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This article is the first of a 2-part article series about the coming holiday season. You’ll discover the peak season issues that short-term rentals face during the holidays - to give you a better chance at preparing for a stress-free season.
The holiday peak season is upon us. With London being the top-searched travel spot in 2024, you can expect an influx of visitors wanting to celebrate the coming holidays in the city. This is aligned with the government’s data that revealed a total of 128.4 million UK arrivals between July 2023 and June 2024 - which is 3% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
What does this mean for property managers?
You’d better get ready for the coming holidays because it will be a very busy season. Visitors prefer to book short-term rentals (STR) because it offers a more cosy and cost-efficient option compared to hotel rooms.
While this surge in demand brings incredible opportunities, it also means dealing with peak season issues. Guests travelling during the holidays have certain expectations - they want a memorable stay, seamless service and maybe some festive touches to commemorate the holiday season.
Meeting these expectations will help STR property managers gather positive reviews to help them position their properties for a better occupancy rate in the coming year.
This is why it’s essential to prepare for the holiday peak season. It’s not just about guest satisfaction but also operational efficiency. The packed booking schedules, increased turnovers and higher expectations require a strategic approach to avoid making you feel stressed from all the holiday pressure.
In this article, you’ll learn more about the 10 key issues STR property managers face - with insights on how to solve them efficiently.
10 Peak Season Issues for STRs
The holidays bring an influx of visitors to the city of London and most are looking for the perfect accommodation during their stay. While hotels remain popular, there’s also an increasing demand for short-term rentals. This increase in demand and the heightened expectations from guests bring unique challenges to short-term rental property managers and operators.
Overcoming these challenges is crucial to ensure high guest satisfaction and maximum rental income. It’ll ease the pressure that usually comes with the peak season - allowing you to enjoy the holidays yourself.
To help you prepare for the coming holidays, get to know the 10 peak season issues you’ll face while managing multiple STRs.
Navigating High Demand and Occupancy
The influx of visitors drives occupancy rates up and navigating the high demand from the volume of reservations can be challenging. Add to this the last-minute bookings, cancellations and special accommodation requests, property managers can easily feel overwhelmed.
Without an optimised system to deal with the high volume of bookings, it’ll be harder to track multiple reservations. This could lead to missed cancellations or worse, double bookings.
Meeting Guest Expectations for Festive Experiences
Guests travelling on a holiday want the best experience and this shapes their expectations. When they arrive at the rental property, they might want to see festive decorations and holiday-themed welcome packages. They might request add-on services that would make their stay more joyous to match the season.
These enhance the overall guest experience but they also require extra work, resources and planning for property managers. Creating a checklist and establishing clear communications would help you stay on top of the holiday expectations.
Handling Increased Maintenance Requests
Higher occupancy rates mean the properties go through greater wear and tear. Property managers would be left to deal with maintenance issues like heating problems, broken appliances, plumbing issues, etc.
If you fail to schedule a property preventive maintenance before the holidays, it can be tough and dampening on your personal holiday experience. It’s even harder since contractors would also be limited during this time.
You’ll have to stay on your toes to meet the growing maintenance issues since your immediate response would affect the guest’s satisfaction level.
Overcoming Seasonal Staffing Shortages
In addition to the higher occupancy and turnover rate, property managers also have to consider the holiday experience of their staff. They also want to spend time celebrating the season and this brings staffing shortages. It can make things more complicated as you find the need to hire and train temporary staff to overcome staffing shortages.
Planning staffing schedules to accommodate the holiday demand can be tricky and will require careful consideration and maybe even seasonal partnerships.
Accommodating Complex Guest Communications
As the holiday season draws near, you’ll get more guest inquiries and requests. Some people book a stay for family gatherings. This would make them more curious about the property and they’ll be inclined to make special requests to make the holiday stay more enjoyable.
It’s important to keep up with the growing guest communications. Automating answers to frequently asked questions could make this easier but complex inquiries would still require a team member to be on stand-by.
Optimising Pricing and Revenue
The holidays bring great opportunities to increase rental revenue. But it’s still essential to set the right price to avoid overpricing and attract more guest bookings. It’s not just about being the cheapest property. Take into consideration the market demand, competition and seasonality as you find the best rate to maximise earnings and stand out in terms of affordability. You want to find the balance to achieve maximum booking rate and income at the same time.
Resolving Enhanced Security Needs
High guest turnover brings increased security risks for properties. You could deal with unauthorised guests, theft and even property damage. With the high number of bookings, vetting guests can be challenging as you juggle it on top of everything else you have to do during the busy season. If you don’t check security systems, it might lead to complications and added costs. Safeguarding the property and guest belongings should be prioritised to create a positive experience throughout their stay.
Staying Compliant with Regulations
The influx of visitors during the holiday season compels the local authorities to heighten security and impose regulations to keep everyone safe. For short-term rentals, this includes occupancy limits, property use, noise levels, etc.
Knowing these regulations and strictly implementing them is crucial to operating during the holidays. Non-compliance could lead to penalties and could compromise property operations.
Preventing Property Damage
The holidays also bring out the festive and playful side in people. With people being in high spirits, there’s a high chance that celebrations can lead to property damage. Whether it’s accidental or intentional, you want to reduce these incidents by ensuring your properties are in top condition.
Guests should be made aware of certain guidelines, even those in the building (if it applies to the property). Managing these risks and being prepared with quick solutions in case of accidents will minimise guest complaints and occupancy issues.
Managing Inventory and Supply Levels
The high guest count means you’ll need more toiletries, kitchen supplies and linens. Stock up before the holidays so you won’t run out at a crucial time. Suppliers may close during the holiday season so if there’s a need to replenish stocks, you might have a hard time doing so.
Of course, stocking up means you need a safe and secure space to keep your inventory. This is another concern that property managers have to deal with.
Handle Holiday Peak Seasons Like a Pro
As you can see, the peak holiday season brings numerous challenges that property managers have to overcome. If left unsolved, these issues can compromise guest satisfaction, occupancy rates and rental revenues.
Identifying the possible issues is the first step to solving them. Now it’s time to be proactive to minimise the negative effects of these issues. With proper planning, a reliable system and streamlined operations, property managers can prepare for the coming holidays. It can relieve them of operation stress so they can enjoy the holidays themselves.
In the next part of the article series, you’ll discover effective solutions to these peak-season issues. You’ll get practical tips that will help you handle the holiday season with ease.