[Ep 14] How to Get Clients for a Property Management Business

Superhost Unveiled

Curious about expanding your short-term vacation rental business? Becoming a co-host or property manager can help you grow without having to invest in more properties. We have a Property Management business but we do not manage the property rather manage the vacation rental. We take care of all of the bookings, conversations, guest issues, turnovers, and some light maintenance.

As a co-host, you can list other properties under your own Airbnb account or you can be added as a co-host through someone else's account. There are pros and cons to each. When you list the property under your own account, if the owner of the property chooses to leave then they will need to start the whole process all over again. Plus, if you list the property under your own account and it performs poorly it will negatively impact your account and other properties.

By setting up accounts for clients, you do not set them up for failure if they choose to leave. We are so confident in our services that our clients will stick with us for the long-term.

How do you find your first client?

To be honest, when we first started we didn't do much to find clients! As soon as we knew that we wanted to expand into Vacation Rental Management we reserved a domain, threw together a quick website, and had a low-cost google ad. In addition, before we reserved the domain we did a quick google search as if we were the client and create a name that the client would search for. We found that other property management companies didn't even show up in the search for our area which was a key indicator that our name would strategically work for us.

If you are in an area with hundreds of companies that you need to compete against, you'll need to get creative with your marketing. Get out there. Network, put up flyers, send out postcards, do whatever you can to get seen. Start social media accounts, any webpage that you create will help boost you in the search.

You get your first call now what?

That first call can be nerve-wracking! Especially since you don't have other clients to back up your services. Find some personal experience that will set you apart from the competition. For us, the fact that we were local was a huge selling point as well as our prior success with our own properties.

It's okay to be nervous. If it's okay if your first call doesn't go well. Take each call as a learning experience and gain confidence with each call. Clients can smell confidence from a mile away, if you aren't confident they'll know. That means you need to know what questions to ask and the answers to potential questions that a client may ask. If you don't have a prior vacation rental, it is essential that you know how you'll manage pricing, communication, and systems. Do your research before starting. You cannot go in unprepared because it will show.

With that being said, you should never lie about your experience. Transparency is key. We had a potential client call once who asked if they should sell their million-dollar house or rent it. They asked how much they could make off of their property. Since we've never managed a million-dollar home, we could not confidently say how much income that vacation rental would generate. We were honest with the potential client and helped them make their decision.
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