During the Better Stays Together Southeast event, Rent Responsibly hosted Expedia Group, Superhog, Touch Stay, Hostaway, Avalara, and Vrbo, part of Expedia Group, for two hours of content on preparing your vacation rental business in the Southeast United States for summer 2024 and beyond. Below are key takeaways from the sessions on travel trends, STR regulations, lodging taxes, increasing guest satisfaction, cutting costs, and boosting your vacation rental business efficiency.
To get the full replay and takeaways from this event and all others, join or log in to the RR Network (it’s free!) and head to the Replays and Downloads library.
Takeaway 1: Entice travelers to buy with beautiful photos, experiences, deals, and calls to action
According to The Path to Purchase Report, an annual report by Vrbo, part of Expedia Group, that uses internal surveys and travel trends to understand travelers’ plans and preferences, nearly three in five travelers do not have a specific destination in mind or consider multiple destinations when they first decide to take a trip.
This presents an opportunity for vacation rental operators to market and promote their properties to this demographic, said Amanda Perkins, account manager at Vrbo.
Key Takeaway: “To appeal to these travelers’ wallets and their wanderlust within the inspiration phase as well as throughout the path to purchase when advertising your property, you should consider showing breathtaking locations and interesting experiences with compelling deals and clear calls to action to drive travelers further into the purchasing funnel,” Amanda said.
Watch the replay between 16:45 and 30:20 to learn more data on these travelers and tips on how to stand out to travelers still in the decision-making process.
Takeaway 2: Save money with a damage waiver
Key Takeaway: Not seeking compensation from guests for minor damages, such as stained towels and missing forks, at your vacation rental can cost thousands of dollars yearly, said Kat Volkova, account executive at Superhog.
Automating guest screening with Superhog software can reduce the number of intentional guest damages at your properties. Then, use Superhog’s automatic waiver to collect upfront potential damages that might occur during their stay.
“Inevitably, you’re always going to have damages here and there, whether … intentional or not,” Kat said. “But we have a … solution and waiver program to help you mitigate those small damages so that you don’t have to chase guests, and everyone is … happy. There’s no friction, and it’s just a nice clean process.”
To find out the top minor damages that occur at vacation rentals and see examples showing how much money you could save over time with a damage waiver, watch the replay between 6:48 and 16:00.
Takeaway 3: Use your direct booking site to unlock revenue and automate tasks
Key Takeaway: Set up a direct booking site with automation to increase efficiency, enhance the guest experience, and add incremental income.
Implementing automations for guest communications, reports, and analytics allows you to focus on growing your vacation rental business, said A.J. Hussain, global director of sales at Hostaway.
“You can get [a direct booking site] up and running in a very short time, where you can sell certain services, services such as birthday experience by offering potential balloons and a cake, or a romance package, … where they offer a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and some rose petals,” A.J. said. “When guests are planning a trip, they don’t know where to go, they don’t know how to set this up. And they would like to have this all arranged for them before they even arrive.”
The cost and labor involved in setting up these packages are low, while the profit from the upsell can add up fast.
For more tips from A.J. on earning incremental income for your direct booking site, watch the replay from 31:25 to 46:35.
Takeaway 4: Join an alliance to advocate for fair STR regulations
STR regulations in the Southeast have focused on STR caps in residential neighborhoods, occupancy, and parking limits, and minimum stay requirements to prevent parties. These regulations can impact STR businesses’ ability to operate and flourish, which makes advocacy an important part of the regulatory process.
Key Takeaway: The best way to advocate for fair STR regulations is to join a local alliance and attend regulatory meetings.
“It also comes down to organizing showing up and participating in the process,” said Alex Schaefer, regional manager at Expedia Group. “Be sure to tell your story. … Local voices are far and away the most influential tool and advocacy.”
For regulations in specific cities and more tips on advocacy from Alex, watch the replay from 47:22 to 56:25.
You can check out short-term rental alliances in your area by visiting Rent Responsibly’s alliance database.
Takeaway 5: Communication improves guest satisfaction
Less than half of guests feel “very well taken care of” when they stay at a vacation rental, according to Touch Stay’s Guest Communication Study.
“It’s a tragedy that more than half of guests are not experiencing hospitality when they’re staying at a vacation rental or short-term rental,” said Tyann Marcink Hammond, queen of guest experience at Touch Stay digital guidebooks. “The remedy to this is based on facts; it’s based on data. And this remedy will be the most cost-effective piece to your hospitality operations puzzle that you have ever put into place. In fact, the ROI on it is pretty much a multiple of infinity.”
Key Takeaway: The remedy is simply communicating with guests. Communicating with guests more frequently will improve your guest satisfaction, she said.
For more tips and statistics on enhancing your guest experience, watch the replay between 1:01:36 to 1:21:00.
Takeaway 6: Proper lodging tax remittance keeps you in compliance
Lodging taxes are levied on short-term rentals of rooms or properties by cities or states. As an STR operator, you are required to remit the tax to the city and/or state. OTAs often remit some or all of the tax to the local government.
Key Takeaway: Proper tax remittance protects your vacation rental business.
Determining how much you owe after the OTA remittance or after a direct booking can be complex. Watch the replay between 1:22:30 and 1:36:18 to hear Max Fountain, lodging sales executive at Avalara, give step-by-step instructions on how to remit your lodging taxes properly.
To get the full replay and takeaways from this event and all others, join or log in to the RR Network (it’s free!) and head to the Replays and Downloads library.
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