Save time by outsourcing these 7 holiday rental tasks

As a holiday rental host, you may find yourself faced with the question of which management tasks to do yourself, and which to hire professionals for. The latter can save you a lot of time, stress and help to meet guest expectations. In this article, we’ll explore some options for outsourcing and the benefits this could bring you, your property and your guests.

1. Cleaning

While the prospect of tidying up after guests may seem like something you can do yourself, guests expect a property to be cleaned to a professional standard. In fact, our 2023 Travel Trends research revealed that uncleanliness and a lack of hygiene measures are one of global travellers’ top four worries. Using a professional cleaning service can help reassure guests and meet their expectations. Companies can also manage cleaning staff and schedules on your behalf, taking further responsibility off your hands.  

2. Maintenance

Property maintenance may demand different skills to cleaning, but it’s another job that you may be tempted to do yourself. Although it may be an investment to hire professionals, maintenance jobs can often take a lot longer than they look, and if they’re not done correctly, can lead to extra expense and disruption. Outsourcing repairs and audits to local contractors is a good way to make sure your property remains in great shape and saves you time to focus on other areas of your business. 

3. Guest communication

If you own multiple holiday rentals, then communicating with different guests and potential customers can take up a lot of your time. This is another task that can be outsourced or automated using messaging tools. Receiving replies in a timely fashion can increase guest satisfaction, meaning more bookings for the future.

4. Interior design

Owning multiple holiday rentals can make the task of interior design a time-consuming one. Do you have all your properties following a theme? Make them identical? Or as different as possible? Whatever the answer, outsourcing this task to an interior designer can really make your properties look extra special and help to attract guests.

5. Branding and photography

You may have the most luxurious or unique holiday rental in the world, but if your branding and photography don’t do it justice, people will never know. Outsourcing this to graphic designers and professional photographers would be a small investment with a potentially very big return.  

6. Managing your online listing and reservations

If you have multiple holiday rentals, it’s wise to use a technology solution – such as a channel manager or property management system – that can help you manage your online listing and reservations. These solutions can automatically update your rates and availability on Booking.com, centralise your reservations in one place and make sure your listing is synchronised across multiple channels if needed.

Need help choosing the right solution for you? Booking.com partners with over 600 of the best technology solutions in the industry. You can find them here. 

7. Property management 

If you’d prefer to outsource all the day-to-day management of your holiday rental, a property management company may be for you. You’ll find different companies offering different services, but in addition to managing listings and setting prices, they can greet guests, schedule cleaning and more on your behalf. We have a list of premier property management companies we recommend on this page. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to outsourcing, and it’s worth considering what balance works best for you. The time saved from offloading time-consuming tasks can be spent on making your business even better, improving guest experiences, or just allowing yourself some time to rest and recharge.