Owning a vacation home has the potential to be a great source of passive income for a vacation rental host. If you live in the Long Island area, you are likely pleased with the rise in tourists last year.
In 2022, there were about 56 million visitors to the New York City area. That is more than a 71% increase from 2021.
If you have noticed an increase in demand for your short-term rental, you may be looking for more efficient ways of managing bookings and reservations.
What can you do to achieve this? This guide gives you some tips.
Hire a Professional Photographer
When it comes to filling out your listing, you are going to have to advertise your vacation home online. That means having photos and maybe even videos of the property to give people an idea of what the property is like.
To maximize your return on investment here, you should hire a professional photographer. The reason is that they have the camera equipment and the expertise to make your home look as appealing as possible.
Properties with professional photography get 61% more views online compared to those that do not.
A professional photographer can encourage you to clear clutter, have the right lighting, have the right camera angles, and even take aerial photos of your property. Do not underestimate the value that a professional photographer can offer here.
Instant Bookings
The next thing you need to think about is whether you want to allow instant bookings or not. A few factors may come into play for this.
One of those factors is whether or not you can flip the property immediately for a guest or not. Sometimes, it could take people at least 24 hours to prepare the property for the next person to arrive.
If you are a property owner who needs to be on the property and has no automatic plans put in place for last-minute bookings, perhaps you should think twice about offering instant bookings.
Hire a Property Manager
If you are looking for an option where you do not have to handle bookings directly, you can always turn it over to a property manager. These people are responsible for all of the daily tasks that your property needs.
This includes making sure that all of your property's dates get filled along with handling any concerns that your guests have. A property manager can also organize the check-in process for guests.
For those of you who are looking to take a more passive approach with your vacation home, this could be a good option for you.
Improve Managing Bookings and Reservations
These are the biggest things to keep in mind when it comes to managing bookings and reservations.
You should make sure that you have professional photographs of your property posted online to increase viewings of your property. Also, think hard about whether or not you want to allow instant bookings for your property.
Then, if you would rather delegate daily tasks to someone else, a property manager could be just what you need. Click here to learn more.
