conditioner serviced and taking care of long-term repairs that have been put off.
While your cleaning crew does their best to keep every property as clean as possible for incoming guests, there are some deep cleaning projects that you just don’t have time for during the peak season. As you have more time on your hands, you can revisit your properties and take the time to do some more lengthy cleaning projects, such as dusting the fan blades, wiping the window sills, carpet cleaning, etc. Be sure to email us at [email protected] for a comprehensive deep cleaning list to ensure your properties are ready for the next busy season.
Whether there is a problem with existing furniture or it’s just time for a change, the offseason is the perfect time to meet with property owners to refurnish anything that needs to be upgraded. It will take a few days to get the old furniture out and have the new pieces installed, so this is not a project you want to try and accomplish between guests during the peak season. After everything is complete, be sure to take updated photos of the property to post online for upcoming visitors and potential renters to see.
Although it is important to advertise your rental properties, one of the biggest ways to gain new business is by word of mouth. That is why it is important to follow up with those who have recently stayed in one of your properties to make sure they were satisfied with everything. If they were, you can use their testimony to try and build new business relationships for the upcoming season. When you are able to grow your client base, you are also able to expand to new properties and build revenue faster.
During the peak season, it can be hard to truly reflect on how each individual property is performing. Your main focus is getting as much business as possible and less on the numbers. However, the off-season gives your team the chance to go back and look at the results of the last season. Once you see which properties are doing the best, you can readjust your rates for the upcoming year and plan your revenue management in order to make the greatest profit possible.
Now that you know about some of the must-dos for your vacation rental business during the offseason, check out these other tips for property managers!
