Following on from last month’s feature on maximising on your investment, here we look at some other tips and tricks to turn your rental property into a gold mine.
You’ve invested in a property to earn an income through short-term letting, but there are many way to make your investment even more valuable. Previously we talked about buying in the right location, adjusting your pricing to suit the season and how to become a super host. Now, we’ll look at some other ways to squeeze more out of your property investment.
Furnishing Demand
You’ve registered your listing and added great images, but you may have forgotten one vital thing- the way your listing actually looks. Furniture is one thing and grandma’s old sofa, or mom’s second-hand crockery might have saved you a few bucks but the old adage, “you’ve got to spend money to make money” rings true here. Think about clothing retailers- they use clever tricks to hook their buyer’s in and you can do the same. Consider who your market is and then furnish your place to suit their needs. If you find most of your guests have kids then ensure you put kid-friendly additions in and make it as physically safe as possible (think sharp table edges and open plug sockets), or perhaps you’d like to encourage more business travellers so why not supply the Nespresso machine with one or two free coffee pods thrown in to sweeten the deal? Think beyond the four walls of your property and try to target your market with the most attractive listing for their needs. It also might pay off to pay a professional or semi-professional interior photographer to come take a few snaps for you.
Be a Human Host
Aren’t you tired of never being able to get a human on the other end of the phone or email? Don’t forget the human element is part of your business development arsenal. Be proactive, be engaging, be approachable and be present. Your guests want to know you care and it’s likely your guest will have questions so quick turnaround is key. Don’t leave them hanging on the end of a line. Understandably your guests may be several time zones away and getting back to them speedily may be a challenge but clever planning could mean you spend most of your day fielding the enquiries you can and then allot a few hours in the evening to respond to queries from across several time zones. It also wouldn’t hurt to take note of what time most of those enquiries come through and build your day around that.
December was an exceptionally busy time for tourism in Durban, with investors reaping rewards earned through their property investments.
December 2019 saw the highest volume of passengers in the history of King Shaka International Airport, with 93% of passengers coming from our domestic regions. What’s interesting about this is that the bulk of our regional visitors are local, and this number has seen an increase of 12% since December 2018. Short-term or ‘day’ tourism is a goldmine due to sheer volume alone. 2.1 million people visited Durban’s beaches to celebrate the 2020 new year yielding a potential R2.1 billion injection into our local economy, if each visitor spends only a single rand. As South Africa’s 2nd largest regional economy in terms of GDP, KZN is responsible for R16 out of every R100 generated by our national economy.
With an ever-growing local tourism market many have realised the value of this burgeoning market and have moved to capitalise on these opportunities. Many investors have opted to invest in property in new growth areas like the Sibaya Coastal Precinct in KwaZulu-Natal. Charles Thompson of Devmco Group, one of the pioneering developers in the Sibaya Coastal Precinct shares his thoughts on this, “Investors are seeing the fruits of their labour during the December high season. Those who have purchased units at OceanDune and Pebble Beach, with the express intention of holiday letting, saw 100% occupancy for at least 2 weeks of the period. Investors would be wise to capitalise on the opportunity to earn an income bolstered by the influx of seasonal tourism and business travel that occurs throughout the year. Some other savvy buyers have opted for flexibility of use afforded by letting platforms like Airbnb; they can personally make use of their unit, or even live it when they want and then list the unit for holiday letting during high season and benefit from the additional income stream through this.”
If you would like more information,
just click START WHATSAPP CHAT below.
