Any Good Property Management Services for Airbnb?

Question

I am looking for a property management service in Napa Valley for my apartment so that they manage the reservations and the cleaning services.

There are several options:

- Guesty + cleaning services: apparently Guesty can interact with guests and contact/manage an outside cleaning service. guest does not have their own cleaning team and is an online service only.

- Superhost: same thing as guesty?

- Hire a personal assistant to manage the reservation and manage a cleaning service I would need to identify Is it too risky/complicated? Any recommended personal assistant site? If I give a personal assistant my airbnb ID/password, I REALLY need to trust them and I am worry about this option, although it is likely the most cost effective.

Any other option? Any feedback?

Kevin Dickson · Answer

Evolvevacationrental.com will handle the bookings for about 10%.  That's quite a bit cheaper than conventional management.

They don't do the cleaning or manage the cleaners, though.

Ironically, their office is in Denver, which is just about to pass laws to put them out of business:

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=denver%20short%20term%20rental%20alliance

Blair Russell · Answer

@Matt Smith You have to be careful about contracts unless you want an employee on your hands. The best way to go about this is to make an exact list of what you want. (washing dishes, sheets, dusting, vacuuming every time / floor cleaning, window washing as needed) then say what you can offer for pay (15% of rental amount, $100 per rental). Sign an annual or six month or whatever  service contract with the person that has all of this detailed and have them invoice you for each rental. There is really nothing you can do if someone snaps, an employee at a major company could snap, the whole company could go under overnight,  and you would still be left high and dry. Just know how to run your business any case anything happens and know some cleaning services in your area that could cover you in case of emergency until you can hire someone new on.

Jessica Sarantakis · Answer

Hi Michael,

I have a fantastic referral for you. This is specifically the service this company offers. If you are interested in having a conversation with the owner let me know & I will connect you.

They manage the bookings, turn over, cleaning fees, etc. They will not mislead you on the money you can make from your vacation rental.

I am happy to connect you if you are interested.

Let me know!

Jessica

Michael Greenberg · Answer

@Matt Smith - I think @Blair Russell is correct.  Do you just have the one property?  There are multiple considerations here beyond managing reservations and cleanings and if you only have one property I think you will find it cost prohibitive and creating other challenges.  I bought my first VR in 2015 and now have two VR properties in Scottsdale, AZ (reside in Denver, CO).  Since then, I have used a websites, Yelp (OK not perfect) and Nextdoor.com to find handymen, cleaners, landscapers, etc.... Nextdoor is great for this because it's an free, unbiased localized website for neighbors to exchange information.  I'm not 100% sure about Napa, but give it a try, I found handymen, plumbers, and great cleaners (have more than one option).  As for reservation management, I tried to use a company to manage this aand they "guaranteed" they could make me more money, but it wasn't significant enough to offset what they charged.  Further, because of their pricing methodologies, I missed some key spring weekends - frustrating.  Also, VR's are all about your guests experience, and you want this to be TOP NOTCH, otherwise you end up with bad reviews and potential threats to the entire process.  So I pulled it back quickly and have been able to streamline some things using tools like Pricemethod.com for VRBO and tripadvisor, and BeyondPricing for Airbnb.  I then setup a Google calendar to sync this data to one place to manage reservations and my cleaning calendar.  It only takes about an hour a day and keeps the money where it belongs - my wallet.  I think at some point I will be looking for this solution as I expand my portfolio, but this is what works now.  Some other really good resources is to grab a twitter account and research, research, research.  Also, I would recommend searching out Matt Landau @bookmorenights   I just started using his methodologies and he's probably the biggies VR guru around.  Great guy!

Matt Smith · Answer

@Blair Russell

Thank you. What contract did you use? I am a bit worry that if I find them on Craigslist, they could snap for any reason and not continue. I want to have a little but of protection with a contract.

Blair Russell · Answer

@Matt Smith Find a private person to do the management and cleaning as part-time work, it will be cheaper in the long run and the lack of middle-man interaction makes everything easier. Hire someone like you would for any job, find someone reliable, knowledgeable, and with a good sense of customer service. I found both my managers on craigslist and have never had a missed changeover from either of them.

Monika Haebich · Answer

There are a ton of options if you're looking for full-service management (my company works with over 500 vacation rental management companies)!

Rafael Floresta · Answer

- Cleaning service is one of the most important jobs on a airbnb. Make sure you have a backup plan (even if it eats all of your profits) in case your main person cant go.

- Superhost was the former name of Guesty. It was a bad choice since airbnb uses the word superhost for something else.

- I hired a english teacher from Brazil to reply to my airbnb / schedule my cleaner. It works great, but I still need to do a weekly check to make sure everything gets done right.