Hello and welcome to StayinLondon blog! I haven’t spoken to you in a while and first of all I just want to say Happy New year, it’s my first blogpost in 2022!
I’m very excited, I think this year we’re going to go back to some kind of normal and now we’re receiving quite a few bookings for the summer months. I think people really want to travel and with countries slowly loosening up their restrictions we’ll soon be able to do more of that! I’ve been receiving quite a lot of questions from potential hosts whether they could manage their listing on their own, without hiring a third-party management company like StayinLondon.
So, Can It Be Done?
Today I want to address that question briefly and the answer is definitely yes - this is how I started my business, by looking after just one listing. It is definitely possible, especially if you are only going away for a brief period of time and want to rent out your property while you’re away.
First of all you need to make sure you have good pictures of the listing and the second thing you need to address if you have multiple groups of people staying while you’re away is making sure the property is cleaned and linen are exchanged. What I suggest is getting a reliable cleaning company or a private cleaner who could take care of the property, clean everything, do the washing and change the linens.
Sometime this can be challenging, as you might have one group of guests leaving in the morning and others arriving on the same day, so you’d only have say 6 hours to make sure the property is cleaned and ready. It’s more reliable to hire a cleaning company who have multiple cleaners.
Ensure You're Responsive And Punctual
Another thing is you can address any questions that guests might have about your property. Airbnb expects you to respond within 24-hours, for example if they are struggling to find something in the apartment or need an extra set of keys - those kind of questions you might need to address. And lastly, and most importantly if you do have any emergencies you have someone who could help you out - for example friends or neighbors. Such situations are rare. I have seen situations where hosts have left the country, but still managed to arrange an electrician to attend by making a few phone calls. Even though it does look complicated, it’s still possible to achieve.
It’s also important to make sure you have detailed instructions of the apartment for your guests. However, if you’re going away for an extended period of time like 3, 4 or 5 months this might become a full time job. In such cases a company like stayinlondon can help out if you’re looking outsource the whole process of looking after your listing and your guests. Please get in touch with us and we’ll be able to provide you with a quote!
