Short-term rentals (STRs) on popular websites such as Airbnb and VRBO have exploded in growth in the last 10 years. Owning an STR, also known as a vacation rental, comes with financial rewards, but also many headaches and responsibilities. These can include coordinating cleaners, property maintenance, 24/7 guest and booking inquiries, and more.
It’s no wonder property managers are highly sought-after to handle the stressful day-to-day operations of STR’s. The drawback of property managers, however, is that they charge anywhere from 15% to 50% of the booking revenue.
Entrepreneur Armando Ramirez is on a mission to change this. Armando is the founder and CEO of HostHelper. As a vacation rental homeowner himself, he saw firsthand the downsides of using a property manager, including:
- High fees. The property manager takes too much of the profits for too little work.
- Limited support. Most property managers don’t offer 24/7 guest and booking support, which causes owners to lose bookings or get negative reviews due to guest issues not being resolved quickly enough.
- Ownership. The property manager actually owns the listing on their own Airbnb account, not the property owner. All the reviews are also owned by the property manager. This makes it difficult for owners to leave their property manager when they are unhappy.
- No oversight. The property owner often doesn’t know what is going on with their property, guests, or if there are any maintenance issues that need to be dealt with.
- No control. The property owner has little to no control over the decisions the property manager makes, or doesn’t make, that determines the success of their vacation rental business.
Armando designed HostHelper to solve all of these issues he personally encountered. The primary difference between property managers and HostHelper is that HostHelper is a virtual co-host. This allows much greater control and flexibility for the property owner, including:
- Lower fees. HostHelper only charges $99/mo for coordinating cleaners, property maintenance, 24/7 guest and booking inquiries, and more. Essentially everything a property manager does.
- 24/7 support. Owners no longer have to lose out on bookings because the guest didn’t receive a timely response. Any guest issues during their stay are also handled immediately, resulting in stellar 5-star reviews.
- 100% ownership. The owner owns the listing and simply adds HostHelper as the co-host. The reviews and listing stay with the owner, even if they decide to part ways with HostHelper.
- 100% oversight. Since they are listed as the main host on the listing, they see all messages and communication with the guests.
- 100% control. Owners can login into their Airbnb account whenever they want to review their listing and make any changes they want.
Armando states that “co-hosts are the future of STR management due to the flexibility and cost savings incurred. As a virtual co-host we can perform all of our management duties seamlessly and effectively while saving the owner tens of thousands of dollars every year.”
Even property owners who self-manage benefit by using HostHelper. The average STR owner spends 8,4 hours managing their property every week. That’s 33.6 hours per month, which is the equivalent of paying yourself $2.95/hr for the work you would be paying HostHelper to do.
HostHelper also offers their management services on other top booking platforms like VRBO and Booking.com, among others. They also utilize the same tools that property managers do, such as pricing algorithm software PriceLabs and property management software IGMS.
LINKS:
Visit the following website for more information: https://www.hosthelper.co/.
See exactly how much time and money you can save by using the HostHelper Savings Calculator at https://www.hosthelper.co/savings-calculator/.
Visit our free academy to learn how to run your vacation rental business at https://www.hosthelper.co/short-term-rental-academy/.
Media Contact
Company Name: HostHelper LLC
Contact Person: Armando Ramirez | Founder and CEO HostHelper LLC
Email: Send Email
Phone: 1-855-HOSTHELPER
Address:1406 W 14th St Unit 101
City: Tempe
State: AZ 85281
Country: United States
Website: https://www.hosthelper.co/