Vacations are Changing

TWhen considering personal use and return on investment, owners are often divided on how to tackle the vacation rental market; some selecting a professional management company, others determined to oversee the details themselves. The question remains, in a saturated market such as St. Simons Island, are there advantages to working with a professional management company?

ly-owned and operated professional vacation rental manager, Hodnett Cooper Vacation Rentals, to inform your decision:

• How can a professional vacation rental manager assist an owner with the Glynn County Short Term Rental Ordinance?

The face of vacationing is changing. During the initial stages of the pandemic, travel ground to a halt. As restrictions on travel were lifted and people started looking at ways to vacation safely, many travelers experienced short term rentals for the first time. Flash forward two plus years and the vacation rental industry is booming with both occupancy and rates at an all-time high. This incredible demand has also driven new buyers to St. Simons and the Golden Isles, looking for both a second home, and an income-producing property.

To make the most of your vacation rental investment property, it’s important to identify personal goals as an owner. Opposite ends of the spectrum run from “a haven for family and friends to make lifelong memories” to purely return on investment — then there is a sweet spot that can accomplish both. Professional vacation rental managers serve not only guests to the privately owned properties, but more importantly the owners they represent.

Still wondering if a professional vacation rental manger is right for you? Here are the most frequently asked questions from homeowners, and answers from a local-

Hodnett Cooper Vacation Rentals oversees all aspects of obtaining and maintaining Glynn County’s Short Term Rental Certification. The Glynn County Short-Term Rental Ordinance requires specific responsibilities of vacation rental properties to ensure proper registration, safety equipment, tax collection, parking, and noise restrictions, as well as a local point of contact, who is able to physically respond to the property within hours, should an issue arise. A professional property manager will handle these details, leaving the property owner to focus on how best and often to use their vacation property.

• How could a professional vacation rental manager help with housekeeping or maintenance? Many local profession- al vacation rental managers work with third party companies to clean and maintain a property. Hodnett Cooper Vacation Rentals goes a step further. In addition to valued third-party partners, Hodnett Cooper employs full-time, in-house Inspection and maintenance teams. The inspection team works in tandem with housekeeping partners to ensure properties are exceptionally clean and every guest has an outstanding experience. The maintenance team ensures minor mishaps in your rental home are addressed immediately, so guests and owners can make the most of their time away.

• How could a professional vacation rental manager help with vendors and upkeep? It is important to keep in mind your vacation rental investment property will require similar maintenance and upkeep as your primary residence, and in many cases even more. A community, similar to an ecosystem, thrives on relationships. Valuable relationships with vendors can be difficult to build if your primary residence is not in the same location as your investment property, or should you only require one off services without a contract or commitment. A professional management company is able to form a bond on your behalf, using specialized, trusted vendors and third-party partners on a regular basis across the inventory of homes to ensure reliable service, and rapid response times, especially when after hours.

• What is dynamic pricing and why is it important? Many professional vacation rental managers use dynamic pricing tools which observe the availability in a specific area to track demand for a set date range, or set type of rental, and update prices minute-to-minute — in real time — to boost a property’s occupancy and maximize revenue. Have you ever looked for a two-bedroom vacation rental, and found 100 properties available for your dates in the area? Thinking there are many options to choose from, searching the same criteria again, only to find only 95 properties available and the nightly rate for the available properties has increased? This is an example of dynamic pricing happening automatically, based on demand, to maximize owner revenue.

• Why does diversified marketing matter? Gone are the days of plopping your beach cottage on a third party website and watching your calendar fill up. Hodnett Cooper uses a multitude of platforms to include VRBO, Airbnb, HomeAway, a top ranked website for 24/7 guest reservations featuring a 75% direct booking rate. Hodnett Cooper maintains active, growing, social media platforms, coupled with an energized catalogue of 40 years’ worth of past and repeat guests participating in regular email campaign — not to mention a devoted in-house team, engaged in the community to analyze and interpret data ensuring your property is presented to a potential guest.

• Hodnett Cooper believes in transparency, which is why they offer a 24/7 private dedicated Owner Portal providing clarity to every reservation, and every transaction. Interested in learning more about how a professional vacation rental manager could help you? Call and speak to one of our dedicated owner services team members, who are reserved specifically to serve owners. They may be reached at 912461-5594.