All You Need to Know About Hiring an Airbnb Property Manager
Just think of a destination, and you’ll have an Airbnb host available. And why not? It’s an easy concept enough. If you own a house, can spare a room or two for vacationers, then become an Airbnb host. Spruce up your place, take a few pictures, sign up, get your property listed, and voila! You’ve got yourself a steady flow of side income. But hang on, there is much more to it than just getting your Burbank property listed, so much that you might want to hire someone to take care of your business. That’s why we’ve listed here things you need to know when you hire an Airbnb property manager.
When to Hire an Airbnb Property Manager
We’re pretty sure nobody’s told you that it takes a lot of hard work and you need to be on your toes when your Airbnb property start to have regular customers. You’ve got to setup a system for customers to sign up, verify their credentials, make payment, and communicate with them when there is a problem. You have to be available when customers make a booking.
You also have to make sure your property is accessible for customers regardless of their time of arrival or check out. You’re responsible for the cleaning up, fixes, breakdown of appliances, provide guide, and then more depending on the locality of your Airbnb property.
Did we tell you earning from Airbnb is also taxable? So, you are responsible for keeping track of the income, taxes and licensing (in some states) too.
If you’re an efficient property landlord, and know the trick of the trade then you have nothing to worry about. However, many homeowners find it overwhelming when the frequency of bookings increases, and they have to manage everything to keep their Airbnb property in top notch condition. That’s when hiring an Airbnb property manager makes sense.
What to Look for
If you’ve decided that enough is enough – you only want to enjoy the income minus the hassle, then it’s time to bring in the hired help. But before you do though, it would be a good idea to sit down and jot down the things you need your Airbnb property manager to take care of. You might also want to list down the type of work you want them to handle, report, and maintain. Some of the common things that property managers for Airbnb hosted properties do include:
- Run your Airbnb page
- Manage bookings
- Manage cleaning staff
- Manage inventory and stocking
- Manage outdoor clean up
- Calculate income and costs
- Prepare for tax reporting
- Inspect property for damages, infestation, breakdowns, vermins etc.
As far as the property manager is concerned, you’re looking for someone who has experience with managing short term rentals, preferably Airbnb, because they differ in management than long term rental properties. You also want to hire someone who is friendly and good in customer service because they’d be responsible for taking care of your customers, welcoming them, and seeing them off. They can actually make or break your Airbnb business.
How to Hire
You can use any of these methods or choose your own: put up a classified ad, announce on your page’s listing or hire a local agent like Los Angeles Property Management Group. Once you’ve posted your listing, expect property managers to bid to work for you with their rates.
The average rate property managers for managing Airbnb is around 18-20 percent. However, depending on where your property is located – proximity to the market, snowy area, or distance from the town – the rate can be quite high. Just know this: don’t be fooled by the low percentage charge because sometimes a low charge means less responsibilities.
Neither Here nor There
Sometimes the best decision is to remain calm, and stay on a steady course. When you hire an Airbnb property manager, look for someone who can work for the long term, dependable and not too quick to job hop, even if it takes a long time to find one. You don’t want to end up with half the work undone at the end of the month, unsatisfied customers, and not earning enough to cover their cost. So, be wise and choose carefully.
