A guest forgets their key, short circuits your breakers, or worse, clogs the toilet ONE MORE TIME… Not pretty, and it smells horrid… How many times have you, as a host, wanted to take a break from it all… A break, not throw in the towel, but a simple break… Some time away…

How about taking a vacation? I mean, a real vacation… Not a “my guests have checked in and I have a day to go somewhere!” mini break.

I mean a true holiday, a time to surrender your hosting hat without worrying about your home or your guest. If you’re like me, a hands-on and live-in host, it’s hard to plan an adventure without having a good team to rely on… A team that you know has your back and your business ethics at heart… It’s just hard.

My Cuba Trip:

Let me give you a quick example… I had planned a trip to Cuba… I was booked and ready to GO for six months… done my due diligence… With my trusted A-team in place… I was set to go! Or so I thought…48 hours before I was scheduled to fly off on my perfectly planned, carefully thought out trip, everything fell apart. Everything!

My A-team had a personal emergency and was no longer able to manage my home… and my back up team wasn’t available either. Yep! I was off to Cuba, where I was told communication might be scarce, and wifi even scarcer…and I had no team in place…Period!

I confess, I considered canceling… but everything was paid for… Plus, it was February, and NY was cold… and to add insult to injury, I had been training for a triathlon, which was the reason I was going to Cuba in the first place… And (and this is a BIG and), how often does one get to go to Cuba!?

Cityami to the Rescue:

Luckily, I remembered Cityami, a short-term rental management company, which you can use when you leave town for a short trip. I called them up and was able to get them on board and up to speed with what I needed for them to take care of my home. Having that set and feeling more at ease, I was able to leave my home and my guests in the capable hands of Michelle, who happens to be the founder of Cityami.

Now, don’t think I was away and not thinking about my home, my guests, and how things were working out because I was… The truth is, there wasn’t much I could do about it from Cuba… Communication WAS scarce and so was wifi… I had to trust, for the most part, that Cityami was on it. And thankfully, they were.

Bottom line… It’s hard to hand over the keys to your castle, even when it’s someone you know and trust.

That’s just the way it is when it’s your home AND your business… It’s double duty.

How to Hire A Vacation Rental Management Service Company… Metro Butler:

On today’s episode, we’re having a conversation with Brandon McKenzie, co-founder of Metro Butler, a short-term and vacation rental management service company. We are talking about ALL things short-term vacation rental management service companies:

• The process hosts go through when creating a new listing.
• Pricing, what’s a good strategy
• And before you decide to get that Viking range, wait because we talked about whether it will make you more money.
• Brandon also provides a pro tip when dealing with a claim.
• What makes them fire a host… and I think I’ll be fired. AHHH. Yes, little old me.

Not your Speakers:

During this interview, you’ll notice changes in Brandon’s voice. Don’t worry. It’s not you, your speakers, or your download… it has to do with New York’s cold weather. In NY, when you have the heat on, some strange noises come from the pipes…

If you’re not used to it, you’ll swear your home is haunted or being burglarized… So with the heat cranking and the pipes knocking, Brandon had to move around (you may not want to know where), but we felt it was such a good conversation with so much great info that regardless of the “bring in da noise, bring in da funk,” we thought you needed to hear it.

Connect with Metro Butler:

I want to thank Brandon for sharing his time and knowledge about Property Service Management companies. You can find his company at Metrobutler.com. Know that whether you go with full service or lite, as a host you also deserve a vacation and a team that has YOU and YOUR business’s best interests at heart.

Like I said before, I know it’s hard to hand over your keys to someone else, but you also need a break from cleaning, laundry, and taking care of guests… Sometimes, you need to be the hosted, not the hoster… Sometimes, you just need to let go a bit… to go beyond your own neighborhood and perhaps make time to explore another part of the world. Your call!

Your Host,

Evelyn

A Webinar with Guesthop and Cityami:

By the way, I did a live webinar in December 2016 with Emily Benkert from Guesthop and Michelle Himden from Cityami, where we discussed how to properly vet and select a Property Manager who fits your hosting style.

Links:

Some of the links mentioned are affiliate links. if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Commissions come at no additional cost to you.

Metro Butler: Rent Your Apartment. Make Money, Zero Stress in New York.

Cityami: Airbnb Your Space with Ease in New York.

Guesthop: They Make Hosting a Breeze in the San Francisco, East Bay and much more.

TriLatino Triathlon Club: They train, race and support each other as family in New York. You don't need to be Latino!

PS: Want more…