Gone are the cottage industry days of chamber of commerce ads, guests turning up with their own towels and linens, mailed contracts, and office check-ins. Guests booking vacation rentals are expecting digital experiences throughout their journey – from enticing property listings, easy online booking, and personalized guest services to smart home features like using smart locks for vacation rentals, all the way down to eco-friendly travel experiences. Homeowners are no longer satisfied with a printed spreadsheet either, they want to trust their assets and investments to a reputable brand that stays ahead of the game with mobile apps, owner portals, transparency, and trust.
The vacation rental industry is experiencing exponential growth and the trend of customization and vacation rental automation to counteract the effects of Covid-19 and advance the industry continues. There’s a diverse menu of integrated and streamlined solutions available to empower both small and large scale property management companies, with new products emerging almost daily. As the industry continually shifts and hospitality trends change, it’s vital to understand the ability of your current tech stack, and adopt innovative software solutions and digital tech products that position your business for growth.
Invest in an Integrated Tech Stack
A robust and reputable property management software (PMS) is the foundation of your vacation rental management company. Invest in a PMS that can be customized for the unique needs of your vacation rental company, automates the core functions of your business, streamlines your daily operations, and boosts your bottom line. An all in one vacation rental software combines the power of your PMS with added features that address all your processes creating a dynamic experience that benefits the property manager, homeowner, and guest.
Dynamic Pricing:
Pricing is a major stress for most property managers! Dynamic pricing software is a powerful tool that adjusts your rates using historical insights and real-time data relevant to your destination market, seasonality, and property type. Dynamic pricing ensures you price and market your homes with the best nightly rates throughout the year to remain competitive, optimize performance and maximize revenue growth.
Channel Management:
Listing your properties on multiple channels is a great way to get more eyes on your listings but keeping your calendars in sync can get tricky! A channel manager is one of the best ways to connect to OTAs and niche booking sites, automate your listings across multiple channels, sync your calendars in real time, and avoid disastrous double bookings.
Customer Management:
Effective communication is key to cultivating a positive guest experience. A vacation rental CRM tool automates your guest (and owner!) communication from confirmation of reservation through to check-out, optimizes your lead management, and maximizes efficiency. Customize your templates, set your triggers, and manage your guest communications from one unified inbox.
Owner Management:
Leverage tech to streamline the owner experience, recruit new homeowners, and win owner loyalty. A dedicated owner portal and mobile app allows for complete transparency giving your homeowners access to real-time reservation calendars, financial reports on their investment income, and personal bookings at their fingertips.
Marketing Tools:
Your PMS will give you all the data you need to identify your target guests but take it a step further and boost your bookings with tech. Virtual tour technology is a must-have marketing tool and boosts bookings! Virtual tours allow the guest to experience the layout, top features and amenities, and ambiance of the home before they’ve even arrived. Studies show that guests are 115% more likely to book a home after viewing a virtual tour!
Enhance the Guest Experience with Smart Tech
We live in a super-connected world, even more so since the onset of the Covid pandemic. The pandemic catapulted technology to the forefront of our existence making consumers dependent on tech for ordering groceries, home-schooling, zoom meetings with the office, virtual travel tours, and lots of online shopping during lockdown.
You’ve impressed your guests with a seamless digital journey so far, switching to smart tech tools in the home takes the guest experience to a new level, saves time and money, and ensures a seamless and stress-free stay. According to Booking.com, 64% of travelers state that technology is more important than ever before on their vacation, with 62% stating it alleviates travel anxiety!
Property Access:
The days of meeting, greeting and handing over keys are long gone, contactless check in and keyless entry are the new norm. The majority of vacation rental managers upgraded to remote locks during Covid but if you’re still welcoming your guests with old-fashioned lockboxes, it’s time to make the switch. There’s a lot of discussion right now in the vacation rental industry about the best smart locks for vacation rentals, but any PMS integrated smart lock will be more convenient for the guest, save time and money for cleaning and maintenance crews, and provide an accurate event history for increased security in your rental homes.
Lighting & Thermostats:
Top trends show that travelers are seeking eco-conscious and sustainable travel experiences to preserve our planet – they are not only seeking eco-friendly experiences but environmentally friendly vacation homes. Switching to smart thermostats and smart lighting can save up to 15% per year on heating and cooling bills and will leave a lasting impression on your “green” guests and tech-savy guests alike.
Entertainment & Travel Guides:
Arriving at your rental, pouring your favorite beverage on ice, and browsing through a beautifully bound welcome book is nostalgic, but is unlikely to satisfy tech-savvy travelers. The modern tech-savvy traveler expects a Smart TV to stream their favorite shows, a virtual concierge or digital guide book to navigate the home and destination, and a smart speaker for on-command information. Voice technology is the new norm of the next generation of travelers with over 62% of Americans using voice technology daily – are you attracting these guests to your homes?
Smart Business Solutions:
If your short-term rental properties are in a destination that attracts business travelers, how are you attracting these business travelers and corporate teams to your rentals? Business travel requires a certain level of comfort and convenience and adding smart business solutions to your home will attract new (and loyal!) business travelers to your brand.
Get Tech-Savvy at Casago University
The mere thought of implementing new software and tech tools is a fear factor for most property managers. Many of us are here for the love of hospitality, not technology, and the challenges of adopting, understanding, and learning a new software solution can be overwhelming.
Casago is more than an industry leading franchise – we offer industry leading property management software, owner acquisition strategies, marketing tools for your vacation rentals, revenue management, and the industry’s premier professional development offering, Casago University.
Our Casago University training program includes on-going industry specific training, e-learning tools, on-site visits, weekly team meetings to discuss opportunities and solutions, and an annual leadership conference focused on collaborative learning, and fun!
At Casago we invest in your success, always growing, always learning. Talk to our team at Casago today about choosing the right tech stack for your vacation rental company.
