Many new owners of property in the Algarve now look to generate rental income to cover running costs and build a nice profitable side business. The question is “Do it yourself or use a rental agency?”
Caught up with the media hype surrounding Airbnb and other online portals, new owners often try and manage their holiday lettings process themselves.
SandyBlue tell us that 85% of them change their strategy within 12 months. Here are their top 6 reasons why:
- Do you care who stays in your property?
With most big online portals, you have no say over what type of bookings are accepted. You may be happy to have stag/hen dos and groups of teenagers? If the answer is ‘maybe not’, then using a quality rental partner is advised, as they will screen enquiries and only accept bookings from qualified guests ensuring your property is fully protected.
- Are you prepared to work 7 days a week?
The process of managing a booking is significant before, during and after a stay. Guests frequently have many questions ahead of a trip and expect immediate answers. Transfers need organising, arrival instructions and property guides need frequent updating, arrival times often need negotiating. Every guest booking is different! A good rental agency will operate a highly responsive, 7 day a week customer service and guest liaison team.
- Are you happy to coordinate and manage multiple providers?
Delivering a fantastic rental experience requires the coordination of many people (maids, property managers, gardeners, pool men, maintenance people, etc). The property needs to be prepared to the exact specification of the guest’s booking. Welcome baskets need organising, pre-arrival preparation and inspections should be carried out, optional extras such as cots, high-chairs or pool heating may need to be set up. Only a local ‘full service’ rental agency with an in-house team has the ability to control quality and has the vested interest to make sure the villa is perfectly prepared for their guests and that they’re treated with respect during their stay.
- Ready to deal with guests’ issues 24/7?
Guests get lost on the way to properties. Guests lock themselves out of properties. Unavoidable maintenance issues occur. And worse of all, the TV stops working! Guests expect to have someone available to speak to, anytime, day or night, to address any issues. Do you want to take that call and coordinate with your providers from 2,000 km away?
- Want to maximise income?
A ‘full service’ agency has a vested interest in making sure your calendar, especially peak weeks, are full with no gaps. No short stays, consistent change over days, enquiry cross-selling and coordination are all tactics that can only be implemented with a strategic approach of a professional sales team.
- Happy to take on significant legal responsibility?
By renting your property you are creating a business activity. You have legal and fiscal obligations to ensure you are compliant and within the law. As well as initial set up and fiscal compliance, you are legally obliged to collect and submit to SEF (Portuguese immigration) full passport details of every guest staying at your property. A proper rental agency will have an entire operational team focused on this alone!
In the opinion of many homeowners, if you want an easy life, want to maximise rental income and to sleep at night, you need to choose to work in partnership with a fantastic, local ‘full service’ rental agency such as SandyBlue.
At SandyBlue, they’ll be thrilled to meet you and their doors are always open!
+351 289 392 236
[email protected] | www.sandyblue.com
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