Working as co-host and managing other owner's properties

[Ben Hooper]

I've been hosting for over a year now and have two properties i run and have enjoyed it quite a bit. I've wanted to expand the number of listings i manage, both by buying more properties but also co hosting. 

For any successful co hosts out there, what marketing pipelines did you use to acquire more clients?

[Valerie Rogers]

Originally posted by @Ben Hooper:

I've been hosting for over a year now and have two properties i run and have enjoyed it quite a bit. I've wanted to expand the number of listings i manage, both by buying more properties but also co hosting. 

For any successful co hosts out there, what marketing pipelines did you use to acquire more clients?

 Hi Ben,

I've signed up to act as a "Co-Host" on Airbnb but so far I've had no one contact me to help host their property.

But I do have my own "Marketing/Booking Management" service which manages the listings, inquiries & bookings for my clients' properties. I do not manage the property itself, though.

@Chris Armstrong asks if a license is needed to manage other people's properties. In CO where I live a full-service property manager does need a license to manage other people's properties. But since I am not a full-service property manager and most importantly, since the travelers' payments go straight to the client and not to them through me a license is not required.

All of my clients have come to me via word of mouth or by referrals. I am pretty particular about who I accept as a client so I don't advertise or market my service on a broad scale; I am sorry I don't have any recommendations for you for that. But if you are doing a good job managing your own properties there may be other owners with properties in your area that might be willing to allow you to help them manage their reservations. I would start by talking to other VR owners in your area, especially if it is the norm for people to hire full-service property managers. They might be interested in keeping more of the revenue by letting you manage the advertisements & bookings for their properties while they take care of the housekeeping & maintenance of the property themselves.

You might also contact some local real estate agents and let them know about your service and ask if they'd keep you in mind if they sell a property to someone in your area who plans on using it as a short term rental.

Another thing you might consider is joining your town's Chamber of Commerce. Your business might receive some perks like advertisement opportunities in the area publications or media.

I hope this helps, and good luck to you!

Valerie