{"id":7408,"date":"2019-08-22T13:30:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T13:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rentalsunited.spfr.co\/?p=7408"},"modified":"2026-07-20T10:25:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:25:42","slug":"run-vacation-rentals-within-real-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/blog\/run-vacation-rentals-within-real-estate\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Run Vacation Rentals Within a Real Estate Portfolio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The demand<\/strong> for short-term rentals is growing exponentially and real estate companies have taken notice of this opportunity. As the manager of a real estate portfolio venturing into holiday homes, you already have the assets<\/strong> to be successful \u2013 but do you have the know-how? <\/strong><\/span>In this guide, we\u2019ll go through the fundamentals and the resources<\/strong> you need to proficiently manage vacation rentals within a real estate portfolio.<\/span> <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. First and foremost: Educate yourself<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Diving head-first into an industry that you\u2019re not familiar with can be a risky endeavour. Before you do anything else, make sure you educate yourself on all aspects<\/strong> of managing a vacation rental business. <\/span>The internet is full of fantastic, often free resources to help you become a short-term rental pro. <\/span>Check these out :<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Listen to <\/span>Vacation rental podcasts<\/span><\/a> for exclusive industry insights <\/span>
\n2. Follow industry-renowned influencers<\/a>
\n3. Turn to a professional consultan<\/a>t for help<\/span>
\n4. Enrol in a course such as the Vacation Rental University<\/a>
\n5. Explore our <\/span>Blog<\/a> for new posts and downloadables each week<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Advanced-Airbnb-optimisation-webinar-download-banner\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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2. Do market research and map your competition<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Are short-term rentals more lucrative than long-term rentals? That largely depends on your location and market. A strategy that works for some may not work for others. <\/span>The only way to find out whether short-term rentals<\/strong> are likely to work for you<\/strong> is to do market research<\/strong>. Map your competition as thoroughly as you can. Estimate their occupancy and nightly rates, and calculate your expected revenue. <\/span> You can monitor your competition manually or get insightful market data from data intelligence providers such as Transparent or AirDNA. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find answers to these questions:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 What\u2019s the average nightly rate of properties in your neighbourhood on Airbnb and other listing websites?<\/span>
\n\u2013 What is the occupancy rate of similar rentals in high season and low season?<\/span>
\n\u2013 How much would this property make as a short-term rental in comparison to a long-term lease? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This step is especially important if you\u2019re managing properties owned by other people. You\u2019re going to need all the data you can get to convince your owners that short-term rentals can be highly profitable. They\u2019ll want to know why they should give up leasing their properties to reliable, long-term tenants!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consult with your owners and give them specific market data that shows your strategy will work. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Understand local rules and taxes<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every country and municipality has different rules and regulations<\/span> concerning vacation rentals. <\/span>The unprecedented growth of the vacation rental market has led to the birth of countless illegal businesses. As a response, governments have imposed laws<\/strong> that may affect property managers from the first day they start operating short-term rentals. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want to end up getting caught in a lawsuit, it\u2019s important that you familiarise yourself with the local legislation. <\/span>Most countries now require you to register your rental<\/strong> as a commercial property and pay the taxes that apply to this type of real estate.  <\/span>In the majority of destinations, you are also obligated to pay the tourist tax<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Get the right insurance<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Short-term rentals have very specific needs <\/strong>when it comes to insurance<\/strong>. Standard homeowner\u2019s insurance does not cover things like damages to your property, thefts and cancellations. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don\u2019t worry, there are specialised insurance providers in the vacation rental industry that protect owners against these risks. Read our post with the <\/span>top 8 vacation rental insurance providers<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Listing sites like Airbnb offer different levels of coverage, too. The <\/span>Airbnb Host Guarantee<\/span><\/a> covers damages caused by guests when the damage is greater than the security deposit or there is no security deposit in place. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Know your costs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The expenses<\/strong> associated with running a short-term rental<\/strong> are very different from the costs of upkeeping a long-term rental. <\/span>According to the <\/span>largest survey<\/span><\/a> conducted in the vacation rental tech space, the top three costliest processes involved in managing short-term rental properties are:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Cleaning<\/strong>
\n2. Enquiries<\/strong>
\n3. Updating listings<\/strong>
\n4. Maintenance<\/strong>
\n5. Accounting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other expenses include taxes, insurance, utilities, marketing costs (e.g. listing site commissions) and vacation rental technology and automation tools. <\/span>Make sure you consider all of the above before throwing yourself into the vacation rental business!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Come up with a commission plan<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As you go from managing long-term leases to dealing with short-term rentals, the terms of your agreements with owners<\/strong> are inevitably going to change. Tenants will no longer be paying rent on a monthly basis; instead, you\u2019ll be receiving payments based on a nightly rate. It makes sense that your commission plan changes<\/strong>, too. <\/span>
\nCome up with a commission plan that suits both your business and your owners. For vacation rental properties, it\u2019s usually 20-30%. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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7. Enlist new staff<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of costs: short-term rentals require more hands-on deck<\/strong>. The three main areas which you\u2019ll need help in are cleaning<\/strong>, maintenance<\/strong> and check-in<\/strong> (unless you decide to replace the latter with a <\/span>keyless entry<\/span><\/a> solution and a check-in app.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want to hire new people, you can also outsource<\/strong> these tasks to operations providers. Make sure you vet them very carefully: reliable partners are key to success. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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8. Come up with a go-to-market strategy<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to break into the short-term rental market, you\u2019re going to need a new go-to-market strategy<\/strong>. <\/span>How are you going to deliver your unique value proposition<\/strong> and achieve a competitive advantage<\/strong>?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distribution<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First of all, you need to re-learn how to advertise <\/strong>your properties online<\/strong>. Travellers book short-term rentals on four different types of channels: specialised vacation rental marketplaces, online travel agencies, metasearches and wholesalers. <\/span>
\nLearning how to use <\/strong>these platforms \u2013 and how to pick the suitable ones for you<\/span> \u2013 is paramount. You will only attract travellers if you meet them where they\u2019re searching. <\/span>To learn how to create top-notch content<\/strong> that ranks well and attracts bookings, get our <\/span>comprehensive distribution guide<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pricing and revenue management<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re going from charging a monthly flat fee to charging daily rates that fluctuate<\/strong> depending on the season and the pricing scheme. There\u2019s a lot to learn in this area!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Familiarise yourself with new concepts such as <\/span>booking window<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>vacation rental revenue management<\/span><\/a>, then find pricing strategies<\/strong> that work well for each distribution channel. Here\u2019s how to get the pricing right on <\/span>Airbnb<\/span><\/a> and on <\/span>Booking.com<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re ready to master advanced techniques, check out these <\/span>3 short-term rental pricing hacks<\/span><\/a> that successful property managers swear by. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Brand your short-term rentals<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Including vacation rentals within a real estate company, you should think about creating a separate brand<\/strong> for them instead of trying to blend everything into one business. <\/span>
\nYou need to distinguish your short-term rentals from the rest of your properties because you\u2019ll be targeting<\/strong> a completely different audience<\/strong>, with specific needs and preferences. You\u2019ll be addressing them in a different tone of voice, too. <\/span>
\nConsider coming up with a new name, having a new logo designed, and most importantly creating a separate website<\/strong> where travellers can book directly<\/strong>, in just a few clicks. Remember: direct bookings are the best because they don\u2019t come with commissions!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Get vacation rental tech<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Experienced short-term rental managers have adopted various technology solutions<\/strong> to streamline mundane and complex tasks. Here\u2019s what the most common setup looks like:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These software products provide solutions to specific problems and challenges<\/strong> that short-term rental managers face. They play an increasingly important role in the development of the industry and are absolutely essential for achieving success within this space. <\/span>
\nSmart tech solutions are also indispensable when it comes to distribution. Learn how you can diversify your marketing and distribute your short-term rentals on global and niche websites with the help of <\/span>Rentals United<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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11. Start collecting data and tracking KPIs <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, no matter the industry, all successful businesses track and analyse <\/strong>data. However, it can be tricky to figure out what data points to keep an eye on and how to set KPIs if you\u2019re new to the game.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you get better and better at managing short-term rentals, you\u2019ll soon find yourself pondering numbers like Average Daily Rate, Occupancy Rate, RevPAR and Average Length of Stay. <\/span>
\nHelp yourself out and download <\/span>The Booking Tracker<\/span><\/a>, a simple and efficient tool<\/strong> to track all the short-term rental KPIs that matter!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Attend conferences and networking events<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When entering a new industry, it\u2019s important to keep your finger on the pulse of events and be at the epicentre of what\u2019s happening. <\/span>
\nAttend industry events<\/strong> \u2013 like the <\/span>Vacation Rental World Summit<\/span><\/a> \u2013 do some networking<\/strong> and start creating your circle of like-minded short-term rental managers. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We hope that our guide will get you ready to manage vacation rentals within a real estate setting. If you need insights from a specialized Channel Manager, request a free call!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SCHEDULE A CALL<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Real estate managers and developers venturing into vacation rentals have the assets to be successful \u2013 but do they have the know-how? In this guide, we go through the fundamentals needed to proficiently launch short-term rentals within a real estate business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,39,35],"tags":[34],"blog-tag":[],"class_list":["post-7408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-operations-2","category-rentals-united","tag-vivien-magyar"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45451,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7408\/revisions\/45451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7408"},{"taxonomy":"blog-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentalsunited.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-tag?post=7408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}