One of the most challenging aspects of growing a short-term rental property management business is managing host relationships. How do you decide which property owners to work with? How do you build trust with hosts early on? What is the best way to onboard new clients so that they understand your process?

Zac Rushton is the co-owner and Host Relations Specialist at Great Dwellings, a DC-based property management company that helps homeowners maximize their Airbnb and short-term vacation rentals. In his role, Zac has grown the Great Dwellings portfolio from 20 to 80 listings in less than 12 months! Today, he joins me to discuss how he keeps property owners happy, sharing the Great Dwellings onboarding process and addressing how the team builds trust with new clients.

Zac explains the Great Dwellings client selection process, describing how he attracts leads through SEO optimization and what standards a property (and its owner) must meet to be a part of the portfolio. Listen in for Zac’s insight on the functionality of the Wishbox guest experience platform—and learn how to best manage host relationships as you scale a STR business on Airbnb!

Topics Covered

The Great Dwellings onboarding process

Set expectations + provide as much info as possible
Understand payout schedule and owner statement

How Great Dwellings clients have changed over the years

Little experience with short-term rentals in 2015
Now familiar with Airbnb and want to outsource

The challenge around customizing processes as you scale

Difficult to break workflow for one or two clients
Exceptions rare but possible depending on client

The Great Dwellings client selection process

Quality of property, potential nightly rate
Personality of property owner (15-minute call)

How Great Dwellings attracts new clients

Optimize SEO (Airbnb property management DC)
Rank near top on Google, generate hot leads

How Great Dwellings handles properties that are not ready for STR

Presentation after walk-through to show standard
Offer design/staging services for those who need it

How Wishbox prevents subpar reviews on Airbnb

Feedback part of checkout checklist (cleanliness, staff + overall)
5-star reviews link to Airbnb page, < 5-star reviews do not

The other Wishbox functionalities that Zac likes

Check-in checklist w/ anticipated arrival time
Upsells (e.g.: airport transportation, laundry service)

What’s on the horizon for Great Dwellings

Master lease for 12 units in Playa del Carmen
Expand to Dominican Republic, Lynchburg, VA

Connect with Zac

Great Dwellings

Zac on LinkedIn

Resources

Wishbox

Maximizing Profit on GPFYP EP280

Kelvin Mah on GPFYP EP276

Rankbreeze

Belong Here

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