Choosing the Best Luxury Rental Management Services: Expert Advice

Arizona's short-term rental market has taken off hugely, with over 50,000 listings now active in the state.

That's a lot of vacation rentals, but how many of those are luxury rentals? If you're the proud owner of some luxury real estate that you don't currently occupy, you have the chance to offer vacationers something unforgettable.

Having a high-end property to rent out is one thing. It's quite another to actually seek out guests and maintain your property as a luxury short-term rental. If you're a busy professional, you may not have the time to dedicate to luxury rental management.

That's when hiring a luxury rental management service enters the picture. In today's post, we'll give you some expert advice for choosing high-end rental management. There are literally dozens of these companies to choose from, but not all of them can help you maximize your vacation rental income.

Finding the right partner to manage your property requires plenty of due diligence. Keep reading and we'll tell you how to assess your options and what criteria you need to consider to make the best decision.

Figure Out What You Need From Luxury Rental Management

You've completed the hardest part of the process by acquiring a piece of luxury real estate in Scottsdale. The first step in finding the right people to manage the property is to figure out what it is you want to accomplish.

Understanding your goals as a luxury short-term rental owner can help you find a property manager who both shares your goals and has demonstrated an ability to achieve them. The end goal for most property owners is to boost the ROI on the rental, but your current needs depend on what stage of the process you're in.

If you've just acquired the property, for example, you'll need help turning it into a viable vacation rental. If the property is ready to rent out ASAP, you'll need someone to help you with marketing and guest screening. So, sit down and figure out what you need to do and it'll help you navigate the rest of the process.

Use Ratings, Reviews, and Referrals to Find the Best Options

When you start searching for property managers, you'll realize that there are countless options just in Arizona. You need a way to separate the best ones from the rest, which is why referrals, ratings, and reviews will be your best friend.

If you know other luxury vacation rental owners in the area, you can always ask for a referral. This is often a very reliable way to find a trustworthy property manager who has satisfied clients.

Failing that, you need to rely on reviews to help you sift through your choices. If you know what your needs are, you can use reviews to determine whether or not a given company can fulfill them.

Reviews are also helpful for identifying red flags about a property manager. If there are any issues with the handling of guests or customer service, you'll find out from disgruntled former clients.

Choose a few of the options with the best reputations to dig a bit deeper into. The next steps will involve a bit of research and speaking to representatives of the property management companies.

Check Each Company's Portfolio

Short-term rental property management and luxury property management are two different things. Luxury vacation rental guests have high standards. You need to make sure that your property manager is capable of offering a luxurious experience to these kinds of guests.

You can find out who a property manager has worked with by looking at their portfolio of previous work. A property manager who has a history of working with high-end vacation rental owners is sure to understand what goes into this kind of work.

If they don't have this experience, they may not be able to satisfy your guests. Reputation is everything in the world of luxury rentals. You'll need to provide unique and customized experiences for each of your guests, so your property manager must be able to go above and beyond.

How Do They Ensure Luxury Is a Priority?

As we just mentioned, the guest experience is crucial to your success as a luxury rental owner. When you begin speaking with the best property managers in your area, start by finding out what they do to ensure luxury is always a priority.

At the same time, you need to think about what type of experience you want to provide for your guests. What does luxury mean to you?

For many, it means having everything you could ever need during a stay without having to ask for it. A good property manager will find out more about a guest before they arrive and do everything they can to make them feel at home as soon as they walk in the door.

Find Out How They Market Properties

Vacation rental vacancies are your enemy. Another way to find out if you and a property manager are on the same page is to discuss marketing practices.

With so many vacation rentals and plenty of established luxury vacation rentals in the Phoenix area, you need to prioritize marketing to secure bookings for your new luxury rental. How your property manager understands market trends and marketing will make a big difference in your bottom line out of the gate.

Ask them how they go about writing property listings. What features of the property will they highlight and how will their property description appeal to ideal guests?

Will they use a professional real estate photographer? Pictures are the first thing potential guests will look at, so your property manager needs to take excellent photos and even consider using drone footage of the property to entice guests.

Lastly, ask prospective property managers how they'll use things like SEO and paid ads to get more eyes on your listing. Digital marketing can be an invaluable resource when you're going up against established rentals.

Ask About Methods for Lowering Vacancy Rates

A good property manager will understand how to keep vacancy rates low and maximize ROI all year round. They should present you with a variety of tactics for securing more guests, such as sliding scale pricing based on demand and deals for guests who book multiple nights or returning guests.

The more innovative and thoughtful a property manager is about finding guests, the better off your vacation rental will be. A discounted guest is better than no guests at all.

Look Into Guest Screening Practices

Finding guests for your luxury vacation rental is important, but making sure that they're legitimate is just as important. You don't want someone you can't trust living in your property even for a night. High-end property managers should have a strong screening process to verify guests.

The most basic form of guest screening is a background check. Your property manager should do this to ensure guests are who they say they are. The biggest issue with vacation rental bookings is fraud, but a quick background check can ensure that you're dealing with a real person and not a criminal.

There are numerous reasons why you don't want unsavory guests in your vacation rental. If you have loud, obnoxious guests, it could sabotage your relationship with your neighbors. Unverified guests could also steal things from the rental.

Strong screening practices will prevent any issues with guests, thus protecting your luxury property.

How Do They Maintain Their Properties

One of the most important rental property services is maintenance. You need a property manager who will thoroughly clean the property after a guest leaves so that it's ready for the next person.

With vacation rentals, there's not always a lot of time between guests. Your property manager should be there within an hour or two of a guest checkout to ensure the property is in top shape to welcome another luxury guest.

Good property managers will also tackle any maintenance and repairs that your property may need. All vacation rentals, whether they're high-end or not, go through wear and tear. You need to take maintenance seriously to ensure your property continues to meet your guests' expectations.

Will They Prioritize the Guest Experience Above All?

The last thing to inquire about with a potential property manager is how they handle the guest experience. Find out what they do to guarantee happy guests and how they approach the guest experience in general.

As we mentioned earlier, a luxury rental isn't just about the luxury property itself. It's about how you treat your guests from the second they make the booking until they check out on the last day of their stay.

Different property managers will have different methods for maximizing the guest experience. Some will utilize technology to make guests' lives easier, while others will take a more personal approach. Choose the property manager that best suits your ideas about the guest experience.

The Luxury Cashflow Approach to Rental Management

Investment property management isn't something to take lightly. You're putting your luxury property in the hands of another entity, so you need to be able to trust them to manage it in a way that's to your liking.

At Luxury Cashflow, we're Scottdale's premier luxury rental management service, having helped countless luxury vacation rental owners since opening our doors in 2019. Our services are customized to fit your needs, but the end goal is always to use our expertise to give you the right luxury real estate advice every time.

To learn more about our services and how we can help you maximize your ROI, contact us today.