Holiday rental management: Tools & strategies to manage your property
Strategies and tools for efficient holiday rental management
- Owner’s responsibilities and requirements for the management of holiday rentals.
- How to increase profitability by optimising the management of a rental.
- The role of the holiday rental manager.
- Self-management of holiday rentals: Advantages and tools available to the owner.
- The best tools to manage holiday rental.
- Choosing the right agency according to the needs of your property.
June 2025
In property management, it is necessary to use tools to manage your holiday rentals & bookings. To this end, we have compiled a series of strategies and tools for successfully managing your holiday rental – from the booking process & guest communication, to maintenance and legal requirements. It is necessary to know how to manage a holiday rental since how you manage the entire booking process and the presentation of your property influences how guests review your property.
What is included holiday rental management?
The holiday home owner is responsible not only for maintaining the rental and leaving it presentable for guests, but also for marketing and distributing their properties. Their main responsibilities include:
- Distribution channels: distributing rental ads on holiday rental platforms such as Holidu, Airbnb or Expedia, so that guests can book the property.
- Marketing and advertising: driven by attractive ads in social networks and any other channels to promote the property.
- Photographic material: they must have a detailed description of the apartment, with real photographs.
- Maintenance: have an excellent cleaning service before the client’s arrival.
- Communication with customers: answer questions related to the rental before and during the stay.
- Automated check-in: updated reservation calendar to coordinate check-in and check-out.
- Incidents: it is necessary to maintain a policy before and during the client’s stay, in order to solve problems that may arise.
- Taxes: all legal requirements for holiday rentals must be met, according to the location of the property.
These are key aspects of rental management to maximise bookings with efficient administration.
How to increase profitability by optimising holiday rental management?
Optimising holiday rental management often leads to an increase in revenue, but in order to achieve multiple bookings per year, the following strategies must be taken into account:
- Establish cancellation and deposit policies: define clear and fair policies that protect your interests and minimise loss of income in case of cancellations. You can do this by requesting a security deposit to cover possible damages or incidents during the stay.
- Competitive rates: do market research to determine the rate of your property based on its location, amenities and seasonality.
- Updating the property: a well-maintained and updated property will be more in demand and allow you to charge higher rates. Conduct inspections, perform maintenance and consider renovations.
- Search engines: improve your ad’s web positioning. Use SEO (search engine optimisation) strategies to improve the visibility of your ad in the channels.
- Offer promotions: this is one of the advertising tools most sought after by customers.
- Positive reviews: ask your customers for reviews after their stay. This is a determining factor in the booking decision of other potential guests, and increases feedback to improve the service you offer.
- Optimise cost management: identify areas where you can reduce costs without compromising service quality.
Is it necessary to have a holiday rental manager for property management?
The support of a manager is an advantage in property management, since at the beginning it is not easy. The holiday rental manager will be in charge of promoting your apartment with the ability to perform various tasks. Their benefits include:
- Track record and expertise: their experience in the market will maximise your income, and help you manage your property efficiently. In addition, they offer advice on reservations, maintenance, and marketing.
- Customer service: they will be able to respond to guests’ concerns in order to provide them with a pleasant experience – generating positive reviews.
- Time: saving time is an investment, and the property manager will take care of everything related to your property, from listing it on multiple platforms to check-in and check-out.
- Legal requirements: depending on the location, there may be regulations and legal requirements when renting a property. A property manager will make sure that your property complies with all regulations, avoiding legal problems.
- Resources: tools such as specialised rental promotion software such as Airbnb, Trivago, Expedia or Holidu.
You just have to evaluate your availability, additional costs and your property to decide if you need a professional manager. Also, not all property managers work in the same way, many of them offer a variety of plans:
- Express management: they are characterised by offering a rental price advisory service, maintaining fluid communication with clients, the optimisation of web ads and management on web platforms such as Booking and Airbnb.
- Integral management: for those owners of one or more properties, this is the best option, since the company is in charge of the entire logistics and communication process with customers. They may also offer cleaning and maintenance services, check-in and check-out.
- Digital management: the manager focuses on the sales area, positioning the apartment through advertisements and digital marketing techniques to promote the rental service.
Do you want to manage your holiday rental on your own? Learn more about the advantages!
Currently, there are some tools to manage holiday rentals that allow holiday home owners to manage their own properties – through software. First of all, you should think about OTAS or holiday rental platforms if you want to advertise the property. With the following platforms, you will find it much easier to manage.
AvaiBook.com
It saves time and effort by offering rental management software, which features tools and solutions for efficient property management.
Advantages
- Synchronization of availability calendar in different platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com or HomeAway, amongst others.
- Facilitates tracking and control of all reservations.
- Facilitates the configuration of personalised rates.
- Offers distribution channels, cleaning systems, payment gateways and automatic check-in.
- Provides detailed reports on bookings, occupancy and other relevant data.
Rock Rentals
It is an agency in charge of rental management for apartments, houses and villas, offering services of reservations. It has managers, offering security and comfort.
Advantages
- Promotion of properties on various platforms and booking channels.
- Coordination of check-in and check-out.
- Uses effective marketing strategies.
- In charge of communication with guests.
- Solution to problems in the customer’s stay.
- It allows you to earn income without having to worry about logistics or time.
Hosticasa
Based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Hosticasa provides legal and tax advice. In addition, it manages long-term rental services, and offers clients customised packages tailored to their needs.
Advantages
- Increases visibility and reach of properties.
- Advanced tools for competitive pricing and revenue optimisation.
- They offer advice with effective strategies to maximise results.
- They prepare market analyses.
- Coordination of bookings, check-in and check-out, cleaning and maintenance.
Minty Host
Minty Host offers a large group of agents that can help suggest strategies to improve holiday rental management. Among their services, they handle interior design and improve the appearance of the property to attract customers.
Advantages
- Team with strategies to maximise revenues.
- Uses various distribution channels to increase the visibility of the properties.
- Establish competitive and profitable prices.
- Offers customer service.
- Management of check-in and check-out.
WeGuest
Weguest is a rental management agency located in more than 200 locations in Spain, being a favorable option for owners. However, the company has a commission of 18%, whilst offering a complete management service. Despite its price, it fits perfectly with those owners who wish to optimise their property, as the benefits will be rewarding.
Advantages
- WeGuest is responsible for promoting the property on rental platforms and on its own website.
- Coordinates the check-in and check-out process for guests, providing them with relevant information about the property and resolving any questions or problems.
- It handles everything from promotion and booking management, to maintenance and customer service.
- Manages reservations and handles guest communications.
- Cleaning and maintenance services.
- Pricing and payment management, maximising owner’s revenues.
Whichever company you hire for the management of the holiday rental requires a commission; usually 10 to 15% and others vary between 30 and 50%. The more tasks the company offers (advertising strategy, web positioning, communication with users, reservations and price management), the higher the commission will be.
Holiday rental management takes time, so finding the right agency according to the needs of the property is most important. You have to consider the services they offer and how they target potential clients. To ensure the success of your property, we recommend you analyse all the factors of time, budget and work.