Serviced Accommodation Property Management

Nikka Sulton

Serviced Accommodation Property Management

Are you a landlord contemplating entry into this profitable sector but daunted by the demands of management a rental property? Serviced accommodation management firms offer a seamless solution to kickstart your short-term rental business.

As more property owners venture into short-term rentals for additional income, global demand for serviced accommodation management companies is surging. If you’re new to this field, lack letting expertise, are unsure of where to commence, and have limited time for your rental venture, you might be indecisive about establishing your vacation rental.

What is serviced accommodation management?

Serviced accommodation management involves the rental of fully furnished properties for short or mid-term stays, resembling hotel-style lodging or compact studio apartments.

Distinguishing features of serviced accommodations compared to typical vacation rentals or holiday homes include:

Variable rental durations, spanning short to mid-term stays, as opposed to the more conventional three to seven days associated with weekend getaways or holiday lets. Hence, they are often termed flexible-term rentals.
Provision of hotel-like services, deviating from the complete self-catering setup prevalent in many short-term rentals.
A diverse clientele, encompassing holidaymakers, business travelers, and individuals relocating to the city and requiring medium-term housing. In contrast, holiday homes or vacation rentals may primarily cater to guests pursuing a singular purpose, such as relaxation, hiking, urban exploration, or a beach retreat.

Challenges in Serviced Accommodation Management:

While these differences to short-term rentals mean serviced accommodation can offer a wide range of advantages to customers, they also bring some definite challenges:

Catering to different types of guests who all have different priorities, expectations, and needs. They also need different marketing due to different pain points, budgets, and priorities.
Juggling the demands of offering a wide range of services to these varying guests.
Coordinating moving parts of multiple units in a single building (or more), as opposed to a typical short-term rental manager with individual properties in different locations.

Vacation rental software such as a PMS and a channel manager can help streamline much of this, so you can operate multi-units seamlessly. But there’s no denying that getting your head around the scale and complexity of the operation can be a challenge, especially if your business is rapidly growing.

5 Pillars for Success in Serviced Accommodation Management

Marketing and distribution

To appeal to diverse guest types, a comprehensive marketing approach is vital. This encompasses various distribution channels, such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Google Travel, local listings, and metasearch engines.

Operations

As a serviced accommodation manager, you’ll offer hotel-like services, making your business operationally demanding. Staff coordination, accessibility, and stocking become crucial. Managing these tasks manually is impractical, highlighting the need for efficient workflows and systems, the second pillar of successful management.

Guest screening

Inviting a diverse range of guests, particularly for extended stays, underscores the importance of thorough background checks and guest screening. Responsible management necessitates verifying guest identities, ensuring compliance with property rules, and preventing potential issues.

Neglecting guest screening exposes you to significant risks, including property damage, fraud, noise disturbances, and even severe crimes like drug-related activities or human trafficking.

Leveraging technology is vital in this aspect, as manually managing guest data and conducting background checks can be time-consuming, pose security risks, and potentially infringe on privacy laws.

Revenue management

As in any property rental enterprise, enhancing revenue should consistently rank as a primary objective for serviced accommodation operations.

According to revenue management specialist John deRoulet, “Revenue management is the art of finding the sweet spot between risk and reward by maximizing your Average Daily Rate (ADR) while optimizing occupancy to achieve the highest possible Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR).”

ADR represents your average daily rate, and RevPAR signifies your revenue per available room. In simpler terms, effectively managing these property performance indicators involves setting an optimal price while maintaining competitiveness. This pricing strategy depends on your target guest profile and the prevailing market conditions, encompassing factors like supply and demand, seasonal fluctuations, and local events.

Guest experience

Ultimately, your goal is to deliver an exceptional guest experience, akin to any hospitality venture. You aim for glowing reviews and repeat visits, much like other players in the industry.

Establishing the aforementioned pillars contributes significantly to enhancing the guest experience, ensuring a seamless, enjoyable stay that exceeds expectations. From the moment of booking to check-in, throughout their stay, and even after check-out, the guest experience is paramount.

Thoughtful gestures are key to this experience. They encompass personalized gifts, luxurious toiletries, warm welcome messages, effective communication during their stay, local tips, and additional supplies for added convenience and enjoyment. Anything that delights guests and enhances their stay is valuable.

And when you’ve provided a memorable experience, don’t hesitate to request reviews. These reviews can be the deciding factor between a fully booked calendar and empty rooms. Timely requests, gentle reminders, and a commitment to ensuring guests have positive feedback all play a crucial role.

Final Thoughts

Serviced accommodation management demands continuous, hands-on, professional attention. This encompasses an extensive range of duties, spanning from operational oversight and guest interactions to occupancy management and marketing responsibilities.

For vacation rental proprietors aiming to maintain efficient property management and scale their enterprises, partnering with a reputable serviced accommodation management company is a prudent choice. This collaboration typically involves sharing a modest portion of their earnings.

The modest commission paid to serviced accommodation management firms can yield substantial returns in the long term, manifesting as increased bookings, enhanced profit margins, and reduced property wear and tear.