One of the major things you want to track on a regular basis is market researching of the competition around your area!
You can utilize sites like Airbnb, VRBO, Flipkey, Vacasa, Homeaway, and AirDNA to market research your area’s rental property current postion.
With this investigation work, you will see what amenities the competition is offering and what they are charging on average.
Top 3 Tips Of What to Look For When Market Researching Your Competition
Reading these reviews can get your creative juices flowing for your rental
These reviews may bring to light items that that unit was lacking, which you could make sure you include in yours.
Seeing pictures of someone’s ideas (Example: Welcome Board made from a black marker board) could make you come up with even more creative ideas for that same item.
Say you want that welcome board you found but you are going to style it a little more industrial. Using a iron pipe and a roll of brown wrapping paper with a welcome message could be your idea. And this may work better for your space than the black board idea.
These short term rental spaces are a way for normal people to get an experience while traveling to a new city. The guests may explain what they love about your area so you can utilize that marketing in your listing’s description.
The reviews may also reveal a situation that happen during their stay and explain how the host handled it. Either good or bad feedback is GOLD for your rental knowledge!
What Price Ranges Are Your Competitors Using vs. What They Offer
This is key so you know the going rate of rental properties around your area!
You can use this information to lower your rental cost a little below the rest so you can get some traffic and get some reviews under your rental belt.
You can also use the cost vs. the pictures and amenities that these hosts provide.
If none of the hosts in the area provide a certain amenity that you think is critical when you are traveling short term, for example a hair dryer, then spend the money on a cheap hair dryer so you can stand out from the rest.
The saying “A Picture Says A Thousand Words” will never be void. If the rentals you are finding are say at $100/night but the pictures show the host’s dungeon of a basement or a style that should have died very many decades ago then let’s dive into what you can do.
You want professionally looking pictures even if you don’t have the money to spend on a professional photographer. My most suggested recommendation is that lighting is crucial for any picture you want to implement on your rental listing.
This is how you will attract all your potential guest’s interest. If you have dark, bland pictures, then they will move on and worse case, never to return.
You want distinct angles, pops of color that stand out and you want to show the essence of the experience you are wanting these guests to have. I know it sounds impossible right now but you can do it!
Try new and different things, but most importantly, have fun with it!
This is a time to get excited that you are working your way towards a new short term rental property that will provide additional income for you and your family!
Or you may be updating your current rental to get more bookings…Also more income for you and your family!
Staging new or like new furniture could help your rental stand out from the rest as well!
You can learn more about staging your rental by reading “The Pros Guide To Staging Your Short Term Rental Property – with Amanda Stein”.
This was an interview I conducted with Amanda Stein, who designs and stages homes, apartments, restaurants for many clients on a regular basis! This is staging information GOLD!
How many Booked or Blocked Out Days Are On Your Competitor’s Calendar
The calendar days that are blocked out can either mean two things:
- Listed bookings from a guest
- Personally blocked days that the host has noted they don’t want any guests
When I am researching my competition, I usually anticipate on a monthly average at least 75% of blocked out dates as bookings and the remaining 25% as personal time.
On weekdays, for example, Abbey and I usually block out the day after a booked stay since we both work our daily construction jobs on top of our rental property business.
This allows us time on the night of the guest’s departure to clean and get things ready for the next day’s guest booking.
This would be a little different if you were planning on or currently paying a cleaning service to spruce up your rental after each guest. If this is the case then as long as the service if okay with daily or sporadic cleanings then you really don’t need to block out personal days for the cleaning!
Which in turn gets you more bookings and becomes a little more passive income since you are not doing the cleaning yourself.
I think that this is the major goal for anyone wanting to start a short term rental property – Income coming in, without putting in work on a regular basis. PASSIVE INCOME!
I know this is what we are all striving for but for now cleaning ourselves outweighs the cost of a cleaning service for what we are currently looking to do.
Quick Tip – If you want to learn more or need any help figuring out Airbnb’s calendar of your rental listing, check out “Analyzing Your Airbnb Calendar Made Simple” to show my highly detailed description of the functions and notations provided within the calendar!
