How to Manage Your Own Vacation Rental Property

Task List

Setting Up Your Vacation Rental

 Download to-do list app on phone, tablet, or computer, and enter necessary tasks
 Determine if you need a license to manage your own vacation rental property, and obtain one if needed
 Determine the appropriate taxes you will need to charge in your area and how to file them
 Set up additional bank account to hold guest payments until they check in (if necessary)
 Decide how guests will get access to your property, and purchase necessary hardware
 Create a list of maintenance professionals that you may need for your property
 Hire a cleaning company
 Get professional photos taken of your property
 Write guest reservation information
 Create rental agreement
 Choose a vacation rental listing website to use
 Set up your vacation rental listing on the website you chose

Reservation Cycle
Immediate Reservation Tasks
 Accept or decline the reservation
 Make sure the guest knows “what to expect next”
 Write manual deferred tasks for the new reservation in to-do list app

Deferred Reservation Tasks

 Answer guest questions: as needed
 Make sure the guest has the reservation information when they need it: usually about a week before they
check in, but timing may vary in your situation
 Grant the guest access to your property: at check-in time
 Pay yourself (if necessary): after the guest has checked into your property
 Refund the guest’s damage deposit and request a review (if necessary): after the guest has checked out
of your property and you have confirmed that nothing is lost or damaged
 Respond to guest’s review of your property (if applicable): after a review is received
 Write down any complaint or praise of your property to improve your process (if applicable): after any
comment, conversation, or review from guest

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 Task List Continued

Maintain and Improve

 Evaluate your property for maintenance needs and address needs as they are found: every 3-6 months
 Evaluate your property for upgrades needed: every 6-12 months
 Respond to inquiries: as needed
 Put answers to inquiry questions in an easy to find location in your listing: as needed
 Send inquiries to owners with properties similar to yours: every 3-6 months
 Evaluate and update (if needed) your guest post-booking experience using one or more of the options
below: every 1-3 months
 Using guest comments, questions, and reviews
 Using cleaning company suggestions
 Using guest comments, questions, and reviews
 Using your experience at another property similar to yours
 Using your experience at your property
 Using research from the internet, seminars, newsletters, etc.
 Update calendar on your listing: every 2-3 days
 Send cleaning company your reservations list: every week, or the interval you two agree on
 Collect guest information in a separate spreadsheet (if desired): every month
 Fill calendar vacancies (if necessary): every 1-2 months