You’ve heard plenty of reasons on why it’s a good idea to consider short term vacation letting property. What about reasons to not invest? It may sound strange, but with the growing trend in short term rentals, not every rental provides real value to guests. As the old saying goes, just because you can do something, it does not mean that you should do it. For some property owners, short term rentals can actually end up being a very bad idea.

Whether you are thinking of renting out your spare room or you are hoping to get away with a zero star property, we have put together some tips to keep in mind for anyone thinking seriously about short term vacation letting property.

When Short Term Vacation Letting Property Is NOT a Good Idea

How do you know whether it is a bad idea to invest in short term vacation letting property? For starters, you can look out for the following warning signs:

1. When you are living in the property. For extra cash, you can get away with renting out a spare room in your house when you are living in it. If you are serious about succeeding in the vacation rentals industry however, this is never a good idea. There are many, many problems with this model. At the very least, you are only able to provide guests with room and board, without the luxury accommodation and concierge that a full self catering apartment or villa could offer. Soon, you will get a reputation as being a cheap place to crash. This in turn will attract students and budget travellers. It gets a lot harder to keep your property and its occupants safe when your target market is a very low cost traveller who is looking for the cheapest possible accommodation, or worse, a problem guest.
2. When you are trying to manage everything yourself. We have covered this topic a few times. In our comparison of self-managed rentals vs managed vacation rentals, we clearly outline the difference. Ultimately, unless you are simply wanting to bring in a bit of extra cash, you will need to treat your rental like a business. If you invest in your rental business and seek expert help from an experienced vacation rental manager, you will reap the rewards. If you try to do everything yourself, from bookings to marketing, guest relations and day to day management, you will quickly start to struggle. The result is a rental that does not provide guests with a high level of quality.
3. When you cannot guarantee any level of quality. That gets us onto our final point. If you are more focused on how you can save money than how you can cater to guests, you should not be in the hospitality business at all. This business is all about your guests and how you can give them the best possible level of service at all times. It takes just one or two unhappy guests for you to lose your rating. If you have too many bad reviews, you will not get bookings. It really is as simple as that!

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Ready to learn more about how you can succeed in short term vacation rental? Contact the Totalstay team today for more information on our full service approach to short term vacation letting property management.