There are many vacation rental owners that own a property, or invest in an area where there is a high demand for tourism, or own a holiday home abroad and rent it out when they are not making use of it.
Nowadays, teleworking has become a natural part of the working environment. In the last 5 years, the number of people working remotely has increased by 44 %, and with the COVID-19 situation, more and more are starting to work from home.
But working from home presents new challenges for vacation rental owners and property managers not usually encountered.
A long distance rental property is not just about people having a property a few hours away, or even in another city. Sometimes, the problem is not just about location.
There are also hosts who live close to their vacation rental property, yet are unable to dedicate full time to the business or cannot travel there because of the COVID-19 situation.
Due to technological advances, it’s entirely possible to manage your vacation rental property remotely, and especially, continue to offer the best experience to your guests.
Get a Good property management system
If you are not using a Property Management system yet, you should consider it. A PMS is a hotel management software that property owners use to manage their business by coordinating reservations, online booking availability, payments, and reporting, all in one central space. This system allows you to have all the reservations of your guests automated.
Home Security
Protecting a vacation rental property from burglary, vandalism, and natural disasters is one of the biggest challenges that owners of these properties could face. Those properties are usually far away from the main homes, which makes the challenge of securing the property much more complex.
Some key security systems are surveillance cameras, motion sensors, and burglar alarms. Many of these systems can be connected to your mobile phone or computer. If an alarm is triggered, you will immediately receive a notification on your smartphone, so that you can check the live cameras.
Due to data protection and privacy, be sure to warn your guests about these surveillance systems.
Remote access
Keep guests’s check-in and check-out as simple as possible. With a automatic door lock, property owners and managers no longer need to coordinate and schedule a date and time for the handoff of a key. Guests can check-in and check-out at their convenience.
Guests will be able to open the door remotely with their phone, or pick up the keys from inside a box that they will unlock with their phone.
The simplicity that comes with it is that you don’t have to greet your guests upon arrival and departure. This works as a great advantage, especially if guests are arriving late or are having a delay.
Automated check-in and self check-in
Allowing your guests to check in themselves will save you time on the way home, and avoid any contact.
With tools like our software, it will be possible for your guests to check in themselves, even before they arrive at your property. In order to verify identity, we use our biometric technology in the online registration form, which will verify the guest’s ID by means of a selfie.
In addition, Since there’s the option of sending the data to the police and store all information, all the check-in process will be 100 % digital.
Communicate with your Guests
Communicate with your guests before, during and after their stay. Let your guests know that, even though you’re not living in the area, they can get in touch with you if they experience any problems or aren’t satisfied.
Find a reliable housekeeper or home cleaning company
Guests expect a spotless home when they arrive for their vacation. That can be a hard expectation to meet when you manage your own vacation rental remotely; you’ll rarely be the person who prepares the home before guests arrive.
With the COVID-19 situation, it is more important than ever to ensure hygiene and cleanliness, as well as ensuring that the house is disinfected.
Keeping a list of recommended, local housekeepers can help you avoid getting stuck in an unfortunate situation where you need a room cleaned in a pinch.
Softwares, like our company Chekin, provide hosts the solution to manage their properties remotely, from the moment of booking and the online check-in, to the moment the guest accesses the property without any contact.
We work together with the best integrations in the market to facilitate this task. We become a 360º tool.
