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Best Practices for Screening Guests for Your Short-Term Rental 

You have worked hard for months preparing your home or rental property for guests. Even though your short-term rental units are clean, safe, and inviting, you still have a lot of work to do before the first guest spends the night. At this stage, you need to invest in an aggressive marketing campaign and complete guest screening. After all, there is no sense doing all that work and then having the first person who stays in your short-term rental destroy the place. That is why having a professional Airbnb property management company handle your property to make it completely hands-off!

Plan to Complete Initial Telephone Screening Yourself

With each application you receive, you should reach out to the prospective guest by telephone to ask a few basic questions. Here are some typical examples:

  • How many adults and children will be staying in the short-term rental unit? Keep in mind that you cannot refuse to rent to families with children under federal and state laws. The most you can say is that your unit may not be as kid-friendly as the guest would like.
  • Will you be bringing any pets? You do have the right to make your short-term rental pet-free or request a deposit to cover any damage caused by pets if you do allow them.
  • Do you smoke? If the answer is yes, you can request that guests not smoke on your property or limit their smoking to certain areas.
  • Have you stayed in a short-term rental unit in the past? Can you provide me with references?

Be sure to go over the house rules with your prospective guest once you have completed your telephone interview. You should also put your rules in writing and mail to the guest prior to the scheduled stay.

Questions You Cannot Legally Ask

The Federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for property owners to ask questions or discriminate against potential renters based on the following:

  • Age
  • Country of origin
  • Marital status
  • Physical or mental disability
  • Pregnancy status
  • Previous arrests, although you can inquire about charges against the person
  • Race
  • Sexual orientation

Work with Sojourn Properties for a Comprehensive Guest Screening Experience

Guest screening in Arizona is an involved process that requires many additional steps. We invite you to contact our office in Cave Creek, Arizona to learn more about this and other property management services that our experienced team can handle for you.

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Here’s Every Detail You Need to Include in Your Airbnb Listing

When potential guests read your Scottsdale, AZ Airbnb listing, they do so to see if it will meet their personal, family, business and/or vacation needs. Your listing is the only front-facing marketing piece that you have to convert someone who’s just browsing into a paid guest. Make sure that you take advantage of every opportunity to express all that your Airbnb offers by including plenty of information. Here are the details that should be included in your Airbnb listing.

What Floor It’s On

Many travelers have special needs and can’t manage stairs. They’ll be looking to see what floor your Airbnb unit is on, so make sure you tell them. If it’s on a second floor, mention how many stairs there are, or if there is elevator access.

Proximity to Food Stores

Your guests will need to access food right away. Let them know with a map screenshot or detailed information how close the nearest food stores are. Also include the name of the stores and distinguish between small corner markets and full-product grocery stores.

Nearby Dining

Be sure to mention nearby dining establishments with a brief description of the style and type of cuisine. For instance, you could say: “Within a 5-block radius there is a Mexican taco stand, an Argentinian fine dining establishment, a take-out pizza place and a fast-food American hamburger place.”

Disposable Amenities Supplied

No guest wants to arrive only to find there’s not so much as a square of toilet tissue or hand soap in the unit. Allow guests to prepare by listing exactly what you will provide. Specify that it’s “starter” supplies so you don’t have to refill paper products for long-stay guests. (Note that it’s good practice to include starter supplies of bathroom tissue, hand soap, paper towels and dish soap.)

Refund Policy

You can avoid sticky situations by plainly explaining your refund policy upfront. The Airbnb listing platform provides a special field for this, but go the extra mile and detail how any refund will be provided and on what terms.

The more detailed information you can provide in your Airbnb listing, the fewer disappointed guests you will have. Your Airbnb management company in Scottsdale, Arizona will help keep guests happy, too. For more information about Airbnb management, please contact us.

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How to Choose a Location For Your Airbnb

If you’re looking for an investment property to buy so you can use it as an Airbnb, location is doubly important. Many Airbnb guests choose their accommodations based on their location first, and other things like amenities, second. After all, the perfect Airbnb is no good if it’s in the wrong location. Choosing a location for your Airbnb can be challenging, but these tips will make it easier.

Consider Access to Highways

Ideally, your Airbnb will be easy to find off the interstate. Guests who are coming in from out of town will be unfamiliar with small, local roads and may be wary about traveling down lonely country lanes in unknown locales. You don’t need to have your Airbnb in the city center, unless you want that, but reasonable access without the need for a four-wheel drive vehicle is usually best.

Look at Tourist Activity

The most successful Airbnbs are often located in touristy areas. Look at how many tourists come to any place you’re considering. Is the town a “drive-by,” or do tourists come to linger for a few days? You want to have your Airbnb situated in a place where tourists are attracted to.

Review Local Area Attractions

Another thing to look at is the number of area attractions. Try to choose a place where there is a lot to entertain people of all ages. It doesn’t have to be near Disneyland, but it should be near natural or man-made attractions. Ideally, those attractions should be either numerous or so complex that they require stay-overs to get the full experience. Note that when looking at management for your Airbnbs, you don’t have to do the work. You can hire an Airbnb management company to take care of your Airbnb rental for you. This can even include providing pamphlets and ticket information about local area attractions.

Use these tips as a guideline when looking at various investment properties to use as your Airbnb. If you can tick most of the items on this list, then chances are you’ll meet most of the requirements of your future Airbnb guests. For full-service help managing your Airbnb property, please contact us today!

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How to Attract Corporate Guests

Corporate guests are very valuable for short-term rental owners. Corporate stays are typically paid for by corporations, which are willing to pay more for the right accommodations. Corporate guests are also more desirable because they are professionals, who are more likely to treat the property gently and with respect. They are less likely to throw parties, be messy or destroy property and possessions. To attract corporate tenants, consider these steps.

Install Optic-Fiber Internet

Optic-fiber internet is the fastest available internet. This is an attractive feature for corporate tenants because they’ll need fast, reliable internet to conduct business in your short-term rental.

Offer Car Service

Consider attaching the use of a car to the short-term rental. This is an amenity that many executives would look for when choosing a short-term rental.

Provide Free Parking

Make sure that your rental property has free parking available for corporate tenants. If you don’t have a dedicated driveway or space, consider paying for parking service in a nearby covered garage. Corporate tenants don’t like to be nickel and dimed for every small convenience.

Upgrade Linens

Offer a minimum of 400-thread sheet counts on the beds and Egyptian cotton towels in the bathroom. These are common with the best hotels in the world, and corporate tenants almost expect these little luxuries.

Offer Discounts on Long-term Stays

Offer corporate discounts to the company. This will make it more likely that the corporate administrator will choose your short-term rental every single time one of their executives needs to travel to your area on business. Remember, they want the process to be as easy as possible, too, so not having to look for a different short-term rental every time is valuable for them.

Provide Bedside Accoutrements

Place a station in the bedroom for beverages and snacks. Consider a mini-refrigerator and stock it with complimentary refreshments like bottled water and lite snacks. Place a mini coffee pot in the room so your corporate tenant can enjoy coffee in bed without leaving the comfort of the bedroom.

The more similar you can make your short-term rental to the luxuries of a high-class hotel, the more likely you will be able to attract corporate tenants to your property.

 

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Secrets to Better Airbnb Reviews

As an experienced Airbnb host, you may already know that the key to more and better bookings is great reviews. Hosts with more positive reviews get ranked better on the Airbnb platform and are better able to charge higher rates. Positive reviews have also been proven to make those listing get more confirmed bookings once a consumer clicks on the listing and reads through the reviews. Following are the secrets to better Airbnb reviews.

Be Responsive

If you have a consumer reach out to you with a question prior to a booking, be sure to answer them as soon as you receive the message notification. Consumers usually want to confirm accommodations as soon as possible. If you don’t respond, they’ll quickly move on to their next choice. When you’re responsive like this, it will likely be noted in your Airbnb review.

Be Helpful

Once your booking is confirmed, message your guest and ask if you can be of service to them. Ask if you can help to arrange activities, transportation or information about the place or the community where the property is located.

Be Personal

Whenever you message your guest, be sure to use their first name. Sign your message with your name, too, so they have that personal feeling and realize that they’re just dealing with another “real” human being.

Be Informative

Make sure your guest knows exactly what is expected of them in terms of checking out. Don’t make them have to contact you to figure out how to do things like where to leave the keys. Ideally, you would supply written information in the unit that they can readily access in their own language.

Ask For The Review

Airbnb automatically reminds guests to leave reviews. But to get more positive reviews, go ahead and message your guest yourself. Wait until the end of their stay or shortly after they’ve checked out. Say that you hope their stay lived up to their expectations, and that you would very much appreciate an honest review.

Leave a Review Yourself

Be sure to leave a positive review for your guests whenever possible. This will make them feel more inclined to leave you a positive review.When you follow these tips, you’ll be more likely to create a relationship with each guest, which will encourage them to leave a review to support you when they leave.

If you’re looking for professional Airbnb property management in Scottsdale, contact our team today for a free consultation!

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How to Pin Down the Best Airbnb Pricing for the Holidays

With the holidays fast approaching, more guests are making plans and booking accommodations. The key to attracting as many guests as possible for a lucrative season is setting the right holiday price point is important. As you work with an Airbnb property management company in Scottsdale, consider these three tips for creating the best price for your rental.

Consider Your Target Audience and Their Travel Habits

What does the typical holiday traveler look like at your Airbnb? If you get a lot of corporate travelers through the holidays, your price points should reflect the typical per-diem costs these travelers will be willing to spend. Likewise, if you get a lot of family vacationers, your pricing models should cater to the typical budget of that traveler. The closer you can align pricing with what target travelers prefer to spend, the more successful your rental will be.

Examine the Competing Property Pricing in Your Area

Take a look at some of the other properties available in the same area as your rental, especially those that offer similar amenities and amounts of space. How do their pricing models change for bookings through the holiday season? If you see there is a general uptick in pricing, you can compete by pricing your unit at a similar or slightly lower price. If you see the properties are going cheaper to allure holiday travelers, you may need to make adjustments to stay in competition through the season.

Work with a Property Manager for Valuable Pricing Insights

By working with a property management company, you gain access to information that can help you generate the most effective price points. At Sojourn Properties LLC, we utilize insightful analytical data from sources like SmartBnB and AirDNA to ensure your property has the most attractive pricing. These insightful resources allow us to keep tabs on trending pricing models and what works best for other properties.

Achieve the Best Pricing with Airbnb Management Services in Scottsdale

With the best price points in place for the holiday travel season, you are more likely to see your Airbnb properties returning the best profits. If you need help pinpointing the best pricing or other property management in Scottsdale, reach out to us at Sojourn Properties LLC.

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Appealing to Corporate Renters: How an Airbnb Can Stand Out Over Hotels

Corporate renters can be a huge source of revenue if you have an Airbnb in Scottsdale, AZ. However, there’s no doubt you have some fierce competition from neighboring hotels. We’ll look at how you can appeal to the corporate crowd and why your place might be a far better choice than the traditional options.

A Unique Place to Stay

Long-term renters definitely have options when it comes to hotels. There are a number of extended-stay rooms that feature everything from kitchens to jacuzzi tubs. Yet even the best hotels just can’t match the charm of a good Airbnb. These aren’t sanitized versions of home, they’re a real place where corporate workers can kick up their heels and relax after a difficult day.

In your marketing, make sure to show off the most unique parts of the house. In addition, stock up on everything in the kitchen. From pots and pans to gourmet coffee, these items can really convey comfort to the weary traveler.

A Good Place to Work

With so many people working both in and away from the office, an Airbnb might be a more restful place to work than a hotel (particularly if you have more than one bedroom). If you think you might have a lot of corporate traffic in Phoenix or Scottsdale, you should have a designated office with good lighting, a desk, and plenty of plugs. If you have remote workers stay with you, ask them for their suggestions on what would make for a better environment.

An Excellent Place to Sleep

If a corporate worker is going to spend 16 hours on the job, the bedroom is going to be pretty important to them. Make sure it’s big, comfortable, and a haven from the stresses of the office. (In other words, don’t skimp on the mattress, sheets, pillowcases, etc.)

Free Property Analysis in Phoenix, AZ

The corporate crowd is spending big bucks for their journeys, but it’s not uncommon for people to undersell their properties — even when they price compare. If you want to learn more about what your Airbnb is really worth, Sojourn Properties LLC can provide a free property analysis in Scottsdale, AZ.

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What Is PriceLabs and How Is It Designed for Rentals? 

All short-term rental owners know they should be changing their prices based on demand. From holidays to festivals, the value of a place will rise and fall depending on the season. Yet the formula to use when setting the prices every day isn’t always clear.

Yes, you can charge more, but just how much more? Are you leaving money on the table by pricing too low, or is it better to have an underpriced property that was booked rather than an overpriced one that sat empty? These are not straightforward questions, no matter how much people wish they were. It’s why many owners rely on PriceLabs, a technology that cuts through the much to a clear-cut solutions.

What Is PriceLabs?

Rental management in Scottsdale, AZ starts with putting a heavy emphasis on fiscal information. PriceLabs is a platform that uses algorithms to set prices for short-term rentals. By crunching the data, they recommend prices based on supply and demand of the market — regardless of what’s happening in your area.

So whether it’s a boring Monday during off-season in a ski town or a multi-day concert event with hundreds of thousands of attendees, PriceLabs helps rental owners control their pricing strategy. It gives people total peace of mind that they’re not missing out on additional revenue.

Why Use It?

This isn’t the only site out there that offers these services, but it is one of the most versatile. PriceLabs works with major booking sites like Airbnb and VRBO. It’s updated automatically, so property owners can optimize their rates. The dashboards are easy to manage and there are a variety of helpful options to customize your experience. It’s also excellent for telling you more about the trends dominating your area. Many users of PriceLabs found this exceptionally helpful after the volatility of the pandemic.

Property Management in Scottsdale, AZ

Sojourn Property LLC uses PriceLabs because we’ve found that it maximizes our client’s profit margins. We are Airbnb management experts in Scottsdale, AZ who can take the pressure off so you can focus on the benefits of your investment and not the hassles. To learn more about what else we can do to protect what you’ve worked so hard for, contact us today.

 

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How to Get Started as an Airbnb Host

If you own a well-kept home in an exotic locale or close to a popular tourist location, you can make extra money by renting it out to visitors as an Airbnb. Airbnb hosts make thousands of dollars a month by doing little more than allowing strangers to stay in their homes. If this sounds like a good revenue stream, we have four tips on how to get started as an Airbnb host.

Step 1: Take a Good, Long Look at Your Home

If your spaces need updating or a good coat of paint, you’ll want to take care of these issues before listing your home on Airbnb. Not everyone who wants to become a host is accepted, and the selection process is detailed. Your home should look nice, feature modern amenities, and boast a prime location that’s close to the places people want to go.

Step 2: Take Professional Pictures of Your Home and Landscaping

The better your pictures, the more people will want to rent your home. While it’s not necessary to call in a professional photographer, you should use a good camera and lots of natural light to photograph your home’s features. Make sure your home is tidy and well decorated, and be sure to take pics of all the spaces guests will be able to use, including:

  • Bedrooms
  • Kitchens
  • Baths
  • Common areas
  • Game rooms
  • Outdoor porches or decks
  • Included amenities, such as gazebos, rose gardens, or in-law suites

Step 3: List Your Property on Airbnb

When you’re ready, upload your listing and photos to the Airbnb website. You’ll need to decide on such things as your nightly rate, cleaning charge, cancellation policy, service fees and taxes, and whether you’ll allow guests to instantly book before you’ve had a chance to talk with them and review their profile.

Step 4: Invite Guests Into Your Home

You can choose whether to meet your guests in person, but most hosts simply leave a lockbox with a key. Small incentives are always nice to leave for your guests, as they’ll review their experience on the Airbnb site after their stay. You might consider leaving a welcome basket on the table with a map of the local area or providing luxury soaps and bath products near the shower.

Sojourn Properties, LLC, can help you manage your Airbnb properties in Scottsdale and Phoenix, AZ. Contact us today for more information on how we can help you make the most of your Airbnb hosting experience.

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3 Ways to Make Your Short-Term Rental More Attractive to Workationers

The word workcationer might not be a household portmanteau just yet, but it seems like it’s only a matter of time. With so many people being able to do their jobs from anywhere these days, it’s no wonder people are starting to rethink not just where they vacation but where they work too.

After all, if they’re going to have to be at the meeting anyway, they might as well have something nice to look at. (And you might as well pick up the trade if you have a property worth its salt.) Here’s how you can make your short-term rental management in Scottsdale, AZ appeal to this new crowd.

Speak to Their Needs

Your job here is to think through what your renters will need at their job. This includes high-speed internet, a quality chair that offers lumbar support or a luxury standing desk, and ancillary items like paper, pens, and Post-Its. You can show off all your amenities through pictures and note the details in text.

Play Up the Benefits of Your Property

Is your place next to a great coffee shop? Does it have a view of the natural landscape? Is there a nice place for renters to grab dinner after they wrap up for the day? People get away from their homes for the sake of something different, and not everything has to be the best of the best to make a big impression. Even if it’s just a diner with friendly owners next door, this can speak to someone who’s looking for a change of pace.

Choose the Right Property Managers in Scottsdale or Phoenix, AZ

A short-term property manager in Scottsdale, AZ or Phoenix, AZ can have a lot to do with how your guests both perceive your property before they book, what kind of experience they have when they’re there, and what they tell their loved ones after they leave.

Having the right partners by your side can help you learn more about how to make your short-term rental more tempting to workcationers (both now and in the future). Contact us today to learn more about how Sojourn Properties, LLC can be of service.

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