A New Approach to Holiday Vacation Rental

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A NEW APPROACH TO HOLIDAY RENTALTHE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR YOUR HOLIDAY RENTAL BUSINESS

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TABLEofCONTENTS

4 INTRODUCTION

5 TREAT YOUR RENTAL LIKE A BUSINESS

5 . 6 BUILDING UPKEEP

6 . 7 CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT

7 GOLD COAST UNIT UPGRADE

8 IMPROVE YOUR STAYZ RATING DRIVE UP YOUR RATES

8 . 9 PROVIDE HELPFUL INFORMATION

9 . 10 MAKE THEIR DAY RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING

10 . 11 EARLY CHECK IN SERVICE

11 HELP GUESTS PREPARE FOR TOURS

11 . 12 HAVE AN INFORMATION MANUAL

12 GET BETTER QUALITY REVIEWS THE DOUBLE BOOKING INCIDENT 13 THE FAMILY SCARED OF BUGS

13 . 14 THE INTERNET BREAKDOWN

14 . 15 EARN AFFILIATE INCOME

15 . 16 CREATE THE WOW FACTOR

16 . 17 DO YOU EVER GET TO SLEEP?

18 DISCLAIMER

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INTRODUCTION

Owning a holiday rental can be a great investment choice, but you need to stay ahead with the latest technology and adapt quickly to theever-changing market. Many feel reluctant to take on change or embrace new technology. We can learn from people like Jack Welch the 80-year-old who headed General Electric for 20 years who recently said..

“If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rateof change on the inside, the end is near”.

This short e-book shows how I have adapted my business and embraced change. My holiday rental property has transformed from a $25,000 a year permanent rental to a $100,000+ a year income generator.

The information contained in this e-book is a sample of what is covered in our “Holiday Rentals Made Easy” workshops. You can find out more at www.holidayrentalacademy.com



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TREAT YOUR RENTAL LIKE A BUSINESS

I recommend you consider treating your rental as a business - which is what it is - and an expensive one at that. We get out what we put in, and we can make serious money from our properties as I have proved myself.

The purchase price of a holiday rental can range from $300,000 to more than $1 million. Some investors regard it as a hobby, as opposed to a way of making a living. This is a dangerous assumption, as you now own an expensive commercial property and have become the owner of a business whether you like the idea or not.

You own the building, and you handle the business. Therefore, you have two new things to consider to protect your investment. The first is to look after the property while the second is to make sure the monster feeds you, and not the other way around.

BUILDING UPKEEP

I’ll start with the upkeep of the building as it is an ongoing task. Every building needs regular maintenance and not doing so will cost you even more money in the end, so you need a plan.

A dangerous habit to fall into is just waiting for something to break and then repairing it. A building in excellent condition and looking first-class will attract a higher rent. When you get this right, maintenance will be paid for by the increase in revenue, and savings on expensive repairs. Another way to look at it is, you are throwing away your money by ignoring the maintenance aspect. Here’s a classic example of something I did badly when I started out. I neglected the wood balustrading on our balcony

The right glassbalustrading, walking

in the rainforest



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for far too long. In fact, I only replaced it when guests complained about it being wobbly. The balcony at Wanggulay is now frameless glass withrazor-edge stainless steel railings. It took a little bit of effort to find it, but it was not that much more expensive than other options and createsa stunning sensation of walking through the rainforest treetops. Guess what, the guests love it, they always comment about it, and it is one of the reasons they keep coming back.

If it is not broke, don’t fix it! It’s a cliché that could cost you a lot ofmoney. You should always be on the lookout for money saving newtechnology. Take heat pumps, and the latest solar systems, for example; thegovernment will give you a very healthy rebate to replace your old electric or gas fired hot water system. You need to do the calculations for yoursituation but for our place that accommodates 12, a heat pump has been a great answer to more economical and longer lasting hot water.

CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT

The other major task you took on when you purchased your rental was cash flow management, which is absolutely essential, and for many, the key to business survival. You can be profitable but run out of cash. You may not like to hear the words working capital, budget, business plan,marketing plan, emergency plan and trust accounts, but these are actually simple concepts once you get your mind around them.

A lesson of Cash flow management applies to your expenditure oninternal furnishings. This is not always well managed by even seasoned holiday rental owners. Let me give you an example of that; a mistake many holiday rental owners make is to economise on electronic items, furniture and bedding. They often keep the old stuff because it is still functional and works. A cardinal rule is “you are not your customer” - make sure that your customers have a first class experience.

Hang on we are talking about cash flow right; all this new stuff will cost a fortune. Maybe it will cost more but you will havea better cash flow. We are in the age of record low-interest rates andHarvey Norman, Super A-Mart, and commercial bedding suppliersoffer finance schemes with a 50-month repayment plan on zero interest.

Here is an example of how I helped a client buy new furniture, bedding,



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and electronic equipment and then go on to set record rates for a rental in her holiday rental apartment block.

GOLD COAST UNIT UPGRADE I recently set up a two-bedroom holiday unit on the Broadwater on the Gold Coast for a client. By restricting my search to retailers and bedding suppliers offering interest-free 50-month repayment plans, my client ended up with all-new furniture and electronic items for a low monthly payment. If you spend $10,000, that will be just $200 per month. They now have new furniture, great photos for advertising and higher rental.

Before, we did the upgrade we asked a real estate agent managing over 300 holiday and short-term rentals to express an opinion on my client’s likely future income. We ended up exceeding her estimate by 60%, and the improvement more than covered the monthly repayments.

A bit of simple math, if you can maintain an occupancy for 65% of the time, that would be about 20 days per month. Do you think your holiday renter would be happy to stay in a place with new furnishings for just $10 more per night? Obviously yes, but better still because you are now delivering a five-star experience, you can increase your rental price and get better ratings.

So its my view that if you leave old dated stuff in your rental because you think you can’t afford to change it, then you will be doing yourselfa considerable disservice. Its costing you money, plus the white goods and television repair guys will love you, you are their dream client. A good rule of thumb is the moment an item costs you more than 30% of thereplacement value to repair it, just replace it. No longer will you haverepairs that are not under warranty and you will have higher satisfaction for guests as items are not breaking.

Now for the final bit of good news, how much happier will you, yourfamily and friends be to go and stay in your own place with beautiful newfurnishings, bedding and the latest TV and kitchen appliances? How much will that save you on your annual spend or what lifestyleimprovement will that bring? The objective is to have the holiday of a lifetime in yourproperty.



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IMPROVE YOUR STAYZ RATING

You need to improve your Stayz listing to drive up demand and increase prices.

DRIVE UP YOUR RATES

The next big item to focus on is driving up your rates. You do this through increased demand showing on your listing, and rave reviews by guests who had such an outstanding time they forget how much they paid. Next time you travel in Australia or anywhere in the world notice the difficulties and problems you experience, no matter how minor, and ask this simplequestion. What can I do in my holiday rental that removes the stress, makes guest’s holidays start the moment they arrive and creates that all-important first impression that counts?

Whether your rental is for $90 or $900 a night, it costs you almost nothing to deliver a five-star experience with a little bit of thought. You can achieve this at very little or no cost by changing a few simple practices. Once you systemise these practices in the ways I show you, they become second nature and very easy to run.

PROVIDE HELPFUL INFORMATION

Helping guests cut down on internal travel costs is a great add-on because they are usually clueless about how the cheap airline system works. As an example, when I came down on a flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney,I travelled on Jetstar for $44. I joked that the taxi to the Stayz building from

Save your guests (and yourself) $100s on air travel !



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Sydney Airport cost $1 more than my flight. I used a system that I have shared with all my guests. I am going to share that with you, but you have to watch my video link on the website.

If you fly monthly, it can save you up to $1000 per annum or moredepending how often you travel. The benefits to guests are exceptional. I had a group of eight guests that wanted to come up to Cairns from Sydney, but on speaking to them they indicated that my place was outside their budget. Rather than dropping rates, I asked them if I could find a way to save on airfares would they stay? I saved the group $1,200 on the return flight from Sydney to Cairns. They paid for their food and drinks for the week on the savings I obtained for them.

I shared these tips with another guest and the morning of checkout they left a voicemail and said……

“We are just leaving Treetops Too; we wanted to give you a call and let you know we will be putting in a very positive review for you. We thoroughly enjoyed your beautiful home, and it might have been the best vacation we have ever had. So thanks very much for your hospitality.”

What did it cost me to deliver this unparalleled experience? ….nothing!

MAKE THEIR DAY RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING

Imagine we have a family arriving from Chicago, they have travelled for 24 hours to get to Cairns. You have to put yourself in your customers shoes to understand what a dream arrival could feel like. Knowing this is often their challenge another service we offer apart from the usual maps and

Quicksilverat Agincourt Reef

perfect day !



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guides is helping guests with groceries, so they do not have to stop by the local shopping centre when the kids are tired and cranky. This one is deadsimple. I use the Woolworths online shopping system where I set up an account in the name of our house. Our guests order through it, before they leave for their holiday, with the help of my executive assistant. Theshopping is timed to arrive during the turn round, and my helpers pack the fresh food, and chilled salad in the fridge, stack the fruit bowl, and put the dry goods in the pantry. Their week’s shopping for the holiday is done before they step off the aircraft.

Here’s a great review from July 2015 that we got by doing such a simple thing.

“Wish we had stayed longer.”

We stayed here as a couple (yep we had the whole place to ourselves), and it was wonderful! We relaxed on the balcony

surrounded by trees - it was so private, quiet and peaceful, and the temperature and climate were perfect (we were there in July). The pool was fantastic, and we loved playing table tennis and going

for walks to explore the local area. The owners were so lovely and even ordered in groceries for us, so we had snacks waiting when we arrived. This place looks exactly like the photos, and it is very

clean and tidy. Definitely check out the local restaurants/cafes and activities recommended in the guidebook. We will be back and

wish we had stayed longer! Highly recommend.

EARLY CHECK IN SERVICE

Something I also do is to help people check in early even if there is a tight turnaround. After all, there is no trouble in them dropping a few bags off, especially when it means they can go and enjoy the area withoutworrying about their luggage. When our early check-in guests arrive, we help them have a plan laid out for their first day. They don’t have to worry aboutplanning in advance and making bookings, and it also gives them an extra day to enjoy the sights. This aligns with our mission of great experiences at the front end, so everything that follows is a positive.

As an example of this, Sky Rail and many of the operators will give you a



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discount for group bookings on the tickets that are not expensive. We pass these savings on to the guests. We feel that the provision of discounted tour tickets gives a great first impression to their holiday and means our early check in guests can catch Skyrail to Kuranda while we finish getting the house ready for them.

HELP GUESTS PREPARE FOR TOURS

We do the same with Quicksilver and trips to the reef. They arrive at the boat being the best-informed guests on the entire trip with information like knowing where to sit, what to do with their towel, and how to catch the breeze when leaving Port Douglas Harbour.

How much can you share about how to get the very best from your unique attractions in your local area? The best time to beat the crowds, where to walk, sit, have lunch, best things on the menu. If you can systemise thisinformation, it will then cost you little time, and no money yetdelivers guest an exceptional experience. We can all make a massivedifference to our guests’ holiday this way. They have a great sense of comfortstaying with us because they know more than anyone else about the tour orholiday venue. This game is about great reviews, the high occupancy rates that follow and making money.

HAVE AN INFORMATION MANUAL

The other trick is answering questions before guests ask them by preparing a manual or a PDF guide. I keep in touch with tour operators, so I stay up to speed with what they are doing. In exchange for my support, they are more



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than delighted to provide classy photos for my guest guide. Our business is about more than kickbacks; it is about cross-collaborating in the industry so everybody scores.

GET BETTER QUALITY REVIEWS

You need to get compelling feedback that puts your property in greater demand.

THE DOUBLE BOOKING INCIDENT

We took a booking, and while we were finalising the details, another one for the same dates came in. When I informed the second person that the dates were not available, she became upset. Her boyfriend was furiousbecause the way he saw it we had spoiled their plans. While he slowly cooled down, I was thinking ‘how am I going to convert this to a five-star review?” Sounds crazy but I do it all the time.

In this case, the first thing I did was realise he was not mad at me. He was disappointed about having his hopes dashed and having emotional loved ones on his hands. Those of us who have had an emotional traveller on the phone, please raise your hands.

I stood in that man’s shoes and realised he needed a holiday solution.Seeing as the one he wanted was already taken I negotiated another plan that he was happy about. This involved switching places and taking onextra cleaning charges. In the end, I was out of pocket with an extracleaning charge; but you know what? A guest who was angry but you made happy, is more likely going to give you one of your best reviews.

The end to this story was even better, not only did he give us a great review, but he also rang a work colleague, before he left our other accommodation, and told of the exceptional experience. His friend then rang me and booked the accommodation while his friend was still there. It makes me very happy that my team and I are delivering exceptionalexperiences from initially very trying circumstances.



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THE FAMILY SCARED OF BUGS

My two-holiday rentals are located in a rainforest close to Cairns and on the Barron River. Consequently, we do have our creepy-crawlies. Within a few hours of check-in, an overseas visitor, not familiar with our Australian wildlife, wanted to check out because his partner was terrified of the bugs and the kids had picked up the vibe. I decided to make a winner out of a complaint and found alternative quality accommodation immediately.Because it was a last minute booking, and I had a relationship with the other accommodation owner, I was able to obtain a substantial discount.

I picked up the tab including the champagne because it was less than the guests paid me. I was even able to resell several of the nights again. Later, I received the following review

“Remarkable Home In A Remarkable Location” Reviewed 14 January 2015 for a stay in January 2015

This house sits in an incredible part of Australia and within amagnificent neighborhood in the rainforest. Brett and Belinda are truly lovely people and so easy to work with. If you have children,

the waterfall and natural, safe pools are alone worth the stay.The bedrooms are air conditioned for sleeping comfort, and it was

easy to setup an office in the downstairs bedroom(for those who work on vacation)

My empathy, listening carefully and following through quickly delivered a result that made everyone happy and turned their nightmare into a dream holiday.

THE INTERNET BREAKDOWN

Typically, the very family that said it was a working holiday and need a fast internet connection arrived and for the first time the internetrouter failed me on a Sunday morning. But no tears, why? Because we have placed all our repair and fix hints in an online guide. I simply sent them theinstructions for the ten or so steps to reset the internet, and they were up and running in less than an hour. We have similar instructions recorded so any of my team can access from anywhere at any time. If something new happens, we record it in the same online format. The best news is the



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product is built by Google, so the search is fast and along with email and storage of all your documents it costs just $5 a month. So the review about our attention to detail was again exceptional.

EARN AFFILIATE INCOME

Earn additional income from your property after your guests havearrived by setting up affiliate partnerships with tourist industry providers.By setting up affiliate partnerships you automatically have a secondproduct to sell, and it comes free of charge with every guest.

Here I am talking about the kickbacks you can earn by matchmaking with suppliers and taking the pain out of the process for your guests. You will have your own highlights but in Cairns the number one experience my guests come to my region to enjoy is the Great Barrier Reef adventure.After I had learnt that this could cost $200 each for a couple on aQuicksilver Barrier Reef and Cruises boat, I decided to investigate further.

Through chatting with guests about their experiences, I discovered which cruises were best for families, which ones’ couples preferred and which ones singles raved about. I discovered some people go for the sailingexperience and some for the diving over our coral reefs. Some didn’t give a heck about either; they just wanted a day out having fun.

When I thought about it, I realised that the Great Barrier Reef experience is make-or-break for many of my guests and that failure for it to work for them was earning me less than perfect reviews. I could not blame them for this. If I watched Finding Nemo and came all the way from America or Europe,I would be looking for something similar on a sun-shiny day too. The clue is in the weather forecast. I was so glad when I discovered the Agincourt Reef #4 weather station that transmits 24 hours a day and helps me tune individual expectations with the climate. I teamed this knowledge with an excellent working relationship with Quicksilver Cruises. This enabled me to partner with them and register my clients on their booking engine.

My solution-orientated strategy empowers me to ensure my guests get their preferred adventure in as near-perfect weather as I can arrange their schedules. On the money side, I take a 10% booking deposit, and that is our commission. Our average family group in Wanggulay is six or seven, and they are spending an average of $1,400 to $1,500 a week on trips. We



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have systemised the process so it is almost automatic, and my executive assistants can make the booking or change it for the weather as required.

CREATE THE WOW FACTOR

Think outside the box and create the wow factor with property features.

When we started developing Wanggulay Too, we got the idea ofincluding a Bali-style outdoor shower in the forest. As I walked through thevegetation planning this, my mind went further. I visualised a white, claw-footed bath with a discrete, architect inspired enhancing screen around it giving our guests privacy while taking a bath in the rainforest. I knew we had to make a plan for hot water, so cost was going to be an issue. We replaced the hot water system with a more economical heat pump.

I posted an ‘I want to buy a white claw foot bath’ advertisement onGumtree and received a response from a gentleman in Brisbane. He turned out to be in a Manor from Heaven because he had aseven-bedroom house, but his teenage daughter did not like the bathtub. I told him I was redoing the bathroom, and he said ‘if you can have someone here in thirty minutes to pick it up you can have it for, $400’, so I made a plan and grabbed a bargain.

Touches like this let you increase your rates and get top reviews because people like to feel like they are being spoiled on holiday. Our game is using famous brands to our advantage, and there is no more important place than in the kitchen. You can have features on your property that cost one-tenth of normal price when you start thinking laterally about the situation.For example, I don’t know what grill top you have in your house but it



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matters in terms of first impressions. This does not have to be new or come from a posh store but it does need to have a personality, and a Miele will certainly do the trick. There are bargains on the internet every week. Pack and Send, an economical freight solution, will deliver your new item at a fraction of the price after you have found it on Gumtree. I have apermanent search in the ritzy suburbs looking for my next bargain toenhance the property.

DO YOU EVER GET TO SLEEP?

Ok, it’s time to spill the beans. Even the best-organised person would struggle to do all this. Guidebooks, In-house fix it systems, OnlineShopping, Affiliate Income, Follow-up for reviews, and answering enquiries all take time. Allow me to explain my background and how I manage to do all this in minimal time.

In my life, I have seen the value of exceptional training. When I was young I loved athletics; I had an amazing coach who had won a silver medal at Commonwealth Games. In one year, he helped me achieve a goal, to break a record. I held that record for the Gold Coast for 22 years. It was a result of his cutting-edge training. Later in my airline career, I worked for thefastest growing airline in the world. I was asked to write “The RouteManual” for pilots. That manual is still on the flight deck today andhelps take that airline safely and efficiently to more than 100 destinations around the world.

However, my greatest love was the role of the “fix it” guy in trainingsystems. I was a senior check and training captain. I examined theexaminers. I would help pilots that were challenged and on their last exam. I loved helping them see a simpler and better way to overcome theirproblems and pass their test. As a result of that I wrote procedures anddelivered a paper that brought about a change in the way pilots were trained. So I have brought that knowledge of the coach and that industry into ours.

The inspiration for this short eBook and my holiday rental academybusiness is to make a difference. To deliver a better solution and help all holiday rental owners run their business more profitably andefficiently in far less time. I have been in the business for 12 years and have learned so much and continue to learn on this exciting journey, and I look



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forward to helping you. I believe in education and have worked with over 20industry consultants to learn this, one of them is a system design specialist.Together we created simple systems that work.

To make life easier, to unleash your time and run your business as if it was on autopilot, these are just a few ways I have increased business in myholiday rental properties.

By using simple systems, I have:

• Increased my bookings • Hired qualified support staff for $5 an hour • A monitoring system that improves the lifestyle for me and my staff • A management system • A phone system that can be answered from any computer anywhere in the world • Created a google searchable “fix it” list accessible anywhere anytime on any device • Increased my reviews (and gained some fantastic ones along the way) • Increased the income generated from my holiday rentals • Gone from 70 Facebook likes to 22,000 Facebook likes in a year • Received more enquiries simply due to my Facebook presence

If you would like to learn more on how to implement these systems into your holiday rental, utilise offshore staff to assist in keeping your costs low and free up your time, book into one of my workshops “Holiday Rentals Made Easy”.

These workshops cover a range of steps from purchasing your first-holiday rental through to analysing your business as well as marketing,maintenance, affiliate partnerships, renovating and furnishing.

These workshops are run across Australia, and we would love to see you at our next one to show you how you can better manage your holiday rental property.

Please register for our free workshops at www.holidayrentalacademy.com


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Disclaimer

This eBook is provided “as is” without anyrepresentations or warranties, express or implied.

Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya CloseKamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff make no representations or warranties in relation to this eBook or the information and materials provided on this eBook.

Without prejudice to the generality of theforegoing paragraph, Holiday Rental Academyof 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga, Queensland,its owners and staff does not warrant that:

• This eBook will be constantly available, or available at all;• The information on this eBook is complete, true, and accurate or non-misleading.• Nothing on this eBook constitutes, or is meant to constitute, advice of any kind. If you require advice in relation to any legal, financial or medical matter you should consult an appropriate professional.

Limitations of liability

Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya CloseKamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff will not be liable to you (whether under the law of contact, the law of torts or otherwise) in relationto the contents of, or use of, or otherwise inconnection with, this eBook:

• To the extent that the eBook is provided free- of- charge, for any direct loss;• For any indirect, special or consequential loss; or for any business losses, loss of revenue, income, profits or anticipated savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation or goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data. These limitations of liability apply even if Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff has beenexpressly advised of the potential loss.

Exceptions

• Nothing in this eBook disclaimer will exclude or limit any warranty implied by law that it would beunlawful to exclude or limit; and nothing in this eBook

Disclaimer will exclude or limit HolidayRental Academy of 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga,

Queensland, and manager liability in respect of any:

• Death or personal injury caused by Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff negligence;• Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation on the part of Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff or matter which it would be illegal or unlawful for Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff to exclude or limit, or to attempt or purport to exclude or limit, its liability.

Reasonableness

By using this eBook, you agree that the exclusions and limitations of liability set out in this eBook disclaimer are reasonable. If you do not think they are reasonable, you must not use this eBook.

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• You accept that, as a limited liability entity, Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff has an interest in limiting the personal liability of its officers and employees. • You agree that you will not bring any claim personally against, Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya Close Kamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staff officers or employees in respect of any losses you suffer in connection with the eBook. Without prejudice to the foregoing paragraph, you agree that the limitations of warranties and liability set out in this eBook disclaimer will protect.

Holiday Rental Academy of 9 Barklya CloseKamerunga, Queensland, its owners and staffofficers, employees, agents, subsidiaries,successors, assigns and sub-contractors.

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If any provision of this eBook disclaimer is, or is found to be, unenforceable under applicable law, that will not affect the enforceability of the other provisions of this eBook.



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A New Approach to Holiday Vacation Rental

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