Tag Archives: Property Manual

What To Expect Your First Night In A Corporate Rental

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Man entering a corporate rentalIf you’re a corporate housing property manager or by owner landlord, you know your tenant’s first night in the property is going to make or break their stay. We like to say that 90% of the details are in the first night. That’s why it’s crucial that you set the stage for your tenant to have a pleasant stay.

First Night Dos:

Check-In and Keys:  Make sure the check-in process is smooth. Your tenant should be welcomed by someone with a property key or given very specific instructions on how to enter the property. Do not mess this up – when your tenants arrive, it’s likely they have been traveling all day and just want to take their shoes off and kick up their feet.

Property Manual: Have a property manual available in plain sight. Your tenant might be hungry and need to know how to get to the closest grocery store or restaurant right away. Or maybe they simply need to know how to use the remote control or turn up the heat. Leave all these instructions in a property manual and deter a panicked phone call within minutes of their arrival.

Clean and Ready: Make sure everything is clean and ready for your tenant. The bed should be made with extra pillows and blankets in the closet or in an obvious spot. The toilet paper roll should be full with extra amenities in the cabinets under the sink. When I stay in a corporate rental, I enjoy it when the owner has left behind some cooking essentials, like salt, pepper and oil. These little touches go a long way!

Welcome Wagon: Leave a welcome note – or a goodie basket!  Your welcome note should include a nice welcome message along with your contact information should they need you. If your property is high end, consider leaving a basket of goodies for your tenant to enjoy. Some wine, fruit and crackers make a wonderful gesture and show you care that your tenant has a positive stay.

Departure Instructions: While 90% of the details are needed within minutes of check-in, don’t forget to leave detailed departure instructions too. You don’t want your tenant leaving with a bad last experience!

Does anyone have any other suggestions for making the first night a positive experience for your tenant?

5 Tips to Keeping Your Corporate Rental Tenants Happy

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Keeping corporate housing tenants happy

If you’ve been a corporate housing landlord for awhile now, you know that a happy tenant is priceless. They create a more positive experience, pay on time, create less work for you, take care of your home, leave nice reviews on your CHBO profile, and often become repeat clients down the road.

If you’re wondering how you can find – or create – these happy tenants, follow these five golden rules:

1. Aim for Long Term Renters: Skip nightly and weekly stays and rather opt for those interested in one-month or longer stays. Longer stays typically mean less turnover and therefore less work and stress for you and them.

2. Return Calls and Emails Promptly: Your tenants need to know you’re there for them 24/7. Don’t let more than a few hours pass by without returning a call or email from them. If you’re going to be out of town, make sure they have a back-up emergency contact.

3. Leave a Detailed Property Manual: Having a detailed property manual available to your tenants will help lessen the burden required by you. A property manual will empower your tenants to find everything they need to have a successful stay in your property from “how to use the remote control” or “how to work the thermostat” to “where do you keep the cleaning supplies” and “where to dispose of trash.”  Read our blog post on how to create a property manual that works!

4. Keep Your Property in Working Order: Always be sure to keep up with property maintenance and repairs. A broken sprinkler head can result in a dead lawn. A broken window can create water damage to your hardwood floors. Working toilets and clean baths are a must! Between tenant stays, make sure you conduct regular maintenance on the property – and always fix any tenant request promptly too.

5. Communicate Regularly: Make sure you’re checking in with your tenants regularly (twice a month), especially in the begining. You want them to feel welcome and at home and allowing them time to ask you questions goes a long way to building that positive and lasting relationship with them.

Remember, clients who feel they are well taken care of and feel good about renting from you will more likely write you a winning review, refer you to other potential tenants, and come back for more at a later date!

Are you doing everything you can to create a happy situation for you and your furnished rental tenant? Leave us a comment and give us some of your “happy tenant” tips!

What Should Be in Your Corporate Housing Property Manual

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Managing your tenants is key to being a successful corporate housing landlord. While your tenants will be living in your property, remember that they are new to the home and neighborhood. They are likely busy business travelers or relocating families adjusting to a new job, schedule or lifestyle.

 

Tenants probably won’t know how to do simple things, like operate your heating, air conditioning or other appliances in your corporate rental. They will need your guidance. They will also appreciate any insight you can offer as far as proper protocol for taking care of the property and what they should do in case of emergency or when maintenance issues arise.

This is where a property manual comes in very handy.  A property manual can simply be a binder filled with information about the property, emergency contact numbers, maps to grocery stores (maybe even a grocery rewards card), take out menus, instructions on how to work the cable, internet, hot tub, security system, etc.

Here are just a few things you must be sure your property manual includes:

Unit Instructions:

  • Arrival and departure information
  • Key and any garage or building access instructions and fees for replacement
  • Parking location (if assigned) and instructions
  • Thermostat adjusting instructions
  • Trash day notices
  • Instructions on how to use major appliances and electronics (including special instructions for your remote controls!)
  • Any cleaning instructions or cleaning product recommendations

General:

  • Building Map and fire escape information
  • A copy of HOA Rules & Regulations
  • Neighborhood information, including directions to the nearest grocery stores, highways, malls, major offices and popular restaurants (you can also include a directory of good take out restaurants too!) Print out maps/directions to help your renter get around.

Emergency Numbers:

  • Local police and fire departments
  • Your emergency contact numbers
  • The number of a trusted neighbor
  • Any maintenance or important building/property contacts

Creating a manual is simple and sets the right tone between landlord and tenant.  It shows that you, as the landlord, are helpful and informative, and ensures that tenants won’t be calling you every five minutes with a basic question.  They can just look it up in their helpful manual.

As your tenants request items from you, consider revising your manual to include answers to their questions. It will save you a lot of time in the long run and overall create a better tenant-landlord relationship! Good luck.

 

The Scoop on Weekly Corporate Rentals

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Summer vacation season is upon us and you may be receiving inquires from vacationers interested in renting your property for a week-long stay.

While most corporate housing stays are at least a month long, it’s not uncommon for corporate housing owners to entertain the possibility of renting out their units short-term.

So should you do it?

Here are reasons why you should:

  • You should consider pre-booking week-long stays if your property is located in a prime location for vacation tenants (perhaps keeping this option open for high tourist seasons).
  • Renting your property for week-long stays allows you to charge a premium weekly rate and may help you capitalize on greater income potential.
  • Keep in mind, you should only book weekly rentals if you feel comfortable that any advance booking you take won’t deter potential long-term corporate housing tenants.

Here are reasons why should not:

  • If your property is not located in a prime vacation rental territory, then you should not offer anything less than a 30-day rental for advance bookings.
  • If it is illegal in your city, or your building does not allow weekly rentals.
  • If you are not prepared to collect and pay the correct city and state lodging taxes.

Always remember that the formula for success in the corporate rental business is occupancy, and this is best achieved through longer-term tenants.

 

Rate Setting Strategies For Corporate Rental Properties – Keep an Eye on The Competition

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Corporate rentals command, on average, one-third more rental income than regular rentals.  This alone can inspire landlords to jump into the corporate rental arena. However, a good landlord should know that pricing a property can be challenging and shouldn’t be a one-time occurrence.

Corporate rentals command, on average, one-third more rental income than regular rentals.

Rate setting for corporate housing is not an exact science. There are various factors that go into pricing a property including furniture, utilities, overhead and other associated costs.

A corporate housing landlord should continoulsy monitor the area for trends.  Investigate the pricing of other local corporate rentals, hotels and extended stays and how they adjust pricing depending on seasonal fluctuations and events in the area.

If a property owner only sets their price once, they may be under-priced, or even over-priced, depending on the season.

How often do you evaluate your property’s price?

How to Prepare a Property Manual for Your Corporate Rental

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An important part of being a successful landlord is how you manage the tenants that stay in your property. They will live in your property and won’t know how to do simple tasks like using appliances nor will they know how to adjust the thermostat or how to get to the nearest grocery store.

To ensure a positive stay, we recommend preparing a detailed property manual and leaving it inside your property in an accessible place. This booklet should include the following information at a minimum:

Unit Instructions:

  • Arrival and departure information
  • Key and any garage or building access instructions and fees for replacement
  • Parking location (if assigned) and instructions
  • Thermostat adjusting instruction
  • Trash day notices
  • Instructions on how to use major appliances and electronics (including special instructions for your remote controls!)

General:

  • Building Map and fire escape information
  • A copy of HOA Rules & Regulations
  • Neighborhood information, including directions to the nearest grocery stores, highways, malls, major offices and popular restaurants (you can also include a directory of good take out restaurants too!) Print out maps/directions to help your renter get around.

Emergency Numbers:

  • Local police and fire departments
  • Your emergency contact numbers
  • The number of a trusted neighbor
  • Any maintenance or important building/property contacts

Remember, it’s your job to provide good customer service. A detailed property manual is a great way to create a positive experience for your clients. It’s also a great way to limit the number of calls you’ll receive from your tenant during their stay!