Most people with rental properties really look forward to the holiday times throughout the year as they are almost certain to make money.December is still the most popular and most travellers need to book their accommodation months in advance to get a booking at the venue they want.
Coastal areas are also far more popular with us South Africans in this peak time as the the months around the festive season can get incredibly warm.Those of you with coastal properties probably know that if done correctly the month of December can be very lucrative.
That said, the landlord of a short term rental property also runs a higher risk in some aspects.The first point of concern is damage to the property itself.Most people ,when renting a home for themselves,will take care of the place and try to keep it in good order.This is not always the case with holidaymakers, they often celebrate the festive season while indulging in too much alcohol,having raucous parties and doing things they would never do at home.
This could all lead to potential damage of your property.Certainly this is not always the case but it is better to be aware of what may happen.Some holiday resorts over recent years have even started banning matric vacationers because of the bad experiences they have had in the past with damage and alcohol consumption.
The ideal would be to have repeat customers that you know are well behaved and pay their bills.Which brings me to my next point: take a deposit when a booking is confirmed.This is a great idea because some people make bookings at multiple venues so that they are assured a place at all of them and can then choose between them closer to the time.This can be a very bad thing for the venues taking the bookings as they then lose real customers who will definitely come and pay for the stay.So ask for a deposit, can be up to 50% ,and be secure in the knowledge that your customer wouldn’t want to waste that money.
A friend of mine recently wanted to make a booking at a Cape Town resort for over the holiday season and the resort asked that he pay in full ,a very large sum, when making the booking.My friend was quite taken aback and refused to do so as he didn’t have the full amount at the time.While I can understand why the resort wanted the payment, it must be far easier to deal with payments now and then not run the risk of someone skipping out on the bill, I would not necessarily practice this myself,although some may feel it necessary.
In my personal experience many holiday accomodation venues will request the balance of the amount owed on the first day of arrival.This is great because as the landlord/proprietor of the venue, you are assured of payment and the holidaymakers need not be concerned with a final payment at the end of the holiday when all their money has been spent on the family and having a good time.
So whether you have a coastal self-catering cottage or a B&B in Pretoria, remember to take a deposit and know all the possible negatives of renting out to holidaymakers.
