With so many rental options available nowadays, it comes as no surprise many owners are opting to capitalise on their second homes. If you own a property in a superb location, you may yourself be considering boosting your income by listing it on one of the many large international listing sites or smaller specialist short-term rental platforms.
However, although the vast choice of online booking platforms has allowed copious owners to list with more ease than ever, setting clear goals and having a solid plan is key, otherwise, it’s difficult to measure the success of your business.
In this post, we’re going to introduce the concept of setting initial deadlines and financial goals, with a focus on chalet businesses in the French Alps, so you can start to create a holiday rental business plan…
What to consider when establishing a holiday rental business plan…
1. When will the property be available to book?
First of all, consider when the property will actually be available for guests to book.
Depending on your financial goals, you may choose to open the booking calendar all year round or throughout the peak season only.
If you intend to use the property yourself as well as make it available to guests, then you need to decide how often you’ll be occupying it and when that will be.
The next thing to remember is that closing off the property’s booking calendar for personal use will impact potential earnings that can be made off commercial bookings.
2. What are your financial goals?
Next, determine whether you are aiming to simply cover costs and make a small profit or if the business is purely an investment project? If so, consider how much of a return you require on your investment.
Of course, to calculate how much income you can realistically aim for, you need to weigh up the costs associated with your holiday rental business.
To get an initial idea of managing your revenue, visit our blog post about the best practices for your holiday rental business. Or, if you’re looking for a more in-depth explanation, we have a handy post about the cost breakdown of renting out a ski chalet, which explains this idea in more depth.
3. When is your launch date?
What time of year are you going to be ready to launch your property on the listing site? Aiming to have your property guest-ready before peak times is a good goal to have, as this is when you can yield the most revenue.
Aside from build projects, photoshoots, final deco touches and getting listings live, a key thing to consider is whether you have met the local legal requirements.
Leaving necessary paperwork and formalities to the last minute can cause unwanted delays for you and your guests, which is never a good start! Allow time in your holiday rental business plan for meeting these demands.
How can OVO Network help?
OVO Network combines innovative technology with industry knowledge and creative expertise, to make it easy and stress-free to maximise your property’s occupancy and your rental income.
