With the right rental professional, you can rent out your own holiday home much more successfully and conveniently. What services do letting agencies offer, how is billing for holiday rentals done, why do booking platforms and on-site guest services belong together and how do you find the best landlord for your holiday home?
Discover everything you need to consider when renting out your holiday property and use our checklist to easily find the right rental service.
In this article you will learn:
- What is a holiday rental agency?
- Letting service or letting yourself?
- Online booking portal or local letting agency?
- What does a holiday rental agency cost?
- Advantages of an annual fee and commission basis?
- 7 reasons for local providers like Deine Ferien GmbH
- Checklist: How to find the right holiday rental service
What is a holiday rental agency?
Letting services and holiday apartment portals take over the marketing, letting and management of a holiday home for the owner. There are now numerous booking portals and letting agencies from Germany and abroad on the German market, which often differ significantly in terms of services and costs.
Some providers specialise in certain holiday regions, while others work across Europe or even worldwide.
Letting service or let it yourself?
Successfully marketing and letting a holiday property is a full-time job with numerous requirements, such as
- Creating a website
- Maintaining the booking calendar
- secure payment
- permanent availability online and on site
- etc.
Many owners often don't have the time and/or live too far away to take care of everything themselves.
The solution is booking portals and letting agencies. They take care of the marketing, the letting and all organisational matters on site - from handing over the keys to the final cleaning.
Online booking portal or local rental agency?
Many online platforms for holiday rentals focus on ensuring that your holiday property is easy to find on the web and easy to book. This makes sense, because the more often your holiday flat or holiday home appears in Google searches, the more potential holiday guests you will reach. Online booking portals therefore take care of the entire online marketing for you and ensure that your holiday property always appears in a technically and legally up-to-date framework.
The disadvantage of many booking portals: You often also have to book a local letting service.
Localrental agencies, on the other hand, take care of all the services that are required directly at the holiday destination for holiday rentals. These include: Handing over the keys, final cleaning, guest care, co-ordination of tradesmen for repairs, settlement of visitor's tax, bread delivery service, etc. These providers know the holiday region and often have a large local network from which you also benefit directly.
The disadvantage of many local letting agencies is that the smaller letting services are often not as present on the web as the large online platforms. This means that your holiday property appears less frequently in Google searches and is found by fewer holiday guests.
The solution: Some companies offer you the best of both worlds from a single source - a modern booking portal and a local rental service.
What does the holiday rental cost?
If you do not want to or cannot take over the marketing, letting and management of your holiday property yourself, you should factor in regular costs for administration and for your presence on holiday and comparison portals on the web. Letting services usually charge around 16 to 20 per cent of the rental income.
Added to this is the commission for the online booking portals as soon as your holiday home is advertised there. This is usually around 15 per cent; Airbnb, for example, takes 20 per cent commission per booking.
Advantages annual fee and commission basis?
The costs for renting out your holiday property are charged either monthly or annually, as with a subscription, or on a commission basis. What are the advantages of the two payment models?
Holiday rental with an annual fee
With an annual or monthly flat rate, you pay a fixed amount regardless of how much work and bookings actually occur. This allows you to calculate with a fixed amount.
However, costs are also incurred in the often much quieter low season if you do not generate any rental income.
Holiday rentals on a commission basis
When renting on a commission basis, you only pay if the holiday property is actually rented out. This gives you maximum transparency in terms of costs. Another advantage: you and the booking portal have a common goal, namely the optimal letting of your holiday home - because only then do you both earn.
7 reasons for local providers like Deine Ferien GmbH
A holiday property cannot only be managed online. A good on-site guest service is crucial for customer satisfaction as well as for the optimal care and maintenance of your holiday home. A company like Deine Ferien GmbH, which offers you both a modern booking platform and the full range of local services, is ideal:
1. Strong in the region: holiday guests usually search specifically for regions such as "holiday home on the Baltic Sea". The stronger your rental partner's local presence and network, the more you benefit from bookings
2. Individual: With Deine Ferien GmbH, you can choose from several local service providers or keep your existing service provider. For example, for the final cleaning.
3. everything from a single source: Deine Ferien GmbH offers you a convenient all-round service from booking management to on-site guest support.
4. from owners for owners: The team owns holiday properties themselves and knows what is important for you as an owner.
5. Strong online presence: Your guests enjoy an uncomplicated, modern holiday rental experience on the booking portal with lots of inspiring travel tips. You benefit from uncomplicated handling and many booking enquiries, as your holiday property automatically appears on all important booking portals and in numerous search queries.
6. cost transparency: Deine Ferien GmbH works transparently on a commission basis.
7. quality made in Germany: Deine Ferien GmbH is a subsidiary of the ROBEO Groupa successful nationwide holiday property specialist. This means you benefit from a large network, convincing quality, personal contacts and reliable security.
Checklist: How to find the right rental service
✓ The company is personally available for you and takes the time to provide individual advice on how best to let your holiday property.
✓ Your holiday property will be attractively presented with photos and property descriptions that will whet your appetite for a holiday in your holiday home.
✓ The company takes care of the creation of professional photos for you, advises you on the optimal presentation, pricing, etc.
✓ It has an attractive booking platform that inspires holiday guests with individual holiday tips for your region, e.g. with a selection of ideal holiday flats and holiday homes for families.
✓ Your holiday home will automatically appear on several booking portals so that as many holiday guests as possible become aware of it.
✓ The booking calendar is continuously updated across all portals to avoid double bookings.
✓ The booking platform is easy to use for you and your holiday guests and can be accessed from anywhere.
✓ Your holiday guests can use various payment methods when booking.
✓ Your rental partner offers you peace of mind when it comes to rental payments, the rental deposit and possible insurance claims by the tenant.
✓ There are extensive contact options for your holiday guests online and on site.
✓ Fast on-site service for key handover, repairs and final cleaning.
✓ Special promotions and offers for even more occupancy and rental yield.
✓ Good customer management for praise and criticism.
✓ Transparency in costs and administration. Ideally, you only incur costs when your holiday home or holiday flat is rented out.
Our tip:
Talk to several holiday rental providers in person.
Then you will know who is the best fit for you in terms of people and expertise.
The right partner is crucial for achieving the optimum rental yield and maintaining the value of your holiday property.