When entering the short-term rental business, you encounter several significant entry barriers, with property management being one of the most prominent. Managing a property involves numerous tasks, from coordinating bookings and handling guest inquiries to maintaining the property and ensuring compliance with local regulations. This can be incredibly overwhelming and time-consuming, which might be why you haven’t yet expanded further into the short-term rental or vacation home market.

Fortunately, co-hosting offers a viable solution to these challenges. By partnering with a co-host, you can share the responsibilities of property management, allowing you to leverage their expertise and resources. A co-host can assist with various tasks such as guest communication, check-ins and check-outs, and day-to-day maintenance, helping to alleviate the burden and streamline operations. This collaborative approach not only eases the workload but also provides an opportunity to expand your rental business more effectively and efficiently.

Considering co-hosting could be a strategic move to overcome the initial barriers of property management and unlock the full potential of your short-term rental investments.

Co-hosting Your Property

Co-hosting, essentially is when you connect a property manager or property management company with an existing property. The amount of work done by either partner, and the amount of money can be negotiated between you and the parties involved, but the main draw is the experience of the Property Managers. If that’s your only barrier, this may be your best option. One good website that we’d recommend is Cohost Market, they specialize in this sort of thing by connecting property managers with ours so you can find a partner to co-host with you — and it’s relatively easy to create an account and get started.

Co-hosting can also be taken in a different context, and that is splitting the property management responsibilities 50/50. If you’re someone who is quite busy, and also a bit strapped for cash, going in business with someone else to start your short term rental journey may also be a great option. This option will see you and your partner splitting the responsibility and costs of managing your property. One thing to consider is how much your business part is willing to chip in, whether it’s costs or time.

Whatever the case may be, if you’re looking for someone to help manage your property, or help split costs, co-hosting may be the right option for you. If you have any questions about co-hosting, feel free to email us at contact@ensoconnect.com. We also host twice weekly Clubhouse meetings on our Airbnb on Autopilot Clubhouse. They’re run on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:55pm EST where you can join in on the conversation about Airbnb and short term rentals.

What ARE you doing to sell your property? Reflect on the actions you’ve taken in the past week, month, six months, or even a year that demonstrate how your business is growing. When attempting to sell your property, you are essentially positioning it as the superior choice among countless options. With fierce competition and millions of listings on Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms, distinguishing yourself from the rest is crucial.

Consider evaluating the unique selling points of your property. Have you enhanced its appeal through recent renovations or upgrades? Are you utilizing high-quality photos and virtual tours to showcase its best features? Have you optimized your property’s listing with compelling descriptions and guest reviews that highlight its strengths?

Additionally, think about your marketing strategies. Are you leveraging social media and email campaigns to reach potential guests? Have you implemented dynamic pricing strategies to stay competitive? Are you engaging in partnerships with local businesses to offer exclusive experiences or promotions?

Tracking the effectiveness of these efforts is key. Analyze booking trends, guest feedback, and conversion rates to gauge what’s working and what needs adjustment. By continuously refining your approach and staying ahead of industry trends, you can set your property apart and attract more guests in a crowded marketplace.

Sell your property successfully

Recently, our CoFounder and CEO, Francois Gouelo, along with myself hosted our Clubhouse, Airbnb on Autopilot, where we discussed what aspects of short term rental and vacation home owners do they showcase in order to stand out. What we both realized is that going the extra mile when offering things to your guest is almost always guaranteed to work. One guest that joined mentioned that they actually have fully converted their property into a quarantining safe haven, coupled with fast internet, streaming services, and even a grocery store gift card so they’re able to stay in the comfort of their rental. Another guest brought up the point of knowing your audience, that is, who are you wanting to rent out your property? If you are trying to target families, this host mentioned having childrens toys (LEGO, building blocks, etc.) along with a bottle of wine for the parents, can mean all the difference.

By making your listing more special with these small touches, you’ll not only have guests give you higher reviews for going above and beyond, but this will snowball into you getting more bookings. Who doesn’t want that? By investing in your properties and the actual quality of the stay, you are taking the first step in investing in yourself and the longevity of your business: if your properties succeed, so will you! If you’re currently unsure of how to go about making your place more unique, try and look back and see what aspects of a hotel or BnB you really enjoyed. Did the host or hotel leave out some chocolate or shampoo? Or did they leave some toilet paper? Both of these little things give the guest peace of mind, since they are left with one less thing to worry about.

If you have any questions or tips when trying to sell your property to potential guests, feel free to join our next Clubhouse so you can talk with other people in the rental and travel industry. Our Airbnb on Autopilot Clubhouse runs every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:55pm EST. If you have any questions, like always feel free to email us at contact@ensoconnect.com