Property Management - What Do You Look For?

[Danae Pitcher]

It's so important to have a great team behind the scenes of your STR. It really can make or break the success of your STR business. What are some of the main things you look for in a great Property Management company?

[Drew Sygit]

Transparency, detail and communication.

[Danae Pitcher]

I agree, I think great communication is probably the cornerstone of a successful property manager / STR owner relationship.

[Nathan Gesner]

Communication, honesty, transparency, humility, and a good head of hair.

[Alice Horn]

@Danae Pitcher I’m always surprised how few questions people ask when they’re getting to know us as a vacation rental manager. Here are some questions they SHOULD be asking 😀

1. How long have you been managing vacation rental properties and how many do you manage?

2. What is the average occupancy rate for the properties you manage?

3. What services do you provide for property owners?

4. How do you communicate with property owners and guests? Who will be my main point of contact if I choose you as a PM?

5.How do you handle maintenance issues and respond to emergencies in your homes? 

6. What marketing channels and other strategies do you use to book your vacation rental properties?

7. What are your management fees and commissions?

8. Can you provide examples of positive guest reviews? How do you respond to negative reviews?

9. How do you ensure that properties comply with local regulations and ordinances?

10.  Do you carry liability insurance? Worker’s comp? 

11.  Do you pay the local taxes on my property?

12.  How do you screen potential guests to ensure they are suitable for the property?

13. Can you provide data on rental performance and revenue for properties you manage? How do they compare to other local listings?

14. What kind of lock systems are you using to ensure the security of guests? If there is a pool, how do you handle pool safety?

If you are self-managing or using a co-host, this list might also serve as a useful checklist to make sure all the bases are covered. Hope it helps!

[Spencer Abeyta]

A PM company needs to have expertise in the area that they service. You should be able to learn from them so this makes you a better investor. 

They also need to be able to communicate in the form that you prefer, whether it be phone call, email, text, or online meeting.

[Pete Slaga]

Do some research online with VRBO and Airbnb along with their site and here are some things you want to look for:

1. Both sites will list their average rating, response time, etc.
2. Look to see how many properties they have close to yours.  You do not want to be an outlier that will be hard for operational staff to get there.
3. Find a listing of theirs and send a message to ask a couple of questions to see how soon and how they address your questions.   The latter is good to understand how well the people handling the inquiry know the property.
4. Start the process of making an actual booking and see what types of fees they are passing through to the guest.  For, example some PM will add (and pad) a booking charge that goes on top of their management fee.
5. Lastly, once you are ready to meet with one or two PMs I would ask that they bring their operations manager.  The operations manager will be the one that is coordinating everything in your home so you better trust them.

[Melanie Thomas]

Responsive, efficient, transparent, proactive, trustworthy, reliable.

[Alice Horn]

Quote from @Spencer Abeyta:

A PM company needs to have expertise in the area that they service. You should be able to learn from them so this makes you a better investor. 

They also need to be able to communicate in the form that you prefer, whether it be phone call, email, text, or online meeting.

Yes! Ask to see examples of the owner portal and any reports they use to communicate performance. Also, WHO will be the main point of contact? We have a dedicated Owner Ambassador who responds to owners. How quickly will they normally respond?