Have you been thinking about earning extra money by making your property available as a short term rental? The idea of extra cash in your pocket is probably enticing but you’re probably asking yourself if it is really that easy? Whether you’re intending to only rent out your principal residence a few times a year when you’re out of town or whether you’re thinking of setting something up on a larger scale with multiple properties, it is important to think about what it takes.
The sharing economy is still a business.
The idea of the sharing economy, of sharing spare time, resources or assets, as a way to make extra money on the side should not be seen as something casual or informal. You still have to run things like a business. In the same way that you expect your Uber to be spotlessly clean and your driver to be knowledgeable and friendly, people booking a short term rental expect to stay in a property that is clean, well maintained and that contains everything they need for their stay.
Increasingly, short term renters are expecting hotel or Bed & Breakfast level service. However, if you’re a small operator, perhaps with only one property, you have to think about how you’re going to run things.
Can you do everything yourself?
What happens when a guest needs a lightbulb replaced, there’s no hot water or an appliance breaks? If your guests were staying in a hotel, they would make a call to the front desk and the hotel is sure to have spare lightbulbs and appliances on-site and a plumber on call. When you are renting out your property as a short term rental, you have to think of these things too. Perhaps you can rush over to the property with a spare lightbulb or run to the store to get a replacement hairdryer? How quickly can you find a plumber in an emergency?
In between each guest, the property also needs to be cleaned, bedding and towels need to be replaced and trash needs to be taken out. If you are managing your short term rental on a full-time basis this might not be a problem, but if you have a full-time job or you’re specifically renting out your property while you’re out of town, what can you do?
The benefits of hiring a property manager.
One option of managing your short term rental is to hire a property manager. A property manager, particularly one specialised in short term rental management, can help to optimise processes such as cleaning between guests, doing maintenance checks regularly and having service providers on-call for repairs when things do go wrong.
If you’re in Toronto, you can give us a call at EasyHosts to find out more about our short term rental management services in Toronto. If you’re not ready to hire a property management company yet, make sure you develop checklists for everything to make sure you’re always on top of things. Everything is possible when you have a plan and a system!