Scaling A Holiday Rental Business: Australia & NZ [Webinar]

We invited industry leaders from Australasia to share their insights on the current state of the vacation rental market. These industry experts highlighted the key drivers of their success, including embracing automation, leveraging data analytics, and fostering strong guest relationships. They also addressed some of the most significant challenges they face, such as rising competition, fluctuating guest expectations, and regulatory hurdles.

One of the primary solutions discussed was the integration of technology tools to streamline operations and enhance guest experiences. From property management software to AI-driven communication tools, these technologies help operators stay competitive and scale their businesses effectively. The experts also shared actionable tips, including optimizing booking channels, implementing dynamic pricing strategies, and staying proactive with guest engagement. Their growth advice emphasized the importance of staying adaptable, continuously learning, and focusing on delivering personalized, memorable guest experiences to differentiate in a crowded market.

Webinar speakers

François Gouelo, cofounder and CEO of Enso Connect

Rebecca Cribbin, Owner and Founder of Holiday Rental Specialists

Jon Lawry, Founder and CEO of The Urban Butler

Yoav Tourel,  Managing Director APAC at Guesty

Rebecca Cribbin

Holiday Rental Specialists is an Australian property manager with 13 years of experience. Managing a portfolio of 1,200 short-term rental properties across the New South Wales region, they have successfully handled 62,000 bookings, hosting over half a million guests in holiday homes. Their impressive rental earnings have exceeded $100 million, of which $70 million has been paid out to property owners, demonstrating their commitment to delivering exceptional value for both guests and property owners.

In addition to property management, they have expanded their services by launching Holiday Rental Experts, a new venture aimed at helping short-term accommodation industry colleagues improve productivity and profitability. Through this new initiative, they offer specialized coaching, training, and access to virtual assistants to help streamline operations and boost efficiency. Their tailored support enables operators to manage their workloads more effectively, optimize their business practices, and rediscover the joy in their work, all while maximizing profitability and guest satisfaction.

John Lawry

The Urban Butler, located in Auckland, is a mid to high-end property management company specializing in short-term rentals. Currently, they oversee approximately 60 properties, operating as a tech-based and software-driven management firm. What sets The Urban Butler apart is their tech-forward approach, operating as a software-driven management firm. By leveraging advanced technology and automation tools, they streamline property management processes, ensuring seamless operations, enhanced guest experiences, and optimized property performance.

Their focus on using cutting-edge software solutions allows The Urban Butler to efficiently manage day-to-day tasks such as booking, guest communication, check-ins, and property maintenance. This tech-based strategy not only helps them maintain a high standard of service but also positions them as a modern, forward-thinking player in the competitive short-term rental market.

Yoav Tourel

Guesty is a global property management software company, has become a key player in the short-term rental and hospitality industry. With a suite of tools designed to streamline and automate property management, Guesty enables property managers to handle everything from bookings and guest communications to payments and operational tasks, all through a single platform.

Yoav serves as the Managing Director for the Asia Pacific division at Guesty. Under his leadership, the team has grown substantially, especially after a successful acquisition and merger with iRoom, a renowned property management solution based in Australia. This strategic move has bolstered Guesty’s presence in the region, allowing the company to provide even more tailored solutions for property managers.

The expansion of Guesty’s Australian team to around 30 dedicated professionals has enhanced their ability to serve clients with localized expertise while maintaining the global quality standards the company is known for. With this strengthened presence, Guesty continues to empower property managers across the Asia Pacific region, helping them scale their businesses and adapt to the ever-evolving demands of the hospitality sector.

The state of the short-term rental market in Australia and New Zealand in 2023

The end market for short-term rental properties typically falls within the range of 175k to 220k. There might be some variation depending on whether we include occasional short-term rentals and aparthotels in the mix. In the past three to five months, the market has shown signs of stabilizing as the initial surge of travel excitement, known as the “sugar rush” post-COVID, subsides. COVID had a significant impact on the vacation rental industry, drawing more people to explore this accommodation option and choose short-term rental properties as investments.

Throughout the pandemic, there was a notable increase in short-term rental properties in both New Zealand and Australia. And now, we see that: hotels are back, inflation and interest rates are increasing, etc. The market is now shifting back to pre-pandemic levels, with a decline of approximately 7% to 9% in property performance. Some properties are transitioning back from short-term to long-term rentals.

While rural vacation rentals have experienced a decrease in pricing and occupancy rate in recent months, urban properties are thriving due to the return of business travel and event activity. However, discussions surrounding regulations in different regions of Australia and New Zealand are creating uncertainty.

Globally, the vacation rental industry has seen a decrease in bookings this summer compared to the same period last year. Nevertheless, the current market is witnessing increased professionalization. More operators are treating vacation rentals as profitable businesses rather than just side hustles on platforms like Airbnb. These property management companies are focused on delivering profitability and higher rental income for property owners.

Main challenges vacation rentals face today [in Australia and New Zealand]

Apart from economic factors like hospitality labor shortage and rising costs, professional property managers must tackle the following challenges:

Consistency

For a short-term rental business, maintaining a consistent approach on both the owner and guest sides is crucial for overall success. This involves establishing a cohesive system that not only meets the needs and expectations of property owners but also ensures a seamless and positive experience for guests.

On the owner side, it’s essential to deliver a reliable and transparent service, addressing property owners’ needs with professionalism and efficiency. This includes regular updates, clear communication regarding bookings and maintenance, and prompt handling of any issues that arise. A consistent approach ensures that property owners feel valued and confident in the management of their assets, fostering long-term partnerships.

On the guest side, the focus is on providing a uniform experience across all properties within the business. Guests expect a seamless, high-quality experience, regardless of which property they stay in. Achieving this consistency requires effective communication, well-defined processes, and meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of the vacation rental operation. From the initial booking process to check-in, stay, and check-out, every touchpoint should be managed with care to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for guests. By aligning these elements, short-term rental businesses can build a strong reputation for reliability and excellence, leading to increased guest satisfaction and owner retention.

Trust

Amidst the growing number of smaller operators who treat rentals as side hustles rather than full-fledged businesses, building trust and maintaining high standards becomes increasingly essential. For the industry to gain credibility and attract serious investors, regulation plays a crucial role in supporting professionalization. Effective regulations can set benchmarks for quality, ensure fair practices, and provide a structured framework for managing properties, thereby enhancing the overall trustworthiness of the rental market.

On the other side of guest-host relations, knowing who is coming through your doors is equally important. With the rise of guest fraud, chargebacks, and property damage incidents, implementing robust guest verification systems is critical. These systems help in confirming the identity of guests, mitigating risks, and protecting property owners from potential issues. Effective guest verification processes involve checking identification, reviewing booking histories, and using secure payment methods to reduce the likelihood of fraudulent activities.

By combining strong trust-building measures with rigorous guest verification protocols, property managers can create a safer, more reliable rental environment. This approach not only helps in safeguarding properties but also enhances the overall guest experience, contributing to the professionalization and success of the short-term rental industry.

Owner satisfaction and retention

Unlike real estate agents, rental companies are here in a long game. We need to make sure that our property owners, the people who we actually work for, are our advocates and stay with us throughout the years. There is not enough technology to manage owners’ experience. We must manage the relationships from the initial meeting, through the years we want to keep them onboard and happy. Establishing trust and transparency with the owners is the goal of all hospitality professionals with this business model. The expectations of the owners are high, as well as their mortgages. They still expect the “post-Covid frenzy” returns, while the market is back to the 2019 performance.

Short-term rental accommodation owners want to be hands-off but also to have good visibility on their properties’ performance. It is a challenge to keep them engaged and understanding what actually is done to keep their investments profitable.

Yoav Tourel agreed that this is a big area for PMSs to invest in.

Building the right technology for growth in holiday rentals

Our guests discussed what holiday accommodation managers should include in their tech stack to be able to grow their business right.

Scoping and understanding the need of the property management company

When choosing technology for your vacation rental business, it’s essential to engage with your team members and champions. Sit down with the people who drive the processes and make things happen in the company. Gathering input from them is crucial as they can offer valuable insights and identify aspects we might have overlooked. This collaborative approach is the initial step, often referred to as scoping, to ensure we provide them with the right solutions and incorporate the necessary features to meet their needs.

PMS’s approach to vacation rental managers’ needs

Yoav Tourel shared property management platform approach to scoping and understanding the needs of hospitality professionals in technology:

• Automate as much as possible to make the property managers’ lives easier. Guesty’s strength is unified inbox and analytics.

• Being able to connect to third party tools that operators like and use, working on a best of breed approach. So having integrations with the best task management, the best cleaning app, the best guest experience provider data.

• Continuous training is vital to ensure users feel at ease with the tool, understanding its various applications and scenarios. Equally important is excellent support and it is often the softer aspect of any tech provider.

The Urban Butler’s Approach to Using Technology for Growth

Jon Lawry shared his best way to fuel rapid growth in a professional hospitality business, working with luxury properties.

PMS – Guesty

Jon observes the consolidation of all tech pieces in property management system (PMS). It’s similar to how we carried separate devices like cameras and walkmans, but now everything is  integrated into our cellphone. This convergence is becoming the norm in property management software.

Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing is even much more a necessity in a New Zealand market, affected my many changes recently. Jon recommends using dynamic pricing technology and start with checking all three big names in the industry – Wheelhouse, Price Labs and Beyond.

Guest app – The Boarding Pass

Owners of high end properties often don’t want a contactless arrival for our guests and we do an in-person check-in for luxury homes.

On the urban side of our business, we’ve noticed that guests prefer as much independence as possible. They seek contactless experiences like remote check-in and easy access to property information with digital guidebooks. They desire the convenience of the property without any unnecessary hassle, making seamless communication and processes essential for their satisfaction.

This is why a contactless and easy entry for guests and easy communication via Boarding Pass that makes simple for everybody. However, we are moving into a more luxury market. We’ve just listed and are about to list a couple of properties that I want communication with the guests to be face to face. I need to show them how to use the equipment that is in the property.

We need to differentiate between guest communication and guest entry in our concierge service. We should consider each property and guest individually and allow them to choose their preferred method accordingly.

Regarding check-ins, we offer both digital and remote options to meet different expectations. Even 13 years ago, we used Keysafes. However, in one of the areas where we operate, all of our competitors, except for one, still require guests to go to the real estate office to pick up the keys.

Conclusion

One of the crucial aspects that hospitality technology needs to focus on is the concept of configuration. Every property owner, guest, property, and property management company is unique and requires a customized approach from technology solutions. The technology must adapt to the diverse needs of each business while also offering convenience to guests by providing choices. Even providing two less desirable options allows guests to feel empowered by making their own decision, removing hassle and enhancing their experience.

Check out the top vacation rental management companies in Australia!