Summary: If you think back to the last time you stayed in a short-term rental, you probably noticed something broken, missing or not working. We’ve stayed in LOADS of short-term rentals and the majority (at least 9 out of 10, if not 10 out of 10) have maintenance issues. Some are minor annoyances, but many are serious concerns. Sometimes even safety issues. So what’s the deal? Why aren’t these places better maintained? The reason is, most short-term rental owners aren’t doing enough to maintain their vacation rentals.
[Disclaimer: We are not accountants, lawyers or financial advisors, so please consult your own team of professionals about the topics covered in this article.]
Have you ever stayed at a short-term rental and felt like it was a little “tired looking?”
You walk in and see the sofa cushions are sagging and starting to collapse. Maybe you see the fabric on the chairs is starting to wear down. You sit down at the dining room table and find the chair and table legs are a little wobbly. You go to cook a meal in the kitchen to find worn out pots and pans and missing or broken utensils.
Leti and I have stayed in countless short-term rentals over the years (450+ days and counting!) and I’d estimate that 9 out of 10 vacation rentals look and feel tired. The outlier is usually a brand new vacation rental so everything still looks fresh and new.
So what’s the deal? Why are all of these places so worn down?
The answer is simple: these owners aren’t doing enough to maintain their short-term rentals.
What is Short-Term Rental Maintenance?
The answer to this question might seem obvious to most but hold on. While you may be an experienced short-term rental owner, I think it’s probably worth taking a moment to be sure that you really understand maintenance from the guest’s perspective. In other words, what is the standard? What do guests expect?
I think the short answer is, guests expect a much higher level of maintenance than owners are currently providing.
So what is this standard?
The highest standard is a brand new short-term rental. One that looks like it has never been rented. The appliances and furniture look and feel new. The walls look freshly painted. The floors don’t have any scratches or scuff marks on them. The board games don’t have any missing pieces. There aren’t any missing dishes or chipped glasses.
Poor Maintenance Results in Declining Profits
Does your short-term rental have to meet this standard?
I think the answer depends on your level of competition.
If you’re in a highly competitive market, you are going to HAVE to aim for the highest standard or else you risk losing out to your competitors.
If you’re in a less competitive market, you might be able to get away being a notch below the highest standard.
Either way, you have to recognize that poor maintenance will likely result in declining profits.
This can come in the form of poor reviews, which ultimately will result in fewer bookings.
You might also experience higher expenses because you’ll have to send out your handyman to deal with these problems on an emergency basis.
It’s also going to cost you a lot more of your valuable time because you’ll have to communicate back and forth with your guests and coordinate the repair.
Preventative maintenance is the key to running your short-term rental business more efficiently and profitably.
How to Maintain Your Short-Term Rental
So how do you maintain your short-term rental? How do you meet those high standards?
Step One to Maintain Your Short-Term Rental
The first step is to establish the right standard. It’s not your standard. The standard is determined by your guest’s expectations. And as we mentioned above, it’s probably a lot higher than you realize.
In terms of standards, you’re going to want to establish a maintenance checklist. If you don’t have one, you can download ours below.
Be Sure to Download Our Free Short-Term Rental Maintenance Checklist
You’ll want to clearly establish what exactly you’re going to inspect and how often.
You’ll want to establish standards for each. For example, you’ll want to count the number of dishes and establish how many you should have. You might have standards for how frequently the sinks and bathtub should be newly caulked. You will want to have standards for how frequently the HVAC filters are changed.
Step Two to Maintain Your Short-Term Rental
The second step is to then establish a system for maintenance checks.
How often are you going to do maintenance checks? Do you have those dates blocked out in the calendar so you don’t have any guests staying in the property? Who is going to do the inspection? What’s the outcome of the inspection? Who fixes what? How do you deliver items like extra plates and utensils? Who opens up the packages and restocks your kitchen?
Step Three to Maintain Your Short-Term Rental
The third step is to establish a system for ongoing maintenance.
Why wait for the periodic maintenance checks to do maintenance? What if you could cut down your list significantly by doing ongoing maintenance?
Many owners work closely with their cleaners to identify these issues on an ongoing basis. They give their cleaners a checklist to ensure that certain systems like WiFi are working like they should. Cleaners can also help you keep your kitchen stocked.
An important part of this is to have a designated closet for extra supplies. We usually identify this closet early on in the buying process. We ensure that we have a lock with a door code so the cleaner can access it to restock the home as needed. Planning ahead is a critical part of maintaining your property.
Step Four to Maintain Your Short-Term Rental
The fourth step is to have all of your vendors lined up. These are your handymen (and women), contractor, HVAC technician, electrician, plumbing, etc. We also like to have backups for each. You’re looking for people who understand maintenance and how to do quality work. With short-term rentals, like your personal home, you want to ensure the highest quality of work.
Step Five to Maintain Your Short-Term Rental – One Last Tip
If you’ve ever owned a short-term rental, you’ve probably had friends stay in your place. If so, our tip is to be sure to ask them to evaluate their stay. Allow them to be a harsh critic. Have them write it out so they don’t hold back. This is a great way to ensure that you get an honest review on an ongoing basis and help keep your property maintained properly.
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