Essentials of managing a rental property
Managing a rental property could be quite challenging, especially if you’re new to the world of hospitality. But fear not, we at Bukit Vista have gathered more than 10 years of experience in managing a rental property and wrote to you this awesome guide so you don’t have to encounter the mistakes and questions we went through.
If you want to know more about how we manage thousands of properties, especially on Airbnb check out our villa management page.
Our experience and numbers speak for themselves
Years of experience
– est 2012
Average 4.5+ star reviews
– est 2012
Properties under management
– April 2024
Value of properties under management
– March 2024
Average daily sales
– 51.12% increase compared to last year period
Average first-page search impressions
– From March 2023 until March 2024
Total revenue generated to partner
Average occupancy rate
– From March 2023 until March 2024
From our years of experience, managing a rental property requires effort, time, and money to get a stable income. If you are an investor or villa owner in Bali, you have 2 options to manage your property. Choose to manage your property independently or appoint a third party to manage your property, which is a professional property management company.
Why managing a rental property is important?
Managing and maintaining a rental property is no easy work, especially if you’re planning to rent out your property for potential guests. Guests have many options and information when choosing where to stay now from hotels, villas, guesthouses, and resorts. So ensuring your property is up to standard could result in whether your property is successful in attracting guests.
From housekeeping and maintenance, choosing which platforms & OTAs to market your property, guest relations, pricing, onsite staff training, and so on. The lists for maintaining a rental property could be quite long, not to mention energy and time-consuming. Therefore, having the right management practice could help you save time and money.
How can you rent your property?
The logistics and procedures of renting a property involve meticulous housekeeping and maintenance to meet cleaning standards, ensuring all legal and financial documents are prepared, and listing your property on platforms like Airbnb. Keep these key processes in mind to streamline the rental preparation for your property.
1. Make sure your rental place is always well-organized, clean, and sanitary.
This includes all the housekeeping and maintenance essentials to ensure your property stays spotless. Below are some of the lists we think can help your property remain spotlessly clean.
- Walls, doors, ceilings, and all switches should be free of any stains.
- Clean all light fixtures, being sure to remove any insects from the interior and ensure that the outside is clear of stains, oil, and dust.
- Make sure to thoroughly clean the drapes and blinds and restore them to the state they were in
- All skirting boards, window sills, doorstops, and the space above cabinets should be cleaned and dusted.
- To eliminate dust and insects, vacuum all window tracks and sliding door tracks.
- All non-carpeted floors should be swept or mopped to remove any stains or scuffs, especially those that may have dried.
- Make sure the carpet is cleaned properly, accounting for normal wear and tear.
- Clean all filters and air conditioners.
Adding storage furniture, such as bookcases or a storage bench, will also help you manage your rental house. Before you welcome your new tenants into the house, it’s important to make sure that everything is clean, orderly, and tidy. If you’re busy, think about getting assistance from a reputable cleaning service. This service can assist you in making sure that your rental property is clean and pristine, so your guests feel delighted.
2. Check all your financial & legal documents before renting
It’s crucial to comprehend all of the legal requirements associated with renting your house. Always check with your local government before starting this project because many of these rules are location-specific, especially if you’re living overseas and away from your property. Verify the requirements with your country, city, or state to learn whether your house may become a rental.
To be sure you’re handling the legal and financial ramifications of renting your house properly, use the following checklist:
- Talk to a local representative to find out if you need permits, and whether or not you are legally allowed to rent your home.
- Examine your homeowner’s insurance policy and make sure it covers renters. If not, ask about a supplemental plan to make sure you have the right amount of coverage to protect you.
- Visit your local bank or speak with an accountant to find out more about your mortgage and tax responsibilities.
- Never book a guest until all of your legal, insurance, and financial issues are up to date and enacted.
3. Marketing and listing your property for guests.
When your rental property is ready to be listed, you’ll need to use some marketing strategies to secure those confirmed reservations. A thorough marketing strategies will provide prospective visitors with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.
Here are some suggestions of marketing strategies to help ensure that your visitor clicks the booking button:
- Include crystal-clear, sharp, high-resolution images of your property in your listing. Such as a picture of your house, your backyard, every bedroom & bathroom, and the living room. To acquire stunning photographs for your rental, think about hiring a professional photographer that specializes in real estate photos.
- Learn about the region you live in, and provide details about fantastic restaurants, tourism sites, and transit options.
- Consider marketing your rental home as a family- and pet-friendly space if you can.
- A delicious breakfast, free Wi-Fi, and laundry facilities may all add appeal to your property. Make sure to mention any of these services in your ad if you provide them.
Below is an example and tips to create a detailed & delightful listing on Airbnb
Making an impression - Cover photo & listing title
- Make an eye-catching and unique title that highlights what’s unique about your listing (private pool, sauna tab)
- Mention the area or nearby tourist attractions (5 min walk to Kuta Beach) or experience type for catered customers (“remote working” or “romantic gateway”
- Choose a hero photo (photos that show on first-page viewing) that represent the best shot & summarize the overall experience of staying on the property
- Write a caption for photos to add context and helps guest better understand your property
- Add other photos other than just the property such as:
- Closest restaurant/mini market/bank and other essential service location
- Highlight of the area: Attraction points, famous places
- onsite staff photo with the host to feel more personal
Write an accurate description of your listing & amenities
- Write an intro using descriptive words about the property, and what makes it unique, and end with a call to action.
- Try to identify the common questions a guest can ask and include them in your description (“Q&A “section) such as “What’s the check-in time”
- Include extra services you provide: airport pick up, shuttle service, and house rules outlining safety precautions & what guests can have access to
- Create your listing in multiple languages, more preferably have someone with a good understanding of the language translate for you
Can you manage a rental property yourself?
After you buy a property in Bali, managing a rental property yourself is definitely doable, it just requires extra effort, time, and money.
First, you need to have a strategy to allocate your budget for property management such as maintenance & repair costs, taxes, take into account seasonality, and onsite staff costs if you’re hiring.
You then have to deal with guests directly and establish good relationships to maintain a good rating, so others are interested in your place. It’s a good thing to keep in mind some of the vital stats to ensure you’re receiving high returns.
One of the major ones is occupancy rate, or the proportion of rooms that are occupied on any given night, and with good cause. The occupancy rate of your hotel is a sign of the profitability of your enterprise. Another one is the average daily rate is used to calculate how much money a hotel typically makes from each booked guest room each day. You can determine the average daily rate (ADR) for your property and see the rate that applies to all booked rooms.
If you expect stable occupancy or a high ROI, you also must have good marketing skills for your property. You need to list your property on OTA (Airbnb, booking.com), determine the price of your property, and promote it on social media to market your property.
The most common issue when investing in rental properties is experiencing losses due to guests not being able to look after your property. Therefore, you have to be selective in screening guests who want to rent your property by checking their social media and booking account traces.
Still confused? Thankfully, our Bali villa management company employs a skilled team of revenue managers and data scientists dedicated to managing your properties effectively. Our advanced revenue projection model ensures that you achieve maximum returns on your investment.
How do you manage a rental property remotely?
Managing a rental property remotely while you’re away is a sure thing you can do. However, you still need some person on the ground to monitor your property to anticipate unexpected and unfavorable things that could happen at your property. That’s why you still need to rely on several people monitoring your property including:
Cleaners
You need someone to clean your property before guests check-in. You don’t want to let your property get messy while there are some guests who want to book your property on the same day. So, all you need is someone who doesn’t need to live at your property but just near your property. So, whenever you have guests about to check in, you can call them up and ask them to clean your property.
Maintenance Person
The second person that you need is the maintenance person. Although you already check all your features and facilities at your property, there’s still a chance of risk and problems that could happen. Therefore, you need to hire or partner up with a repair person near your property that you can trust. So, whenever you need them, you can contact them to check your property and repair anything needed.
Air-support person
And the last person that you want to keep an eye on your property is an air-support person. An air-support person will help you to give hands to your guest in case there is an emergency. This could be your family members, property managers, friends, or even neighbors.
If you’re still uneasy to hand off the management to somebody else. We have created our own mobile app specifically designed to address your needs. The BV Go app is a dashboard where you can track everything about your property. Such as the latest booking status, keeping track of guest check-ins/check-outs, checking future bookings, and revisiting booking history. And even deliver a transparent and automated financial report to help manage your property anytime and anywhere.
What does a property manager do?
If you read all the way down here, I hope it helped answer your questions on how to manage a rental property. As you can see, managing a rental property is no easy work, especially if you’re trying it for yourself for the first time.
If you still want to go ahead and manage all of it yourself, go ahead we wish you the best. However, if you are sick of all the hassle of managing your own villa or fed up with other property management companies, we’re here to hear your needs.
Feel free to contact us in any of the following ways for a free consultation to see what Bukit Vista can do for you.