Rent per owner has increased considerably in recent years with the growth of the Internet. Websites catering to vacation home owners offer an easy and cost-effective means of reaching a worldwide vacation market. Landlords can exchange leases by email and accept deposits via Paypal. Properties are booked and vacation owners retain a larger share of their rental income. This does not mean that there are no difficulties in renting by owner.
The most common problem that arises from landlord rentals is maintaining the property from long distances. Most vacation home owners rely on neighbors and friends to keep an eye on the property. This can usually be remedied by paying for a professional home monitoring service, but these services are not cheap and can reduce rental income. Many of the rental problems on the part of landlords are simply due to inexperience with rentals. They don’t understand how competitive vacation rentals are or how high renter expectations can be.
Renters have also benefited from the availability of literally millions of travel accommodation options. Renters can now search through endless rental property web pages with detailed descriptions and video “virtual tours”. Renters also have the advantage of identifying properties with unique requirements such as “handicap accessible” and “pet friendly.”
It is very likely that the phenomenon of homeowners will continue to grow in importance. In recent months, many owner websites have merged, notably the purchase of VRBO by HomeAway Inc., HomeAway Inc. has already consolidated the leadership of the owner websites CyberRentals, A1Vacations, TripHomes.com , Holiday-Rentals.co.uk HolidayRentals.fr and FeWodirekt .de. HomeAway Inc. is owned by Austin-based company WVR Group Inc.
Rental agency
With the stiff online competition created by “by owner” websites, rental agencies have been forced to adapt to the changing market. Many rental agencies have designed and developed websites that offer many of the features and capabilities of their online competition. Additionally, rental agents also list their properties on competing rental sites.
Like real estate agents, rental agents offer a variety of skills such as market valuation, creating leases, and advertising the rental. They can also be trusted to monitor rental housing. Experienced rental agents tend to know how to deal with difficult tenants and are able to recognize potential problems before they arise. Of course, hiring a rental agent can be expensive, with typical commissions between 10% and 20% of gross rental income.
Rental hybridization
As online competition for vacation rentals increases, some rental agents have begun to hybridize their industry with the Internet. These rental hybrids offer all the benefits of online marketing with services like home surveillance and residential cleaning after tenants leave. These hybrid rental companies may offer services based on lower fees or commissions.
The vacation home owner can choose from “by owner” websites, rental agencies, or hybrid rental service. For the owner looking for a complete and headache-free service, the rental agency is the logical choice. A do-it-yourself property owner might consider using a hybrid rental service or simply listing their property on an online rental website. Either way, the online vacation rental industry is likely only to grow as more people get used to searching the internet for the perfect rental home.