Two Automations That Save Countless Hours In Managing Vacation Rentals

Do you want to save twenty to thirty percent of your vacation rental revenue? Are you looking to self-manage your vacation rentals? Technology can make it happen! You can read a past post about the role of technology in real estate here. 

I’m going to share two underrated capabilities that you should include into your vacation rental management. These two automations save me countless hours and money from managing my five vacation rentals!

Scheduled Messages

Airbnb’s app includes a feature called Scheduled Messages. Before this feature was released, I had scripts saved in my Notes app to send to guests. I would copy & paste the script and include their name and booked dates. Even though it didn’t take a lot of time, it was a nuisance and repetitive. At the time, only property management softwares offered this feature. Thankfully, Airbnb listened to its hosts and incorporated this feature in the app. 

I have several scheduled messages set up for each listing. I include a confirmation message about the guest’s booking when the guest books. The day before the guest is scheduled to check-in, I share more detailed information like the address and lock code. The day before the guest checks out, I set up another scheduled message about their check-out time and some minimal tasks so cleaning can be expedited. Lastly, I send a message the day after the guest has checked out asking for a positive review. 

Sharing Cleaning Calendar

If your cleaner’s clientele are vacation rental owners, it’s likely that they have several processes set up on tracking cleanings. Ask your cleaners which method they prefer as it will make their lives much easier if you follow what they’re okay with vs creating a new way to learn. 

Technology has improved enough to share data easily. You can share your calendar in several ways. Here are two ways I recommend:

Turno is a cleaning marketplace. The app will connect you with cleaners who will bid on cleaning projects on a continuous basis. Another great feature about Turno is their shared calendar synchronization. By linking your Airbnb listing, Turno will sync booked calendars to the cleaning calendar and automatically notify your cleaners. This eliminates the need to communicate with your cleaners. Be sure that your cleaners are aware of your initial cleanings to see if they’re reliable and confirm that a cleaning is scheduled on their calendar if there is a same-day check-in to avoid mishaps. 

iCal export feature is handy if your cleaners use a native calendar like iCal or Google Calendar to track cleanings. Just like Turno, the iCal export feature will share calendar information with your cleaner’s calendar for bookings. You can read about how to do this on the Airbnb website.

Final Words

Although both these setups will take some time to implement (less than an hour), it’s a great idea to include into your management system as it will save you so much time! To provide you some insight, I don’t directly communicate with my guests or cleaners for four out of five bookings because my scheduled messages and calendar sharing tools automate it.