Getting a Property Management Company for Your Airbnb - Is it worth it?
We were very DIY when starting out with our Lake House. Partially to learn everything about the home, partially to save money, and very much because we couldn’t find a cleaning service available.
The reason we ended up going with a property management company is after calling a round of cleaning services for the third time this season and continuing to get zero responses or available, one company had switched over to managing properties.
Things I loved about this group.
1) Easy to talk to and get along with
2) Has their own airbnbs and rental property, while living in the area. When someone is successful in the area they recommend, I always like to go with them. I mean they know and believe in what they’re doing.
I was almost hesitant at first, as they do cost about 20% of what we make. A few things that sold it for me:
If we continue to do the same amount of business, we’ll make a healthy profit while paying their fee
They hire out cleaning companies and take care of all flips (they can handle same day flips as well)
They have a better idea of what we can charge. We knew we undercharged for this year and want to increase it for next - but aren’t sure by how much.
They have a specific form they have all guests charge. Then, if they break something, they can follow up to get it fixed if it was their fault
They handle cancellation policy. We don’t currently have one as we didn’t want to deal with it with the pandemic. However, they’re able to reach out on case by case basis, and get cancellation fees on case-by-case basis.
They have suggestions for building more business
They have a Hot Tub guy. He has a variety of wholesale hot tubs that are actually available right now. They also know that having this increases winter bookings for homes without water access (something we believed but didn’t want to invest 5-10k on a hot tub to find out.
They also manage the guy who comes out to service the hot tub
Having competitive winter prices - while we figured out prices for summer, our winter game was lacking, especially without having water views/access.
Getting our fireplace serviced. We have a dope double sided fireplace between the kitchenette and living room. They can help us get this in working order and make sure the guests are trained on how to use it.
If I have friends who live distanced and want to get a vacation home/airbnb, I would highly recommend using a company like this. If your rental is in your neighborhood or less than 30 min away - your call. I would personally manage it myself, but if you have a few of them, or it takes way to much of your time and energy, it could be time to look into it!
I know this isn’t the cleanest post - but I hope it’s a real view into why we chose to go with one. Any reason you did or didn’t choose one?? Comment below!