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Short-Term Management Strategies: Considering Your Options

Managing a short-term rental property is a lot of work to do on your own. From booking to cleaning to troubleshooting issues with guests, it’s nice to have some help along the way. Many homeowners are now deciding to partner with a rental management company.

But the decisions don’t end there—when choosing between rental companies, you have a lot of options. It’s important to look at each company’s strategy and consider what that means for you, your property, and your guests. We’ve outlined the three main rental management strategies below.

 

FIXED

Best for: homeowners who want consistent monthly income.

The fixed strategy allows the rental company to promise the homeowner a certain amount of revenue per month, no matter the number of bookings that month. The rental company pays you this set amount, then takes the rest. This means that you’ll make the same amount in the slower off-season as you will during more popular months. Overall, homeowners don’t maximize their monthly revenue with this strategy because they don’t receive the benefits of major spikes during the on-season. The scope of services provided by rental companies using the fixed strategy varies, but in general it is not comprehensive. The homeowner is often required to take care of services like guest correspondence and solving problems during a guest’s stay.

COMMISSION

Best for: homeowners who want their monthly revenue to reflect booking trends.

The commission-based strategy involves the rental company taking a certain percentage of every booking. This amount depends on the company and location, but typically falls between 20-50%. Using this strategy, the rental company and the homeowner experience highs and lows as a team. When there are more bookings for a certain month, everyone benefits. If you decide to go with a rental company that utilizes this strategy, it’s likely that a greater range of services will be covered than with the fixed strategy. However, you may still be expected to coordinate services such as cleaning, maintenance, and restocking the property between bookings.

TURNKEY

Best for: homeowners who want to maximize their revenue and minimize their workload.

The turnkey strategy is for homeowners who want their rental company to handle all of the tasks that come with maintaining a short-term rental property. Sometimes used in conjunction with the commission-based strategy, the turnkey approach covers all aspects of a booking, from answering initial inquiries to check-in to troubleshooting to turnover. Many homeowners who live out of state or frequently travel abroad choose this method while they’re away. Others live down the street and want a more hands-off approach to hosting. Although this strategy can be more expensive, the additional monthly revenue gained and the peace of mind that everything is covered makes it well worth it.


We handle every detail of your rental so you don’t have to. Click here to see the full list of services offered by Effortless Rental Group.

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Entertainment Hosting Tips Rules & Regulations Travel

How to Make Your Listing Stand Out and Earn More 5-Star Reviews

The short-term rental industry is booming worldwide, and Colorado homeowners are enjoying the profits. Airbnb hosts in Colorado made $183 million in 2017 alone, a 68% increase from the year before, according to The Denver Post’s recent article.

More properties are listed on Airbnb and other popular rental sites like HomeAway and VRBO every day. But with more properties comes more competition, which makes it crucial that your home stands out. Take a look at our list of amenities to add to your home to make your listing shine and enhance your guests’ experience—meaning more 5-star reviews for you.

 

1. Recreational items appropriate to your area

If you live across the street from a park, include some Frisbees or a croquet set in your home. If you’re close to a river, kayaks or inner tubes are great additions. Guests will choose your property over others because of nearby sites and attractions, and will appreciate that they don’t have to buy or rent equipment to enjoy these areas.

2. Modes of transportation (or information about how to get around)

Many of your guests will arrive without a car, especially if your home is in an urban area. Having bikes on hand will allow your guests to easily roam. Cheap bikes from Walmart or Target will do the job. If you can’t buy bikes, at least provide some details about how to get around in your area. Check out our article on exploring Denver without a car for some ideas.

3. A stocked kitchen

This goes beyond simply having dishes and utensils. Make sure that your kitchen is stocked with other essentials like olive oil, spices, and balsamic vinegar. Add a box of pasta and your guests will have everything to make a quick meal—especially useful for those who arrive late at night. If there’s a food item that’s local to your area, it’s a nice touch to include that, as well.

4. Ways to access attractions nearby

To go above and beyond, leave some tickets or passes that allow your guests to visit spots in your area for free. This could simply be a library card for renting books and DVDs, or something a bit more extravagant like free tickets to a museum or an access card for a rec center. This is a great way to use the free guest passes that come with many monthly memberships.

 

If you have any of the above amenities in your rental property, be sure to list them in your property listing. These items will not only attract prospective guests, but will also make their stay in your home the best it can be (great for them) and inspire them to write you a 5-star review (great for you). You’ll have that Superhost rating in no time.

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Effortless Rental Group News Guests Travel

Celebrating Our Second Year of Happy Guests

It’s been an incredible two years at Effortless Rental Group. We’ve had over 21,000 guests from around the world stay in 103 beautiful properties throughout Colorado and in Boston. Here’s what our guests are saying about their experiences with us. And here’s to another great year ahead!

 

Denver

“An absolute dream place to stay! The location is amazing, property is just how the pictures depict it, and the communication from the hosts was great! I wouldn’t consider any other place for future trips.”

-Denise

“It was a perfect house in a great neighborhood for our team retreat. Nice large common areas and enough rooms to spread out. Rob & Tiffany made check in super convenient and were very responsive. We also loved the neighborhood and close proximity to great restaurants and downtown.”

-Corinne

Breckenridge

“Our group had a wonderful stay at Stefan’s cabin. We most enjoyed the fully-stocked kitchen, stunning views of Breckenridge, and relaxing hot tub. If you are looking for a quiet vacation that is perfect for families and large groups, this rental is an excellent choice. We hope to be back soon!”

-Anthony

Boulder

“Perfect for a couple or small family who wants to enjoy the beauty of South Boulder. The home is cozy, well maintained, recently updated, and nestled in a quiet neighborhood that is close to so many amazing sights and adventures. The service from Sami and the guest experience team was phenomenal too. Good all the way around!!”

-Angie

Boston

“This place was even better than we expected. The photos are so accurate and the rental looks even more amazing in person. It is in a great, safe and easily accessible location. I will definitely be renting here for my next trip up to Boston and I highly recommend anyone to stay there!”

-Danielle

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Guests Hosting Tips Travel

Make Your Listing Pop with Positive Reviews

Good feedback is essential in the short term rental management industry. A potential guest will often pay more attention to reviews than any other part of a listing, including photos or descriptions. Travelers trust other travelers when it comes to a property’s cleanliness, amenities, and proximity to dining, nightlife, and family-friendly activities. Your listing will get more views—and more bookings—if it features positive feedback from guests.

Guests are more likely to leave you a positive review if your place is clean and well-maintained, correspondence is quick and helpful, and you’ve gone out of your way to make their stay the best it can be, like providing a list of nearby restaurants and coffee shops. Not only will positive reviews help your listing gain attention, but the guests who have written them are also likely to recommend your home to others in the future.

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Entertainment Hosting Tips Rules & Regulations Travel

Airbnb and Resy Simplify Dining Away from Home

With their new partnership, Airbnb and dining reservations app Resy make it easier than ever to get a taste of a new city.

“When you’re traveling,” says the video in the Airbnb blog post announcing the partnership, “all those unfamiliar options can make it hard to choose. That’s why Airbnb teamed up with Resy to handpick some of the best spots around, from local favorites to award winners.”

Now it’s possible to book a reservation at almost 650 restaurants in over 15 major U.S. cities, including Denver, San Francisco, Austin, Miami, and Washington, D.C. Through the Airbnb website or app, guests can choose the type of food they’re craving—from Indian cuisine to Japanese tapas and everything in between—and desired location. All of the restaurants on offer through Resy have been curated for their quality of food and service, so guests know they’re in for a good experience.

With Airbnb guests spending over $6.5 billion on dining in the last year (included in Airbnb’s restaurant report), it’s likely to be a lucrative partnership.

Looking toward the future, Airbnb plans to extend this service to international cities—and that’s not all. “We’re looking into allowing for even more dining options,” writes Airbnb in their blog post, “like exclusive tables for our users or social dining experiences where guests can share a meal and meet their fellow Airbnb travelers.”

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Effortless Rental Group News Travel

Effortless Featured Property: Stunning Wash Park Home Sleeps 14!

Accommodates: 14
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2

This wonderful 1920’s Craftsman bungalow is in Wash Park, one of Denver’s most lively neighborhoods. Historic meets modern with original hardwood floors throughout and stainless steel appliances in the newly updated and fully stocked kitchen. Funky décor and unique touches make this home truly one of a kind, and the open floorplan and large living areas offer plenty of space for your group of up to 14. After a day out exploring, cozy up in front of the fireplace or relax on the large back deck in your own private yard.

Stunning Wash Park Home Sleeps 14!

Stunning Wash Park Home Sleeps 14!
Stunning Wash Park Home Sleeps 14!
You’ll be within walking distance to great dining and nightlife on Broadway, and only 2 miles to downtown Denver. Walk to Wash Park and spend an afternoon strolling around the lake (or paddle boating, when the weather’s nice!), or gallery hop down South Pearl Street. Then end the evening sipping at one of the renowned wine or cocktail bars in the area. And don’t forget to check out the Farmer’s Market on South Pearl, which offers the best local produce, street food, and fresh flowers, Sundays through November 19.

Stunning Wash Park Home Sleeps 14!

Stunning Wash Park Home Sleeps 14!
For an unforgettable luxury rental in vibrant Wash Park, look no further than this incredible bungalow with a rich history. Book this home and get your Denver vacation started.

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Effortless Rental Group News Hosting Tips Travel

The ERG Difference: Partnering with a
Rental Company vs. Doing It Alone

 

There’s a lot to think about as a short-term rental host, especially when you’re first starting out. You’ll consider pricing, interior design elements, details you want to include in your listing, and much more. But even with all of these decisions ahead, the most important choice you’ll make now is to either team up with a short-term rental management company or go at it alone.

Effortless Rental Group maximizes our clients’ revenue by setting nightly prices using our analytical pricing matrix, which accounts for variables like local events, hotel occupancy rates, and travel trends. We optimize your listing and post it on a variety of booking platforms, including our own exclusive platforms, Nightly Renter, Nightly Vacation Rental, and Best Family Vacation Rentals. More viewing platforms mean more bookings—and more money in your pocket.

Increasing your monthly earning potential is just the beginning. Effortless stands out from other rental management companies because we provide a turnkey service for our clients. This means that we take care of everything—from competitive pricing to bookings and guest correspondence to cleaning and maintenance. Our professional cleaning company and re-stocking team will give you the peace of mind that everything is ready when your guests arrive. Many of our clients travel abroad for part of the year or even live out of state. They trust us to manage every single aspect of their rental properties.

Another important benefit of a partnership with Effortless Rental Group is that you’ll be supported by a team of short-term rental experts who are dedicated to maximizing your monthly revenue and assisting you in any other way. Day or night, we’re always available for you and your guests.

Owners who want to maximize their revenue, give guests the best possible rental experience, and live without worrying about the upkeep of their investment property choose to partner with Effortless Rental Group. Whether you’re seeking management services for a complete holiday rental or flexible seasonal bookings, contact us today for an evaluation free of cost and obligation. We look forward to connecting with you soon!

Effortless Rental Group

720.475.1486

 

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Airbnb’s Open Homes Program Houses Hurricane Survivors

Helping those in need is nothing new for Airbnb. Since 2012, the company has connected thousands of people displaced by natural disasters and other emergency events with nearby hosts willing to donate their spare bedrooms. In 2015, Airbnb added a donation tool to their website for refugee assistance efforts through a partnership with The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Now, in response to the recent onslaught of hurricanes that have destroyed many homes and damaged countless others, Airbnb is once again stepping up to offer assistance in a crucial way: free shelter for those with nowhere else to go.

Through its Open Homes program, Airbnb creates a platform for hosts in disaster areas to list their homes for free. Then either partner agencies or verified account holders contact the hosts to set up bookings, which can last from one night to over a month, depending on the host’s preferences and availability. The process happens quickly, and people who have become homeless overnight soon have a secure and welcoming place to rest and recover.

“At the heart of our mission is the idea that people are fundamentally good and every community is a place where you can belong,” writes Airbnb CEO and Co-founder Brian Chesky on the Airbnb website.

Over 700 hosts signed up to help Hurricane Harvey evacuees and relief workers, and another 200+ have opened their homes in the US and the Caribbean to those affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, with numbers continuing to rise.

Even with all they’ve already accomplished, Airbnb founders don’t plan to stop anytime soon. In February, the company announced their goal to find free housing for 100,000 displaced people over the next five years. They will also donate $4 million over the next four years to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), to provide resources directly to refugees, evacuees, and others who need emergency assistance.

Founders are optimistic about the future generosity of hosts to help achieve these goals. Co-founder Joe Gebbia writes in an Airbnb blog post titled Opening More Homes to People in Need, “…Every single time we’ve asked our community to open their doors and hearts to help others, they have more than exceeded our expectations: they have humbled us with the immensity of their kindness.”

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Effortless Rental Group News Travel

Our Chief Content Officer, Becca visits Taranaki, New Zealand

As we drove along the potholed dirt road leading to our first real farm in New Zealand, we didn’t know what to expect. My friend and I had stayed with a few families who kept small veggie gardens or a couple of chickens. We had worked on a vineyard and painted a house on the coast near the sparkling Bay of Islands. But never before had we worked on a rare breeds farm with cows, horses, goats, donkeys, llamas… and that’s all we could gather from the blurry photos posted online. The farmer’s post asked for help designing signs and constructing a few buildings. It sounded perfect: I would paint, my friend would do the heavy lifting. We figured we’d stay a week or maybe two, but no longer as we were eager to continue south to the Tongariro Crossing trek and then to the capital city of Wellington.

Six weeks later, we packed up everything from our shepherd’s hut, a replica built by our host famer of those used in the 19th century. This tiny shack was no bigger than a closet, with a twin bed wedged into one side and a miniature desk nestled into the other. But it turned out this was all the space we needed—one of many ways we learned to live simply in those six weeks. That morning, as with every other morning on the farm, we opened our door to a field of animals that had woken up with the sun: a donkey rubbing its back on a tree with a goat teetering in the upper branches, a cow chomping grass with a baby alpaca running in front of it, swaying its legs from side to side as if in a joyful dance. We attempted to wedge the mementos of the last month and a half into our already overstuffed backpacks. A huge curled ram’s horn found on the side of the stream. A couple bottles of homebrewed ginger kombucha. A rubber castration ring that the farmer jokingly instructed me to pull out of my pocket and threaten to use when a guy gave me unwanted attention in a bar.

I didn’t paint one sign on the farm; my friend didn’t help with one construction project. Instead, we herded animals, helped sell meat and beeswax at the farmer’s market, and learned how to make cheese and bread. I milked the six mama goats twice a day, and the house cow, a stout Dexter named Susie who was about as wide as she was tall, every morning. We bottle-fed this milk to baby goats and sheep who had been separated from their mothers, drank it ourselves, and used it to make cheese and butter for the house. We gathered, harvested, or butchered all of our main food staples: fruit and veggies from the garden, meat from the field, eggs from the coop. Volunteers and friends came and went, but we typically had around ten people to feed every day. Even with a group this large, we produced only a small grocery bag of kitchen trash every two weeks. Growing and raising our own food allowed us to cut down our plastic waste, especially from packaging, to almost nothing. We were truly living off the land.

After saying our goodbyes to people and animals, my friend and I climbed into our car, still smelling like the bonfire from the night before. We drove past the site of the hangi, a traditional Maori method of cooking meat and vegetables on red-hot coals in a deep hole in the ground. We passed by the emu with a bad attitude, who flashed his red eyes and stepped forward with dinosaur feet as big as my face. I pulled out the curled ram’s horn and set it on our dashboard, where it rattled and jumped all the way down to Wellington, freeways replacing rivers, parking lots filling in fields.

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Effortless Rental Group News Travel

6 Vacation Rentals in Colorado with Amazing Views

We know that one of your favorite parts of a vacation is just sitting back and relaxing, with no obligations or responsibilities. Whether it’s at a peaceful mountain resort or vibrant downtown loft, we want your chill time to be the best it can be. That’s why Effortless Rental Group offers a variety of properties with awesome views. Mountains, skyline, or the calm ripples of a lake—whatever you’re looking out on, we want the view to be a memorable part of your vacation. Check out our list below for our top six properties with the best views.

Stunning Home Main St—Walk Everywhere!

Breckenridge, CO

This Breckenridge paradise features amazing mountain views from the outdoor fireplace area, wraparound deck, and large picture windows. Located right on Main Street, you’ll be within walking distance to all of the amazing restaurants, bars, galleries, and shops that Breckenridge has to offer. Relax in the hot tub and soak in the tranquility of the Rockies.

Accommodates: 10
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3.5

Breckenridge Mountain Getaway Sleeps 10!

Breckenridge, CO

This bright luxury home is nestled in the lovely town of Breckenridge and has breathtaking views of the mountains. After a day of sightseeing or skiing, kick back on the large deck with seating and a grill, or unwind in the private hot tub. You’ll be in the perfect location for hiking and biking trails, family-friendly activities, vibrant nightlife, skiing, and much more.

Accommodates: 10
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3

Incredible Indian Hills Estate

Indian Hills, CO

Panoramic views of the Colorado foothills and the highest standard of luxury make this six-bedroom estate an unforgettable place to stay. Picture windows throughout the estate bring the outdoors inside, providing natural light and spectacular views. With towering trees, horse riding trails, and snow-capped mountains in your backyard, nature will surround you everywhere you look.

Accommodates: 24
Bedrooms: 6
Bathrooms: 9

Walk to Mile High Stadium—Roof Deck!

Denver, CO

It doesn’t get much better than gazing at this fantastic view of the famous Denver skyline while you sip a drink on the rooftop patio of this beautiful home. Within walking distance to Mile High Stadium and Jefferson Park, you’ll be in the prime location to spend your days exploring the heart of the city.

Accommodates: 6
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1.5

Amazing Downtown Views at Larimer St!

Denver, CO

You’ll be right in the middle of all the downtown action in this completely remodeled condo in a terrific location. Lounge in your living room and watch bustling Denver spread out below. Stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and leather furniture give this property a sleek and modern feel, with easy access to downtown hotspots like Larimer Square and Coors Field.

Accommodates: 4
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1

Luxe 3 Story Loft Rooftop Deck!

Denver, CO

Jump right into all of the concerts, festivals, and exhibits that downtown Denver hosts year-round with a stay at this gorgeous 3-story loft centrally located near LoDo. Sit out on the rooftop deck and take in the amazing city views, especially at sunset! With high ceilings and large rooms, your group will have plenty of space to plan your Denver outings.

Accommodates: 8
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3