When it comes to rental property maintenance, an Airbnb host has three main options: DIY maintenance, hiring a property management company, or working with trusted professionals in their area. Below, learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of each option and gain a better understanding of what types of property maintenance hosts are responsible for.
Property maintenance involves consistent cleaning, inspections, and repairs in homes or rental properties. It can be either routine or reactive, depending on the task.
Routine maintenance may include changing the air filters, conducting recurring walkthroughs, and housekeeping. On the other hand, reactive maintenance occurs when there is a problem that needs to be solved, such as flooding or a clogged drain.
If you manage a vacation rental, you’re likely quite familiar with property maintenance. Hosting numerous guests back-to-back means that normal wear-and-tear — or even more severe damages — is inevitable. That said, what aspects of property maintenance are the responsibility of Airbnb hosts?
Vacation rental hosts are responsible for the care and management of their property. In fact, Airbnb outlines several tips to help rental managers and owners exhibit responsible hosting.
Despite the many property maintenance responsibilities that come with owning or managing an Airbnb, hosts don’t have to handle all this work alone. There are numerous options for hosts to outsource vacation rental property maintenance. These avenues will be discussed below.
Airbnb protects hosts, through the form of payment, when guests fail to repair or replace damaged items or property. That said, hosts are responsible for paying for routine maintenance, such as changing air filters, replacing fire alarm batteries, and addressing other forms of ordinary wear-and-tear.
Airbnb hosts can choose whether or not they want to handle their rental property maintenance on their own. Below, learn more about DIY maintenance as well as options that hosts have to outsource this aspect of the job.
As stated, vacation rental hosts may choose to handle their property maintenance and repairs themselves.
A partial list of rental property maintenance tasks includes:
Although it can save you money, performing rental property maintenance yourself requires a certain level of handiness — and a vast amount of time. If you’re not particularly handy, or if you’re short on time, outsourcing your rental property maintenance may be a wise investment.
Property management companies are hired by property owners or landlords to take care of certain tasks involved in the upkeep of the property. How much and what types of tasks the property management company does depend on the terms outlined in their contract.
Property management companies can be an extreme help to vacation rental hosts who consider hosting their second job — or who just don’t have the time, energy, or desire to handle rental property maintenance on their own. That said, hiring this type of service may not be the right fit for some hosts.
Hosts will have to take on a fairly high monthly fee if they choose to work with a property management company. Additionally, they will have to sacrifice a certain level of involvement when letting an outside company handle their routine and reactive maintenance tasks.
There’s also the challenge of finding the right company to suit the rental and the host’s preferences. It’s common for vacation rental owners to try out multiple property management companies before finding one they’re comfortable with. Ultimately, however, it’s up to the host to determine the best fit for their unique situation.
If a property maintenance company doesn’t sound like your style, you can also choose to hire outside contractors local to your area. For example, if you have a plumbing issue in your Airbnb, you can find and hire a local plumbing company to service your property.
Plumbing issues may be fairly rare in your case, but one thing you’ll need during each and every turnover is vacation rental cleaning. You can also work with cleaning professionals in your area to get your property sparkling clean after each guest.
One major benefit of working with local professionals is the strong relationships hosts can build with these service providers.
Many hosts find that working with a property management company comes with an approach that is too hands-off for their liking. After all, they’re entrusting their business — in some cases, their only form of income — to a company that has yet to earn their trust.
On the other hand, many hosts already know and trust local professionals, including plumbers, cleaners, and more, who can provide their rental property maintenance. Even if this isn’t the case, working with a local professional who can address a host’s specific needs allows them to foster a lasting relationship that benefits both parties for years to come.
In today’s digital world, it’s easier than ever to find licensed, bonded, and insured professionals in your area to tackle your rental property maintenance.
Tools like TurnoverBnB allow you to find trusted vacation rental cleaning companies local to you — all with the simple touch of a button. With Uplisting, you can easily schedule, monitor, and manage your turnovers for a fully automated cleaning process.
Rental property maintenance is no easy feat, but automated cleaning scheduling makes it a bit easier. To learn more about vacation rental automation, check out these other helpful blogs and guides.
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This article was written by TurnoverBnB, a centralized platform for listing, sourcing, and managing cleaning services and maintenance providers for vacation rental properties worldwide.
We’ve built an all-in-one property, channel management and automation tool to help property managers scale seamlessly.
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