The Rise of Airbnb Property Management

More and more people are taking vacations, so vacation rentals will likely only become more popular. As a result of these trends, we’ll see an increasing number of hosts who do this as their profession. If you’re a property manager or an owner who utilizes property management services, you’re part of the new norm! According to research from Phocuswright, 50% of short-term rentals now operate under professional managers rather than individual “mom and pop” owners/operators in 2015; this signals a shift away from local host practices towards much larger commercial ones.

The technology might be driving a shift towards professional property management. This doesn’t mean that property managers can’t provide an authentic, personalized guest experience. Leveraging technology will free up more time to focus on guests. Airbnb appears to be supporting hosts by developing tools for those who want to grow their short-term rental business.

What’s causing the increased demand for short-term rentals?

Mr. Soto from Guesty (a popular property management system) believes it’s a shift in what guests prefer to stay in – apartments compared to hotels, for example, and villas instead of urban apartments. As travelers learn about different accommodations that they can choose between, the market becomes diversified, and hotels are no longer the only option.

Standards for quality in the vacation rental arena

As the hotel industry moves into the short-term rental sector, Booking.com recently began using a metric typically reserved for hotels: star ratings. While it is necessary for some transparency in property quality and trust, there are so many types of property in this space that perhaps star ratings aren’t always an accurate way to judge what makes a property good or bad. Leveraging guest reviews may be a better option since companies such as Airbnb and VRBO only let guests who have stayed at the property review them.

Mr. Soto has a different take. He believes that brands such as Evolve or Vacasa would organically create quality categories within the industry. He thinks guests who desire a more professional experience would choose a branded short-term rental over individual hosts because they know a brand will set specific standards.

In general, short-term rentals should see growth in properties and innovation. As owners rely more on property managers, we’ll continue to see advances in technology solutions for operations, analytics, and revenue management. Overall, the industry will strive to offer an optimal experience both for owners and guests.