If you have a holiday let you want listed, you are probably confused as to all the options. There are several ways to put your home away from home on the market for rentals, but if you are new to the business, you should be wary. There are several legitimate options, but also scammers and unscrupulous people who will take advantage of your freshness.
There are several types of agencies that are eager to help families with listing and advertising their holiday let. Think about what you are more comfortable with. There are legitimate large agencies and many smaller agencies in each area. The large agencies are often national or international, which lets you know that they are legitimate. That does not mean that these agencies are fair or friendly towards homeowners. Talk to other holiday homeowners to see how they manage their home and rentals, and see if any agency name comes up.
The commission charged by these agencies varies. For each holiday let, agencies charge from just under 20 percent up to 25 percent. Anything drastically under – or over – these rates should make you wary. If you are a homeowner, turning over on fourth of all of a rental fee might seem steep, and it can seem worthwhile to go for it on your own. Being your own agent takes a lot of work and time, so keep that in mind.
Getting away from the agencies sounds great, but can be tough in practice. There are some many things you need to think about, and you must be in charge of all of your own advertising. One popular option is on-line classified ads. As an additional way to advertise the home, these sorts of ads work well, but must be followed up with a legitimate and professional website. This is when an agent comes in handy, as they have websites featuring several homes and describing the benefits of renting in a certain part of a country.
Ask the agency how they advertise their site and the homes, how many visitors they get to their website a year, and how they use search engine optimization to make sure their site is being used. This is a great way to find out if the company knows how to harness the power of the Internet, or if they are just putting up a site and hoping for the best.